Tuesday night's national T.V. schedule features a rematch of the Western Conference finals from last year in the Mavericks and Timberwolves and a pair of play-in teams from last year in the Warriors and Pelicans.
The Mavericks and Timberwolves has slowly become a fun rivalry in the Western Conference. The two teams matched up last year with the Mavericks beating the Timberwolves 4-1 in the series. This was a really fun game that featured two faces of the league in Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards. Let's dive into the recap and my reaction.
Recap
The Timberwolves have a new identity this year that's been shown off so far. Lots of Randle and Edwards isolation and lots of three point attempts. The Mavericks want to continue to show their defensive prowess from the second half of last year that helped them reach the finals. The starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Luka Doncic, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford had a +10.6 net raring per 100 possessions going into tonight and has been the Mavs best lineup this year so far. The Timberwolves rolled out their usual lineup of Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Ruby Gobert. The first quarter started with a flurry of points from both sides. Anthony Edwards put on a show in the first quarter. You could see he's been sticking to the script of shooting more threes this year. Going into the game he was averaging 13 attempts per game and making 5 on average per game. Julius Randle also was used a lot in isolation after the first couple of minutes. I think I like the Wolves getting everyone into a rhythm before Randle and Edwards start their isolations plays to start the game. It'll help provide a flow for the Wolves. The Mavericks, especially Luka, pushed the pace very nicely, Luka was able to hit Gafford for some transition dunks off both makes and misses. Early on it 17-17 with about 7 minutes left and then Anthony Edwards took over he finished the quarter with a career-high 24 points, in one quarter, and made 6 threes. Randle created nicely out of his isolation sets putting passes on the money for his shooters, but the quarter was mostly dominated by Edwards. Luka played against the drop coverage from Gobert and was able to keep the Mavs within reach of the Wolves. The Wolves led 34-26 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the wolves showed a lineup of Donte DiVincenzo, Naz Reid, Edwards, McDaniels, and Randle. I think it could potentially close given the versatility on both ends it offers. Reid even switched a lot of the pick and rolls with Luka, instead playing drop coverage. The first half of the quarter was pretty sloppy with both teams turning the ball over pretty frequently and neither team was able to get into a rhythm. The Mavs down double digits before Luka started to get it going. He scored or assisted on 10 points or so to bring the Mavs back. The Mavs also played a little matchup zone that saw the Wolves struggle to handle. The Mavs took a 61-59 lead into the locker room, however Luka limped into the locker room after taking a hit on the back of his knee. Every Mavs starter had double digits, except for Klay, 7 points. The Wolves were lead by Edwards with 24 points and Randle with 15 points. Luka was able to come out after half and play, but he didn't look fully recovered. This saw Kyrie Irving take over the offense and get himself going. The energy of Gafford and Derrick Lively really dominated the offensive glass for the Mavs, as the wolves struggled to rebound the ball. The Wolves went on a quick 10-0 run that saw Mike Conley hit a couple of threes. I think the shooting of him, McDaniels, and Nickell Alexander-Walker will be important for the Wolves. Them being able to shoot a good percentage will open up things for Edwards and Randle on the inside. After the 10-0 run, Kyrie inserted his presence on the game. He hit 4 threes and helped the Mavs roar back with an extended 19-4 run to go from down 8 to up 7. The Wolves saw the issues with heavy isolation basketball. They turned the ball over and no one seemed to be in rhythm while Edwards and Randle dominated the ball. The Wolves will need to determine a healthy mix of isolations with set plays. Throughout the quarter you saw the Mavs pace really give the Wolves issues. The pace is a much needed addition in the Mavs offense it gives them an advantage with Gafford and Lively rim running and having Klay now creates transition spot ups for himself. The Mavs went into the 4th quarter up 92-83. The 4th quarter was super fun and exciting. Naz Reid had a tough night for the Timberwolves as he collected 5 turnovers going into the 4th. He looked a little rushed at times and got out of control. Kyrie was still carrying the offensive load and kept the Wolves at an arms length. However, mid way through the Wolves went to a smaller lineup with Randle playing the 5 surrounded by Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, and Alexander-Walker. This allowed the Wolves to exploit the matchup of Lively and Gafford on the offensive end, however they did give up some rebounds on the defensive side of the ball. It was still enough to bring them within 5 points and at a striking distance. The final 3 minutes provided a lot of high level shot making. Kyrie hit a tough step back three over Randle with about 2:30 left on the clock. It pushed the score to 112-107 in favor of the Mavs. After a wolves score Luka came back down and hit layup to push the lead back to 5. After a wolves turnover. Luka hit a 35 footer with just under a minute left to give the Mavs a 117-109 lead. An Edwards three brought the score to 118-114 with Kyrie going to the free throw line. He missed both, surprisingly, but Naji Marshall was able to pluck Anthony Edwards on the next possession. Marshall made two free throws and gave the Mavs a 120-114 win over the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards finished with 37 points on 12/20 from the field and 7/13 from three. Julius Randle had 20 points to go along with 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. For the Mavs Kyrie lead the way with 35 points on 13/23 from the field and 6/8 from three. Luka added in 24 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. The Mavs move to 3-1 while the Timberwolves drop to 2-2 on the year.
Reaction
For the Mavs I think they are now the clear 2nd best team in the Western Conference. They defend like crazy and have a two headed monster in Kyrie and Luka that can both take over a game. Klay Thompson didn't have a great shooting performance, but it's hard to understand how open some of the looks he is getting. I think playing next to Luka has really helped him he clean looks and I expect he'll shoot close to 43% this year from three. Quentin Grimes had some good minutes off the bench for the Mavs tonight as well.
The Timberwolves I think are still getting used to balancing the isolation plays with flow of the offense. I like them taking more threes but it needs to be the right guys. Conley, McDaniels, and Reid all need to shoot it well for it reach full affect. The Wolves also need to figure out their defense. They've given up a lot of points in the paint, something they did not do last year. I think they're still adjusting to life after KAT with regard to that. They could still make it up with being better with rebounding or forcing less threes overall, but if they don't get that part fixed I don't feel great about their chances of advancing deep in the West.
The Pelicans and Warriors faced off in the second part of the double header on TNT tonight. Both teams are 2-1, however, both are coming off their first losses of the year. The game would not feature Stephan Curry, out with an ankle injury, Andrew Wiggins, back injury, for the Warriors and Dejounte Murray, fractured hand, and Trey Murphy, hamstring, for the Pelicans. The injuries would test the Warriors depth something that's been an emphasize for Steve Kerr and Golden State so far this year. He's played 12 guys in all three of their games so far this year and is something I really like for Golden State. The Pelicans were pretty excited going into the season. They added Dejounte Murray through a trade with the Hawks. Overall, it's apparent they missed him in the game tonight.
The starting lineup for the Warriors featured Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Draymond Green, and Tracye Jackson-Davis. The Pelicans put out a lineup of CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Daniel Theis. The first quarter went very bad for the Warriors they couldn't stop Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson for New Orleans. The Warriors also could not buy a shot in the first quarter as well. Both Ingram and Williamson were super aggressive early on and established themselves very nicely. It was nice to see Ingram willingly take threes. He surprised me with nailing a transition three off the the opening couple of minutes. Williamson was able to get to his left hand. Green made it challenging for him to finish, but he was still able to be effective. For the Warriors it's not hard to tell Buddy Hield likes to play in this system. He's great cutter and mover without the ball, something that is a staple of the Warriors offense. The first quarter ended with the Pelicans leading 31-14. The second quarter however, shown the way the Warriors had been playing the entire year. They average close to 18 offensive rebounds in a game and force, a league high, turnover on 18% of their possession on defense. These to stats have really allowed the Warriors to gain an advantage over their opponents so far this year. while these stats don't typically translate well to playoff success I do think with the depth they have these aren't fluke stats and something that is real. While it might not help them with guys getting into a rhythm, everyone is fresh and Steve Kerr has made it an emphasize to get to the offensive glass. Jonathan Kuminga came off the bench tonight for the Warriors for the first time this season. He played well in the second quarter and was able to help the Warriors get back in the game. The Warriors defense also started forcing a ton of turnovers and saw them get out in transition. The halftime score was Pelicans leading 51-47. Williamson had 19 points on 8/13 from the floor and Ingram had 15 points on 6/10 from the floor and 2/4 from three. Kuminga had 10 points to lead the Warriors. The Pelicans weren't able to keep their three point attempts on par with the Warriors and saw their lead slip away because of it. In the second half Lindy Waters started in place of Hield, who had a rough shooting first half. Waters provided a huge spark off of the bench and it carried them the rest of the way to the end up of the game. It was pretty easy to identify how the Warriors got back into the game. They played so hard and were everywhere on defense. All the little back cuts and pin ins were open for the Warriors and the Pelicans could not keep up with them. The Pelicans did not handle the ball well and could not handle the pressure from the Warriors either. Lindy Waters helped the Warriors take a 87-79 lead into the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter saw much of the same with Buddy Hield getting loose. He had 19 4th quarter points going 6/6 from the field. The Warriors dominated the Pelicans from the 2nd quarter and on. The final ended up being 124-106 resulting in a Warriors win. Buddy Hield finished with 28 points on 9/18 from the floor and 7/11 from three. Moody had 17 points on 5 threes. Podziemski had 19 points and Lindy Waters had 21 points off the bench. Ingram had 30 points on 12/17 from the floor and 3/6 from three. Williamson had 31 on 12/20 from the floor. The Warriors forced 24 turnovers on the night. The Warriors move to 3-1 on the year while dropped their second straight game, moving them to 2-2 on the year.
Reaction
The Pelicans really need to get production from others and shoot much more from behind the arc. The Warriors outshot the Pelicans 45 to 22 tonight and 20 to 9 in made threes. There's a specific point where it doesn't matter what a team does if they do not take enough threes because they simply cannot make up the difference in enough categories. Ingram and Williamson looked great tonight, but New Orleans will need to learn and find ways to generate more threes. They really seem to be missing Murphy and Murray tonight. They'll need to handle it while they both heal from their injuries. New Orleans also lost Herb Jones tonight to a shoulder injury. Obviously you can't have 24 turnovers, but getting 61 efficient points from their two stars should not result in a 20 point loss, especially when you had a 20 point lead at one point. I do think rookie Yves Missi looked good tonight though. Finally, McCollum and Jordan Hawkins need to hunt their shots more from behind the arc with Murray and Murphy out. If the Pelicans are going to get their attempts up it needs to start with their 2 best three point shooters.
The Warriors, holy moly this was impressive. The depth looks fantastic, Buddy Hield looks great in the Golden state system. The noticeable thing tonight has how hard they ran their offense. The speed and flow of their split actions, slips, backcuts, pin downs, pin ins, and dribble handoffs looked really good tonight.The Warriors went 20/45 from behind the arc and forced 24 turnovers. Super impressive game from Golden State that really showed it looks like the whole team is having fun. Obviously losing Klay in the offseason hurts from a legacy perspective, but they're young and energetic and putting that together with Steph, Wiggins, Draymond, and Looney looks like it could be really good for them. This win tonight gave me confidence they could potentially sneak into a top 6 seed if they continue to play with this. Obviously winning without Steph is hard, but putting together this type of performance after a sloppy game versus the Clippers on Sunday is really nice.
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