Wolves@Mavs GDT

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Minnesota had a real chance to steal that one. Unfortunately, far too many mistakes down the stretch from both players and Chris Finch.

[Q-is-here]

IDK....Doncic was 5-17 from the floor with 8 turnovers. I mean, we had a game plan to slow him down and disrupt his rhythm (obviously he created a lot of open shots, so it's not like he was a liability). Bottom line is they played tough defense and made those clutch 3's in the end. I'm not happy we lost, but feel like we put up a spirited fight in the end and it could have gone either way.

[Lipoli390]

Minnesota had a real chance to steal that one. Unfortunately, far too many mistakes down the stretch from both players and Chris Finch.

I missed the game a just looked at the box score a moment ago. What were some of those key mistakes down the stretch, Cam? I'll watch the replay tomorrow, but I'm curious. Just looking at the box score, I put the blame primarily on Beverley. Shooting 2 for 10 from the field and 1 for 5 from behind the arc in what turned out to be a 2 point game strikes me as the key. If he had hit just one more three-pointer, the Wolves win the game. I know that's an over-simplified assessment by someone who didn't watch the game, but Beverley has to shoot better than that to win a road game against a team like Dallas. Nevertheless, I didn't expect the Wolves to win tonight and I like that they made it close. These next two games are must-wins in my view if this team is going to finish in the top 6. I'll be in the crowd to do my part. :)

[Monster]

Ah, I can't stand those stream sites, I can't seem to click the boxes correctly and just end up locking my browser up.
So it's not on Bally's plus then?

Buy yourself a cheap Chromebook on eBay or something and do this on the guest account. I dislike the streaming sites because I don't always have a good internet connection. That's partly why I tend to watch the games later on NBA replays sites.

[Monster]

I watched the last 7 or so minutes. It was entertaining even with some of the stoppages. It would have been nice to come away with a win. I thought Nowell was fouled on that last drive he had. So many things could have gone one way and the Wolves would have got a big win. Still I love they were in there and they were doing it after they were down and came back got the lead and had sort of a chance to get to OT and it wasn't exactly pretty.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Minnesota had a real chance to steal that one. Unfortunately, far too many mistakes down the stretch from both players and Chris Finch.

I missed the game a just looked at the box score a moment ago. What were some of those key mistakes down the stretch, Cam? I'll watch the replay tomorrow, but I'm curious. Just looking at the box score, I put the blame primarily on Beverley. Shooting 2 for 10 from the field and 1 for 5 from behind the arc in what turned out to be a 2 point game strikes me as the key. If he had hit just one more three-pointer, the Wolves win the game. I know that's an over-simplified assessment by someone who didn't watch the game, but Beverley has to shoot better than that to win a road game against a team like Dallas. Nevertheless, I didn't expect the Wolves to win tonight and I like that they made it close. These next two games are must-wins in my view if this team is going to finish in the top 6. I'll be in the crowd to do my part. :)

3:23 -- Dallas called a timeout after two Anthony Edwards made free throws bringing the score to 103-100, Minnesota leading. For whatever reason, Chris Finch didn't sub D'Angelo Russell back into the game after the timeout when it's clear to me that he should have. Keep in mind that he originally checked out with 6:56 in the fourth. Instead, Finch left Jaylen Nowell on the floor. I like Nowell as much as anyone, but D-Lo didn't get back into the game until there was 1:50 left on the clock. The Wolves didn't score during this stretch and lost the lead. That's a coaching mistake.

1:15 -- Dorian Finney-Smith hits the first of two dagger threes. Simply, that's Karl-Anthony Towns' assignment and he helped one pass away when he really didn't need to. Hopefully, that's a learning experience.

0:45 -- Dorian Finney-Smith hits the second dagger three. Patrick Beverley completely abandoned Spencer Dinwiddie above the break to bring a late double to Luka Doncic even though Doncic was well-defended on the play. Doncic made the right play and dished the ball to Dinwiddie who swung it to the corner for another wide open three for Finney-Smith. Overzealous defense from Beverley. This happened a number of times throughout this one.

I loved the fight to get back into the game, and even more so when they took a late lead, but mental errors and poor execution cost them down the stretch. Hopefully, this loss doesn't bite them in the ass and they have a chance at redemption this Friday, but it would have been awesome to get this win.

[davemang]

The start of the 4th was an opportunity to go on a run, with the wolves getting stops in the first 3-4 mavs possessions but then Prince missing shots (and really being the only one touching the ball) on every one of the corresponding wolves possessions. The Wolves were giving Dallas wide open 3s all game and Dallas finally capitalized when it mattered most - the wolves should have adjusted well before that even though Dallas had been missing them.

[DNatagal]

Ant's man defense is almost elite. He was on Luka like stink on....well you know. If Finch can keep challenging him, he could be the best 2 way player in the league. He doesn't use his hands at all...which Jaden could learn from, his lateral quickness is ridiculous and he stays in front of his man unless a really good pick is set on him. He keeps this up and look out.

[Q-is-here]

Ant's man defense is almost elite. He was on Luka like stink on....well you know. If Finch can keep challenging him, he could be the best 2 way player in the league. He doesn't use his hands at all...which Jaden could learn from, his lateral quickness is ridiculous and he stays in front of his man unless a really good pick is set on him. He keeps this up and look out.

Indeed, his defensive improvement this year has been a revelation. I don't think he's an elite overall defender yet, but he has shown way more two-way star potential than any of our other lotto picks in recent memory (Rubio, Love, Wiggins, KAT). At minimum, he can absolutely not be targeted for switch hunting where teams look to exploit mis-matches, which happens a lot in the playoffs. They'll be looking to get him switched off of their ball handler rather than the other way around!

I actually thought Finch's defensive scheme was pretty damn good last night where he threw multiple looks at Luka. Doncic had a terrible game individually. Dallas has a couple of big, strong 3 & D vets in DFS and Reggie Bullock that can hit those corner 3s and defend with a lot of toughness. And adding another playmaker and shot creator in Dinwiddie to go along with Luka and Brunson makes them a really good team overall.

[FNG]

Wolves are wilting here. Disengaged defensively. Settling on offense. This is hard to watch.

Yeah, Dallas is very locked in defensively. This is what it's like playing a good team at full strength![

You're entering into dangerous waters with that take, Q...we only talk about injuries here when they impact the Wolves, not our opponent ;) .

That said, you're right...I don't think we have played a winning team at full strength (I don't consider missing Hardaway and Bertans significant injuries) in several months, and it was great to finally see how this team would react when playing an intact team. To your point, Dallas looked very good defensively...NBA defense is complex, and teams missing key players just aren't going to be as cohesive, on defense or offense.

All that said, I think we should be encouraged by last night's game. While we all wanted a win (and I actually thought we were going to get one when we took that late lead), we hung with a very good team on their court. That tells me a lot. Now if we can follow it up with a win on Friday (and I think we will be favored by a point or two at TC), those who have some doubts about whether this team is built for the post-season can feel a whole lot better about our chances going into the play-in...or even the playoffs should we manage to catch Denver.

I found it one of the more watchable games in a long time. Dallas needed a win after a couple road losses and came out very focused, and the Wolves still nearly pulled one out. Notable performances: Prince's offensive spark, Vando looking like the Vando of the first half of the season getting us second chances on offense in the third quarter, Ant's developing on-ball defense, and Fitch's brilliant defensive approach on Luka.

I'm going to start a separate thread on Luka, because he is a difficult player for me to figure out and we get to see him again in just a few days.