06-01-2024, 10:16 AM
(05-31-2024, 06:51 PM)The Jom Wrote: Don’t have the data to prove it, but I really think the Mavs saw the Wolves coming into game 1 already worn out and gameplanned to run the legs right off of em. If we had numbers on how many miles KAT and Ant traveled per game, and at what speed, in Denver series vs. Dallas series, I think we’d be astonished at the difference.
Compounding that problem, I’m not sure those 2 fellas are at the level of conditioning necessary to last through a lengthy playoff run. And the coach made it harder for them, instead of easier, by giving them tough defensive assignments and pushing them to give maximum effort. They had one heckuva second half in game 4 to peel off a single victory. But like Q3 game 3, Q4 game 4 had 8 stoppages for free throws in addition to all the timeouts and other rests. Little wonder those were the games they performed best in.
All that is to say Minny is better, I think, than they played in this series. I think the Dallas coaching staff identified a weakness and exploited the heck out of it very successfully. At the same time, the “adjustments” by the Minny coaches (like putting Ant on Luka) just seemed to exacerbate the problem. If they can recognize and address this weakness, no reason to think a very similar team can’t finish near the top of the conference again next year. They need another playable guy more than they need to get rid of a big.
Minny is a really good team, but I think we are a bad matchup for them. We have the right guys to guard Ant and Kat and Gobert lets us back that up with elite rim protection. And Luke is Gobert kryptonite.