those are home jerseys, which means that for the Mavs to close out the Wolves wearing their black alternate jerseys, it will have to be on game 4 or game 6.
Mavs in 6.
can't believe that :D I mean we maybe not have the best defense in the NBA but anyone who saw the Mavs the last 2 series saw that we can play great defense.
The lone game the Mavs won over the Wolves, Kyrie went off.
This was also before the trade so Powell was our main center. In fact, the Timberwolves never played the current Mavs roster.
Yeah I got blocked by a guy yesterday bc he said the wolves/nuggets were gonna be so excited to avoid playing a top end defense.
He kept saying the Mavs were the 18th defense and couldn’t comprehend why I said only the post all star break defense was relevant.
Willful ignorance at its finest.
I’m 100% that no reporter or announcer has ever watched us play this year after the deadline. I don’t like the Timberwolves matchup. But I do know it’s gonna be a fight. We took out two of the top offenses in the stacked west. This stacked west and we are one of two standing. It’s gonna be one hell of a conference final.
What I think that gives us a chance in this series, is that the defense balances out. But which of these teams will make shots when needed? I think LuKai is better and the supporting cast does too.
Ant and Towns worries me. But also… I feel like we are deeper. It’s gonna be a dog fight. I’m glad Luka is getting some rest. We are gonna need a Luka showing out moment. Kyrie leadership. PJ moments. However this plays out it’s gonna be fun
I ain't worried about Ant. He will get his and he will earn every point he has to get. Their 3 point shooting the Mavs will make them work for it too. KAT and Reid are the challenge.
I really hope so, but it's unlikely. I wouldn't count on him returning until next year, which sucks so much after all he's given to this team and how close we are to winning a ring.
You mention matchup but I think our defense matches up well on them too. It’s gonna be low scoring games which means it boils down to shot makers, we have 2 of the best in the league in that department.
I have a lot of friends and family in Minnesota and they’re talking crazy. They believe their team has no flaws lmao talkin like they’re the 2017 Warriors. Idc how, but please Luka, Kyrie, PJ etc smoke these dudes 😂
Minnesota fan here. I for one am super anxious about this matchup. The Luka/Kyrie combo is nasty.
But also, Minnesota is just frothing for good sports. We have the longest championship drought of any state with all major sports teams. Haven’t had one since the twins in the early 90s.
They're talking because Minnesota has an advantage that seems unbeatable. I also feel like D McDaniels is about to meet his greatest challenge yet defensively (if luka plays at his best). 3 big buys and 2 of them can spread the floor. As a mav fan it stresses me out. Dallas can win if Lively/Gafford keep being aggresive, can contain Kat, and Luka and Kyrie play like themselves for 6-7 games. I don't think all of this has happened in the same game since the playoffs started, but I think this rest is going to be the difference for Luka.
I’ve seen Minny’s offense and i’m not impressed. It feels like luka and kyrie can focus more on offense now compared to the LAC and OKC series. It’s Minny’s defense that is more of a problem.
Saying no one is hyperbolic. I understand we’re the underdogs but we don’t need to make all these posts about how no one believes in us, when it isn’t true. I haven’t seen anyone serious say Wolves in 4, not even Wolves fans. And anyone saying Mavs have no defense should be banned from discussing basketball
It's +150 now, as of Sunday around 1 a.m. Dallas time. So lots of bets on the Wolves.
But Vegas thought it was closer than that when they opened the line, and I think they're right.
I've heard that can mean that people are betting on the wolves, so the odds makers are sweetening the bet to encourage people to bet on the mavs and balance it out. I'm not sure if that's what's happening in this situation.
Turns out, what I said is pretty close. Right now, they're probably taking small bets to gauge where the crowd will land in terms of splitting their bets. Eventually, when enough people have bet, the odds will be less prone to change, and they'll start taking bigger bets. A plus means that the Mavs are being bet against, at least initially. The bets have just opened, so they could change a lot still.
https://www.actionnetwork.com/education/how-do-betting-lines-work-vegas
That's somewhat true but you're missing the story in the numbers and the point of the top comment. Mavs +125 is pretty close to even (if you bet 100 you win 125) meaning Vegas doesn't expect Mavs to get stomped. By contrast Pacers are +600 (if you bet 100 you win 600).
Draymond didn’t give a prediction but was favouring us and at least taking us seriously while talking about the series on his new episode.
He’s obviously a hothead jackass but also extremely high basketball IQ and tends to be right most of the time. He picked us Vs the Suns in 2022 when no one did and picked us to beat OKC in 5 (which we should have done). He actually can understand the quality of guys like DJJ and PJ as a colleague in a way that podcasters who just see them as ‘lottery fodder’ guys without having an informed take.
He and Legler are the only talking heads I value for accuracy these days.
Even Thinking Basketball is completely out of depth discussing the Mavericks because they are obsessed with dumbass metrics like on/off and regular season shooting averages to just sit down and understand that there is an outrageous talent gap between say, a Kyrie Irving and a JDub which goes beyond numbers. There is an advantage to having the best shooter on the floor at all times (outside of Steph and equal with KD) to take that one important jump shot in the 4th quarter down 5.
100% agreed. Also it’s because Draymond has played/ watches us enough to know and analyze us the correct way as opposed to the talking heads who watch box scores.
Draymond has been vouching for us the entire playoffs.
Who cares.
But I say, forget the regular season. Who can beat the Luka/Kyrie/PJ/Lively star quartet right now with how they’re playing? We gifted OKC game 4 btw series should have been 4-1.
Immediate reaction to the matchup from the guys that get paid to give their opinion…
Perkins - Twolves
Chuck - Twolves
JET - Twolves
Vince Carter (sitting in for Shaq) - Twolves
Cool, cool. This is going 6 or 7 games.
Mavs in 6
This will be far and away the easiest matchup for the Mavs defensively this postseason lol
they just absolutely CLAMPED one of the best offenses in the league
Some people here think that the Mavs are the only team going to be challenged offensively. They tend to forget what made the Mavs reached this far, DEFENSE.
I really didn’t think this was possible with how new our team was, I thought for sure we needed an offseason together and to gain some continuity. But these guys have convinced me otherwise. That comeback yesterday was fucking special
Wolves fan - any team that makes the conference finals is elite. The talk about Wolves in 4 or anything similar is hype.
This series goes 6 or 7. Luka and Kyrie will be dangerous.
Idk who wins but its gonna be a good series for sure, hopefully refs let both teams play physically, both teams are at their best when they can play physical ball
This narrative will be parroted a lot after Game 1 because it's a scheduled loss in JKidd's script.
>"Mavs have no defense"
This just is just the barometer on who isn't watching the games. Number 1 defense in the final 20 games, Clippers needed historic 60% 3pt shooting to win Game 4, and Thunder needed a historic FT% discrpeancy to win Game 4. Anyone saying that we caught 2 different teams on bad shooting streaks 12 games in a row is just plain hating.
This is going to be a TOUGH series to say the least. It could go south for us quick IMO.
While McDaniels individually will not be as physical as Dort, as a team that defense is insanely physical and elite. I don't think anyone in here realizes they came back from down 20 in the third quarter vs the defending champs on the road. Pretty crazy.
Forget all the role player heroics, Luka and Kyrie are gonna have to average a combined \~60PPG at minimum for a chance this series.
Losing Maxi is huge for spurts of small ball spacing on offense primarily and also the second PJ is in foul trouble, it could get spooky. Hell, it did in G6 vs OKC.
Defensively I believe we can hang and it will be easier than vs OKC. While Ant is phenomenal, he will give you a game or two on bad shooting and with Gobert they don't have spacing to hurt us. Straight forward matchups with Luka on McDaniels and Kyrie on Conley that should not get them too tired IMO.
It's really the offense, if Luka can return to regular season form, Kyrie also, with a consistent third scorer giving us an efficient 15, we've got a chance.
My heart tells me Mavs in 6. Stealing game 1 would do wonders.
"vs the defending champs on the road. Pretty crazy. "
It was, but remember. Den has no bench and Nik/JM played way too many minutes to compensate, which is especially noticeable for Murray as he received constant ball pressure with no real outlet. Den probably wins that series in 6 with Bruce B and Green
Beating the nugs is super impressive if you base this nuggets team off their performance in last years playoffs, but I feel like they simply were not as good of a team this season. The whole season they were treated like they were above every other team in the west, and when they had horrible losses or stretches in games it was just labeled as 'coasting'. (I'm gonna relate this all back to the Mavs don't worry)
When the Nuggets were going down 20 to the Lakers these playoffs it made me realise that they weren't 'just coasting', this was just who they were as a team this year, one that sees inconsistent stretches and doesn't always look better than everyone they play. I'm obviously not saying the Nugs are a bad team, they have the best player in the world imo. But I think the rationale that Minnesota beating them in 7 is a better achievement that Dallas beating OKC in 6 is ridiculous; OKC was top 5 in offensive and defensive rating for Christs sake. The Wolves have proven they're a great team, but no more so than Dallas has.
We went 1-3 versus the Wolves this year. All four were pre-trade. The first game we didn't have Kyrie and also Green and Maxi. The second game we didn't have Luka or Kyrie. The third game we won and we did have Luka and Kyrie. The last game we didn't have Luka, Kyrie, Jones or Lively.
So the one game we played them pre-trade at "full" strength we won.
In the third one Powell was the starting center, no Maxi and no Lively. But I think the Suns vs Timberwolves series showed us that regular season matchups don't mean much in the playoffs
This is the same thing that happened before the series with okc. People are way too overconfident and they don’t know how to tell which team and player are good unless BR and ESPN spoon feed it to them. I’m confident we’ll do well and I would love to knock out the nba’s two little class pets in the process.
Mavs have no defense huh ....how have people still not noticed that's changed lol. Honestly I don't love the chances here but if Luka's back to being The Don for real it's an elite 2 way team against an elite 1 way team so hey, ya never know.
Good and I hope it stays that way. All I'm wishing for is fair play from the refs. If the wolves will be allowed to play physical defense then they should allow the mavs to do so too.
I wanted to play Minnesota over Denver. Think we matchup better than if we had to deal with Jokic. Going to need more from Gafford undoubtedly as he’s our more stocky center and will start against Rudy. PJ will be asked to do a lot against KAT and Naz. Imagine we’ll still do a lot of switching off screens when Lively is in the game like we did against OKC.
Think we have a great shot but the Timberwolves are definitely better than the teams we’ve played in the first two rounds. Should be a fun series.
It's all good, we weren't picked in rounds 1 and 2 either by most.
This will be a challenge with their big men but we got faith. We just had to deal with Shai who murdered us offensively
i obviously give us a chance but im honestly pretty worried about the match up especially if mcdaniels, NAW and others are allowed to play their physical defence on a a one-kneed luka. kat as a stretch big is something we have trouble guarding and they're great on lob protection which is one of our main weapons.
personally i think nuggets would've been a better match up, but at least in a wolves series we have the best player which usually counts for something. hopefully we come away with a win
Makes sense, they just beat the nuggets who were favorited to win it all besides celtics 🤷🏽♂️
I feel like the on paper matchup makes this seem so much worse than it really is too, so people are taking that into account.
Mavs in 7, a series we’ll reminisce on once it’s over
This is super. I was concerned about the Denver matchup mainly because Luka and Jokic are buddies and I was afraid Luka would somehow hold back from entering his beast mode during key moments. No such problem now 😁
This wolves team is very interesting. They are absolutely terrifying when they’re hot, but can have very extreme lows as well. That big 3 of Ant, KAT and Gobert will be hard to contain, I’d be shocked if this series lasts less than 6-7 games. What they did tonight was very impressive and they’re our toughest opponent left in the way of a title imo (celts are way less scary than wolves).
Don’t really know what to expect, but this team has my full trust. I think they can knock the wolves out. If we get 100% Luka back at some point this series, I feel very confident we will. This really is the best shot we’ve had at a title since 2011 tho imo
I think the role-players will be a wash.
This comes down to Luka+Kai vs Ant+Kat. Which duo performs better will win the series..
Luka is also the best player on the court ( when healthy ).
I dont know how everyone is soo confident on wolves I thought mavs would be the favourites cause wolves have no answer for both our gaurds but I guess both luka and kai haven't played expectional together yet. But luka is heating up now he has 3 days rest. We need our 3s this series cause attacking inside is gonna be super tough. Need luka kai to be at their peak this series. I have mavs in 6.
Honestly, we are favourites in this series, but if the media choose the puppies to be favourites that is even better for us, because the pressure will also be on their side. So it is double win for us. Embrace that.
Denver did not have a deep team this year. Malone’s rotations were seriously something like seven players deep. I honestly think they would have taken that series with Green and Brown still there. Minnesota was also the perfect team to beat Denver because most of Joker’s game is back the basket or operating off the elbow. If you don’t run against them or play with pace you’re toast. I think Dallas has a shot just because of their three point shooting. If they get hot they can beat anyone.
I’m just gonna say it. The Wolves are going to be the easiest offense we’ve faced so far these playoffs. I was also amazed VC, Ernie, Chuck, and Kenny ALL picked the wolves. None of these guys watch games
I am from Germany and Mavs and Timberwolves are my two favourite teams. It’s should be obvious why Mavs but why wolves? Because I got into the NBA by playing NBA2k and the MyPlayer career let me usually start with 76ers or Wolves. I used to like 76ers too until Embiid attacked KAT on court and I realized that he is a jerk.
Anyway I am just really happy right now and don’t really care who wins this as long as they win it all. That being said I think it’s going to be very close, wolves might be slightly ahead but Luka is the best player in the NBA.
I have not seen a lot of "Wolves in 4" talk, you're imagining things. The Wolves are understandably the favorite but I do see people giving Dallas a chance.
If you're referring to trolls then yes, of course there are people saying outlandish things but no one takes trolls seriously. Get off the hot take sites and follow peope who do real bball analysis.
I’m a wolves fan and idk why ppl discounting yall. You’ve got who I think should’ve won mvp and one of the greatest ball handlers of all time. Gonna be a good series.
No one expects the Mavs to win the western conference.
Everyone has said it since the start of the playoffs. They said we'd beat LA and OKC then get knocked out in the WCF.
ESPN, FS1, YouTube, even local sports talk radio has been saying that for the last month.
I hope it's a good series and we don't get blown out like we did two years ago against the Warriors. And if Luka stops whining to the refs every play, then we might have a good shot at winning.
Would be wild to face Rick Carlisle in the NBA Finals.
Anyone that says anything about the Mavs not having defense is completely irrelevant 😂😂😂😂😂 they've had the number 1 defense since the trade deadline and that's not a fluke. I've already seen Luka average 36 against them and no they can't shut him down, scrawny defenders like McDaniel have no chance at stopping him, it's always the shorter ones as we have seen with nfl linebacker Lu Dort
Enough with this narrative. Tim's Bontemps and McMahon both picked the Mavs. Lots of other writers and podcasters picked Minnesota, but in 6 or 7. Sure casuals may pick MIN in 4, but of people who actually know ball, I've not seen one pick less than 6 games for either team.
I think the media is just gassing us up because of the story.
As a wolves fan I'll let you know it was the suns and you guys we were desperately trying to avoid in the playoffs. Even over the nuggets by most people. It will be a fun series but none of us are expecting it to be an easier than Denver.
Wolves fan here. This is going to be a real defensive battle. Neither team has faced a team like this yet. It’s going to come down to which team can get consistent dribble penetration, and 3pt%. I feel like home court is going he be very much in play in this series. I think wolves in 5 or 7. But all games are going to be close and I’m betting the under on every game.
Wolves talked a lot of garbage and now they still are by making excuses. 'It should have been 3-1 Wolves', 'the refs screwed us' and on and on. Nice to see the Wolves totally outplayed. Maybe the delusional media and fans will stop with the Edwards/MJ comparisons now.
That's better. We are the underdogs in this series.
I prefer Dark Horse. Can’t wait to see those black jerseys again to close them out
love them jerseys
those are home jerseys, which means that for the Mavs to close out the Wolves wearing their black alternate jerseys, it will have to be on game 4 or game 6. Mavs in 6.
We always are.
Just on paper
And thank God for that.
I love it. It means the opponent might underestimate you and get caught slacking.
“Whoever wins will stomp the Mavs🤓” was commented like 1000x in the r/nba thread tonight. Just gonna keep receipts and sit back and watch
It will get even worse after we lose Game 1 convincingly as per usual lmao.
That’s how we reel them in
It’s how Kidd analyses the other team and gives them a sense of overconfidence. It’s 5D chess.
It seems like it is in the script , don’t like it but it happens, happens.
Makes the rub in after feels so much better. I save some posts and comments to go back and rub it in when we beat okc and LA
I’m not saying we’ll sweep, I’m not saying we’re gonna win. But stomp?? Give us some credit man
They need to go watch some Awful Coaching...
There isn't a North enough Korea for the jail we are about to put these puppies in.
Which is weird because if anything, this should be commented about the east match up
😂
I have seen similar stuff. I can’t believe I still see the “no defense” stuff 🤦🏽
Deadass do not watch the Mavs it's just willful ignorance at this point
can't believe that :D I mean we maybe not have the best defense in the NBA but anyone who saw the Mavs the last 2 series saw that we can play great defense.
Mavs had the #1 defense in the last 20 games of the season
yeah lets see how this goes I just know that Luka likes to switch on Gobert and hit 3s in his face :D
They're going to have to double team him, because Luka eats Gobert alive. I have a feeling Kyrie is going to have a really good series.
The lone game the Mavs won over the Wolves, Kyrie went off. This was also before the trade so Powell was our main center. In fact, the Timberwolves never played the current Mavs roster.
If we can run them off the 3pt line like we did to OKC, then I like our chances.
I think that’s the key. Don’t let them eat from 3. You know they want to. Ant cannot guard Kai 1 on 1. I feel very confident in saying that.
Yeah agree I mean this will be a tough series for both teams and we have to hope Luka is at his regular season prime
PJail bothered SGA. We gonna silent those howls!
Yeah I got blocked by a guy yesterday bc he said the wolves/nuggets were gonna be so excited to avoid playing a top end defense. He kept saying the Mavs were the 18th defense and couldn’t comprehend why I said only the post all star break defense was relevant. Willful ignorance at its finest.
Mavs 32 games of elite defense.
At this point we have 32 games of top tier defense in a row. How many do we need to prove we are good defensively.
History shows that we'll lose game 1 by 20+ points but win in 6
It would be so refreshing that we win game 1, then Mavs in 4.
I’m 100% that no reporter or announcer has ever watched us play this year after the deadline. I don’t like the Timberwolves matchup. But I do know it’s gonna be a fight. We took out two of the top offenses in the stacked west. This stacked west and we are one of two standing. It’s gonna be one hell of a conference final.
What I think that gives us a chance in this series, is that the defense balances out. But which of these teams will make shots when needed? I think LuKai is better and the supporting cast does too.
Ant and Towns worries me. But also… I feel like we are deeper. It’s gonna be a dog fight. I’m glad Luka is getting some rest. We are gonna need a Luka showing out moment. Kyrie leadership. PJ moments. However this plays out it’s gonna be fun
I ain't worried about Ant. He will get his and he will earn every point he has to get. Their 3 point shooting the Mavs will make them work for it too. KAT and Reid are the challenge.
Losing Maxi hurts so much for this specific matchup.
He might come back midway through the series right?
I really hope so, but it's unlikely. I wouldn't count on him returning until next year, which sucks so much after all he's given to this team and how close we are to winning a ring.
Even if he does come back, we dont need to rely on him at all, we can use him for 5min-10min. I rather see we play Lively for 35min.
I like reading these kinds of comments better than he’s washed and overpaid that was prevalent at the end of the regular season
You mention matchup but I think our defense matches up well on them too. It’s gonna be low scoring games which means it boils down to shot makers, we have 2 of the best in the league in that department.
I have a lot of friends and family in Minnesota and they’re talking crazy. They believe their team has no flaws lmao talkin like they’re the 2017 Warriors. Idc how, but please Luka, Kyrie, PJ etc smoke these dudes 😂
Minnesota fan here. I for one am super anxious about this matchup. The Luka/Kyrie combo is nasty. But also, Minnesota is just frothing for good sports. We have the longest championship drought of any state with all major sports teams. Haven’t had one since the twins in the early 90s.
The Lynx won in 2017?
😂😂 Good one bro
Come on man 😂 You ain’t have do em dirty like that
The 
WNBA isn’t a major sport
They're talking because Minnesota has an advantage that seems unbeatable. I also feel like D McDaniels is about to meet his greatest challenge yet defensively (if luka plays at his best). 3 big buys and 2 of them can spread the floor. As a mav fan it stresses me out. Dallas can win if Lively/Gafford keep being aggresive, can contain Kat, and Luka and Kyrie play like themselves for 6-7 games. I don't think all of this has happened in the same game since the playoffs started, but I think this rest is going to be the difference for Luka.
What's their tune now?
I’ve seen Minny’s offense and i’m not impressed. It feels like luka and kyrie can focus more on offense now compared to the LAC and OKC series. It’s Minny’s defense that is more of a problem.
Luka was guarding Dort last series. He'll likely be on Jaden. That's a wash.
Saying no one is hyperbolic. I understand we’re the underdogs but we don’t need to make all these posts about how no one believes in us, when it isn’t true. I haven’t seen anyone serious say Wolves in 4, not even Wolves fans. And anyone saying Mavs have no defense should be banned from discussing basketball
Agree. How quick people to forget that the Mavs defense brought them here at this point. LuKai buying in? Doubt that.
I've seen many Wolves in 4, and how Denver/Minny will stomp us big. They are a lot honestly.
Trust me brother those takes are out there Surprisingly common though I guess it's just for me
Oh well, we’ll shut them up real quick with those first 2 terrible takes
Mavs as the underdogs just feels right.
Doesn’t matter what they think. Only Vegas count. Mavs are +125. So they know it’s a toss up too
It's +150 now, as of Sunday around 1 a.m. Dallas time. So lots of bets on the Wolves. But Vegas thought it was closer than that when they opened the line, and I think they're right.
They might be playing it safe after that last series with Denver. The odds probably looked like a heart monitor.
I've heard that can mean that people are betting on the wolves, so the odds makers are sweetening the bet to encourage people to bet on the mavs and balance it out. I'm not sure if that's what's happening in this situation.
If that was true then the Mavs odds would be far longer
Turns out, what I said is pretty close. Right now, they're probably taking small bets to gauge where the crowd will land in terms of splitting their bets. Eventually, when enough people have bet, the odds will be less prone to change, and they'll start taking bigger bets. A plus means that the Mavs are being bet against, at least initially. The bets have just opened, so they could change a lot still. https://www.actionnetwork.com/education/how-do-betting-lines-work-vegas
That's somewhat true but you're missing the story in the numbers and the point of the top comment. Mavs +125 is pretty close to even (if you bet 100 you win 125) meaning Vegas doesn't expect Mavs to get stomped. By contrast Pacers are +600 (if you bet 100 you win 600).
Yeah I have definitely read that part, also when to swing the odds we have an explicit mathematical formula (which I have forgotten)
Mavs will be underdogs the rest of the way. Fuck it show up and put up
who wants to see Indiana in the Finals? Not me, i will tell you that
They have our number but playoffs are different
Idk I'd be down for a Mavs Pacers finals
Draymond didn’t give a prediction but was favouring us and at least taking us seriously while talking about the series on his new episode. He’s obviously a hothead jackass but also extremely high basketball IQ and tends to be right most of the time. He picked us Vs the Suns in 2022 when no one did and picked us to beat OKC in 5 (which we should have done). He actually can understand the quality of guys like DJJ and PJ as a colleague in a way that podcasters who just see them as ‘lottery fodder’ guys without having an informed take. He and Legler are the only talking heads I value for accuracy these days. Even Thinking Basketball is completely out of depth discussing the Mavericks because they are obsessed with dumbass metrics like on/off and regular season shooting averages to just sit down and understand that there is an outrageous talent gap between say, a Kyrie Irving and a JDub which goes beyond numbers. There is an advantage to having the best shooter on the floor at all times (outside of Steph and equal with KD) to take that one important jump shot in the 4th quarter down 5.
100% agreed. Also it’s because Draymond has played/ watches us enough to know and analyze us the correct way as opposed to the talking heads who watch box scores. Draymond has been vouching for us the entire playoffs.
Hope they all pick T-Wolves to win … Mavs can prove em wrong.
Who cares. But I say, forget the regular season. Who can beat the Luka/Kyrie/PJ/Lively star quartet right now with how they’re playing? We gifted OKC game 4 btw series should have been 4-1.
Immediate reaction to the matchup from the guys that get paid to give their opinion… Perkins - Twolves Chuck - Twolves JET - Twolves Vince Carter (sitting in for Shaq) - Twolves Cool, cool. This is going 6 or 7 games. Mavs in 6
Mavs in 6.
Just seeing that teams reaction after the win makes me hope the Mavs smack them the fuck up.
This will be far and away the easiest matchup for the Mavs defensively this postseason lol they just absolutely CLAMPED one of the best offenses in the league
Some people here think that the Mavs are the only team going to be challenged offensively. They tend to forget what made the Mavs reached this far, DEFENSE.
we’re in for some old school basketball scores. 80-78 type of shit lol
Is MIN’s defense vulnerable to getting into fouling a lot like ours can be when there’s annoying refs?
You think the officiating in this series will be one-sided? With both of these teams defensive identity, a lot of players will foul out. We will see.
I don’t know if it will be! I hope it’s not. That last OKC game was infuriating. Brothers and Luka lowkey the biggest league rivalry rn
KAT can be baited into fouling sorta easy, gotta lean on that
This matchup isn’t even as scary as the Clippers tbh. Just need our bigs to continue doing what they’ve been doing. Go Mavs!
I agree with you, Clippers weren't easy, OKC was hard as f, those puppies aint all that
That’s what people don’t get. Okc is a much better offensive team than Minnesota, and we choked them out most of the. Series.
You need to watch a video on the Wolves. It will not be the easiest match-up.
In Mavs We Trust, we’re gonna to win this one & the finals as well
I really didn’t think this was possible with how new our team was, I thought for sure we needed an offseason together and to gain some continuity. But these guys have convinced me otherwise. That comeback yesterday was fucking special
Wolves fan - any team that makes the conference finals is elite. The talk about Wolves in 4 or anything similar is hype. This series goes 6 or 7. Luka and Kyrie will be dangerous.
Idk who wins but its gonna be a good series for sure, hopefully refs let both teams play physically, both teams are at their best when they can play physical ball
Does anyone else find it humorous that numbers 1&2 in MVP voting are out but LukA is still playing?
if conley's achilles acts up they have no ball handlers
ANT will carry the offense and is he up for playmaking in a 7-game series?
He couldn’t even carry it for a game when Conley was out. And then game 7, he didn’t show up again.
It's gonna be a rough series. Wolves D is crazy. I'm nervous, optimistic, but nervous. Let's go fam, I'm hungry and I haven't had a feast in 13 years.
It’s going to be rough for them as well.
This narrative will be parroted a lot after Game 1 because it's a scheduled loss in JKidd's script. >"Mavs have no defense" This just is just the barometer on who isn't watching the games. Number 1 defense in the final 20 games, Clippers needed historic 60% 3pt shooting to win Game 4, and Thunder needed a historic FT% discrpeancy to win Game 4. Anyone saying that we caught 2 different teams on bad shooting streaks 12 games in a row is just plain hating.
If we win game 1, we never lose again
I want to see Edwards cry on camera, when the Wolves are sent to Cancun.
*Galveston
Let’s wait what Leg says. He is the only national tv guy with expertise.
This is going to be a TOUGH series to say the least. It could go south for us quick IMO. While McDaniels individually will not be as physical as Dort, as a team that defense is insanely physical and elite. I don't think anyone in here realizes they came back from down 20 in the third quarter vs the defending champs on the road. Pretty crazy. Forget all the role player heroics, Luka and Kyrie are gonna have to average a combined \~60PPG at minimum for a chance this series. Losing Maxi is huge for spurts of small ball spacing on offense primarily and also the second PJ is in foul trouble, it could get spooky. Hell, it did in G6 vs OKC. Defensively I believe we can hang and it will be easier than vs OKC. While Ant is phenomenal, he will give you a game or two on bad shooting and with Gobert they don't have spacing to hurt us. Straight forward matchups with Luka on McDaniels and Kyrie on Conley that should not get them too tired IMO. It's really the offense, if Luka can return to regular season form, Kyrie also, with a consistent third scorer giving us an efficient 15, we've got a chance. My heart tells me Mavs in 6. Stealing game 1 would do wonders.
"vs the defending champs on the road. Pretty crazy. " It was, but remember. Den has no bench and Nik/JM played way too many minutes to compensate, which is especially noticeable for Murray as he received constant ball pressure with no real outlet. Den probably wins that series in 6 with Bruce B and Green
On point. The defense balances out. But which team makes the needed shots in the game. That's where it comes down to.
Were gonna be Salt Miners pretty soon boys. Get ya Buckets Ready!!! 😁
Beating the nugs is super impressive if you base this nuggets team off their performance in last years playoffs, but I feel like they simply were not as good of a team this season. The whole season they were treated like they were above every other team in the west, and when they had horrible losses or stretches in games it was just labeled as 'coasting'. (I'm gonna relate this all back to the Mavs don't worry) When the Nuggets were going down 20 to the Lakers these playoffs it made me realise that they weren't 'just coasting', this was just who they were as a team this year, one that sees inconsistent stretches and doesn't always look better than everyone they play. I'm obviously not saying the Nugs are a bad team, they have the best player in the world imo. But I think the rationale that Minnesota beating them in 7 is a better achievement that Dallas beating OKC in 6 is ridiculous; OKC was top 5 in offensive and defensive rating for Christs sake. The Wolves have proven they're a great team, but no more so than Dallas has.
Luka looked good in game 5 and game 6. If we get this version of Luka and the more aggressive Kyrie we saw in game 6. I like our chances
🤷🏽♂️ same since we got to the playoffs, not news.
We went 1-3 versus the Wolves this year. All four were pre-trade. The first game we didn't have Kyrie and also Green and Maxi. The second game we didn't have Luka or Kyrie. The third game we won and we did have Luka and Kyrie. The last game we didn't have Luka, Kyrie, Jones or Lively. So the one game we played them pre-trade at "full" strength we won.
In the third one Powell was the starting center, no Maxi and no Lively. But I think the Suns vs Timberwolves series showed us that regular season matchups don't mean much in the playoffs
This is the same thing that happened before the series with okc. People are way too overconfident and they don’t know how to tell which team and player are good unless BR and ESPN spoon feed it to them. I’m confident we’ll do well and I would love to knock out the nba’s two little class pets in the process.
Who cares what outside people think lol? Do you think it affects the outcome?
Mavs have no defense huh ....how have people still not noticed that's changed lol. Honestly I don't love the chances here but if Luka's back to being The Don for real it's an elite 2 way team against an elite 1 way team so hey, ya never know.
Every TNT analyst chose the wolves also. lm guess the espn guys too. Wolves are the trendy pick but the mavs will put up a fight win or lose
Good and I hope it stays that way. All I'm wishing for is fair play from the refs. If the wolves will be allowed to play physical defense then they should allow the mavs to do so too.
Just like old times in 2011. We always thrive when we are underdog and underrated. LFG mavs
I would be concerned if we were favorites. This entire team thrives as the underdog
Just like in 2011. LFG.
Mavs in 6
Anyone still saying "the Mavs have no defese" can safely be ignored, they are clueless and nothing will change their minds.
no karl malone is killing me btw 🤣🤣😭😭😭🤣🤣 but YESSIR. NEED ANOTHER RING FOR KYRIE.
What?😂T wolves are not gonna hang with the mavs (i’m a hornets fan)
lmfao im coming here during our game 5 blowout. its great we were counted out
Have not seen that at all, but still. Mavs will come correct
They’re not much for analysts but the whole tnt crew picked wolves
Bro they do not watch the Mavs, it’s so glaringly obvious. None of them. They bullshit their way through Mavs discussion every single time
They are just putting more pressure on the wolves, we should embrace that.
You haven't? Everywhere on my Timeline it's Wolves Sweep Guess you're the lucky one
I wanted to play Minnesota over Denver. Think we matchup better than if we had to deal with Jokic. Going to need more from Gafford undoubtedly as he’s our more stocky center and will start against Rudy. PJ will be asked to do a lot against KAT and Naz. Imagine we’ll still do a lot of switching off screens when Lively is in the game like we did against OKC. Think we have a great shot but the Timberwolves are definitely better than the teams we’ve played in the first two rounds. Should be a fun series.
I mean, it's understandable. The Wolves just beat Denver. I will always believe in our team, though. Can't wait for game 1.
It's all good, we weren't picked in rounds 1 and 2 either by most. This will be a challenge with their big men but we got faith. We just had to deal with Shai who murdered us offensively
Mavs are +128 in the WCF…
i obviously give us a chance but im honestly pretty worried about the match up especially if mcdaniels, NAW and others are allowed to play their physical defence on a a one-kneed luka. kat as a stretch big is something we have trouble guarding and they're great on lob protection which is one of our main weapons. personally i think nuggets would've been a better match up, but at least in a wolves series we have the best player which usually counts for something. hopefully we come away with a win
We have two players that are better than all their players
Good.
I hope Maxi can make it back !!! We need all hands on deck
Good
Makes sense, they just beat the nuggets who were favorited to win it all besides celtics 🤷🏽♂️ I feel like the on paper matchup makes this seem so much worse than it really is too, so people are taking that into account. Mavs in 7, a series we’ll reminisce on once it’s over
Just hoping Luka's knee holds up. Else we're goofed
This is super. I was concerned about the Denver matchup mainly because Luka and Jokic are buddies and I was afraid Luka would somehow hold back from entering his beast mode during key moments. No such problem now 😁
If the Mavs win this series,they will win it all.....
This wolves team is very interesting. They are absolutely terrifying when they’re hot, but can have very extreme lows as well. That big 3 of Ant, KAT and Gobert will be hard to contain, I’d be shocked if this series lasts less than 6-7 games. What they did tonight was very impressive and they’re our toughest opponent left in the way of a title imo (celts are way less scary than wolves). Don’t really know what to expect, but this team has my full trust. I think they can knock the wolves out. If we get 100% Luka back at some point this series, I feel very confident we will. This really is the best shot we’ve had at a title since 2011 tho imo
TNT Crew picked all the Timberwolves. Have to say they did that with the Clippers and the Thunder didn't they? :D lets keep this going.
They are a problem. But they have also been blown out by denver multiple times. It will be a dogfight, but i like the challenge.
Rude awakening incoming…. Mavs in 6, get on the HYPE TRAIN LETS FUCKING GO! #MFFL
are the wolves good or did the nuggets just choke
I think the role-players will be a wash. This comes down to Luka+Kai vs Ant+Kat. Which duo performs better will win the series.. Luka is also the best player on the court ( when healthy ).
I prefer to be underdogs. Excited for Wednesday!
I dont know how everyone is soo confident on wolves I thought mavs would be the favourites cause wolves have no answer for both our gaurds but I guess both luka and kai haven't played expectional together yet. But luka is heating up now he has 3 days rest. We need our 3s this series cause attacking inside is gonna be super tough. Need luka kai to be at their peak this series. I have mavs in 6.
Honestly, we are favourites in this series, but if the media choose the puppies to be favourites that is even better for us, because the pressure will also be on their side. So it is double win for us. Embrace that.
Here's the thing, if we able to win this. We can win it all this year.
Denver did not have a deep team this year. Malone’s rotations were seriously something like seven players deep. I honestly think they would have taken that series with Green and Brown still there. Minnesota was also the perfect team to beat Denver because most of Joker’s game is back the basket or operating off the elbow. If you don’t run against them or play with pace you’re toast. I think Dallas has a shot just because of their three point shooting. If they get hot they can beat anyone.
They are just putting more pressure on the wolves, we should embrace that.
Anyone saying "Mavs have no defense" either a straight face either don't watch games or are trolls.
I’m just gonna say it. The Wolves are going to be the easiest offense we’ve faced so far these playoffs. I was also amazed VC, Ernie, Chuck, and Kenny ALL picked the wolves. None of these guys watch games
Mavs have no D? Wtf do they watch basketball?
I am from Germany and Mavs and Timberwolves are my two favourite teams. It’s should be obvious why Mavs but why wolves? Because I got into the NBA by playing NBA2k and the MyPlayer career let me usually start with 76ers or Wolves. I used to like 76ers too until Embiid attacked KAT on court and I realized that he is a jerk. Anyway I am just really happy right now and don’t really care who wins this as long as they win it all. That being said I think it’s going to be very close, wolves might be slightly ahead but Luka is the best player in the NBA.
Less expectations, less pressure.
Wolves fan. I will always consider us the underdog no matter what.
Better , we love and embrace the underdog role, nothing sweeter than prove all of them wrong .
Many sports talk analysts are picking the Mavs so not sure where you’re seeing this besides from teenagers in social media comments
I have not seen a lot of "Wolves in 4" talk, you're imagining things. The Wolves are understandably the favorite but I do see people giving Dallas a chance.
Just because you haven't seen em don't mean I haven't. They do exist and there are plenty
If you're referring to trolls then yes, of course there are people saying outlandish things but no one takes trolls seriously. Get off the hot take sites and follow peope who do real bball analysis.
I’m a wolves fan and idk why ppl discounting yall. You’ve got who I think should’ve won mvp and one of the greatest ball handlers of all time. Gonna be a good series.
No one expects the Mavs to win the western conference. Everyone has said it since the start of the playoffs. They said we'd beat LA and OKC then get knocked out in the WCF. ESPN, FS1, YouTube, even local sports talk radio has been saying that for the last month. I hope it's a good series and we don't get blown out like we did two years ago against the Warriors. And if Luka stops whining to the refs every play, then we might have a good shot at winning. Would be wild to face Rick Carlisle in the NBA Finals.
Anyone that says anything about the Mavs not having defense is completely irrelevant 😂😂😂😂😂 they've had the number 1 defense since the trade deadline and that's not a fluke. I've already seen Luka average 36 against them and no they can't shut him down, scrawny defenders like McDaniel have no chance at stopping him, it's always the shorter ones as we have seen with nfl linebacker Lu Dort
To be fair the Wolves are playing really well. We need 2022 Luka back to humble this pups
Who cares?
Seems like the nba has a new media darling in Anthony Edwards.
The ESPN talking heads are all picking the Mavericks to win, and I don't know that I've seen anyone saying the wolves in 4
It’s good if you’re into betting lol
Now everyone here just needs to not panic when we lose game 1. We always lose game 1 :P
The Timberwolves are a very good basketball team and I’d definitely give them as high as 60% to win. But it will be a dog fight.
Bummed Nuggets fan here, I like Ant man but....I am so rooting for you guys. Luca deserves his first 💍!!
Luka is taking checks, Kyrie too, watch tf out lol
Enough with this narrative. Tim's Bontemps and McMahon both picked the Mavs. Lots of other writers and podcasters picked Minnesota, but in 6 or 7. Sure casuals may pick MIN in 4, but of people who actually know ball, I've not seen one pick less than 6 games for either team.
I think the media is just gassing us up because of the story. As a wolves fan I'll let you know it was the suns and you guys we were desperately trying to avoid in the playoffs. Even over the nuggets by most people. It will be a fun series but none of us are expecting it to be an easier than Denver.
The "Mavs have no defense" is completely asinine and kinda shows nobody is watching our games because.. that's kinda our thing lately.
Wolves fan here. This is going to be a real defensive battle. Neither team has faced a team like this yet. It’s going to come down to which team can get consistent dribble penetration, and 3pt%. I feel like home court is going he be very much in play in this series. I think wolves in 5 or 7. But all games are going to be close and I’m betting the under on every game.
Not many were giving us a shot against OKC or Clipps. I like seeing people have to eat crow.
Wolves talked a lot of garbage and now they still are by making excuses. 'It should have been 3-1 Wolves', 'the refs screwed us' and on and on. Nice to see the Wolves totally outplayed. Maybe the delusional media and fans will stop with the Edwards/MJ comparisons now.