Not many predicted Minnesota and Dallas in the Western Conference Finals, but both teams are<\/p>\n\n\n\n
deserving of getting to the final four. We could be seeing the first of many playoff matches<\/p>\n\n\n\n
between two young superstars in Anthony Edwards and Luka Doncic. Both players have been<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the catalysts for their respective teams and now four wins away from reaching the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Matchup: Doncic vs Edwards<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no question this will be the marquee matchup of this series. Both stars have been<\/p>\n\n\n\n putting up eye-popping numbers during the playoffs and will be counted on heavily by their<\/p>\n\n\n\n team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doncic: 27.3 PPG, 9.7 REB, 9.1 AST<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edwards: 28.9 PPG, 6.2 REB, 5.9 AST<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in their four meetings during the regular season, Doncic\u2019s line: 24.8 points, 7.3 rebounds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7.7 assists and 1.4 steals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edwards: 23.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assist, and 1.1 steals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edwards, who was the NBA\u2019s leading scorer, will likely be guarded by Kyrie Irving while Doncic<\/p>\n\n\n\n will be defended by Jaden McDaniels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wolves Edge<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Timberwolves know how to play shutdown defense, something they did against Denver in<\/p>\n\n\n\n the second half of game 7. Rudy Gobert won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award and<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minnesota also has Towns and Sixth man of the Year winner, Naz Reid. Watch for them to limit<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dallas\u2019s second-chance scoring opportunities in this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mavs Mojo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from Doncic, the Mavs still have a productive Kyrie Irving. After averaging 26.5 points in<\/p>\n\n\n\n the first series, where he dropped at least 30 on the Clippers three times, Irving averaged just<\/p>\n\n\n\n 16 points against OKC and was held to 12 or fewer points 3 times. If he can provide secondary<\/p>\n\n\n\n scoring to help Doncic, the Mavs could be too tough to beat in seven games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prediction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dallas is playing in the conference finals for the second time in three seasons and do have that<\/p>\n\n\n\n experience, something the young Wolves are lacking. This appears to be a series that will go<\/p>\n\n\n\n the distance and many feel the Mavs are peaking at the right time and that experience will reign<\/p>\n\n\n\n supreme in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Western Conference Series Odds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dallas Mavericks +150<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minnesota Timberwolves -170<\/p>\n\n\n\n Season Series head-to-head<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The T-Wolves won three of the four regular season meetings but that was before the Mavs<\/p>\n\n\n\n traded for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. Those moves will change the way Dallas<\/p>\n\n\n\n defends against Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jan 31, 2024 Mavericks 87 Timberwolves 121<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jan 07, 2024 Mavericks 115 <\/strong>Timberwolves 108<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dec 28, 2023 Mavericks 110 Timberwolves 118<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dec 14, 2023 Mavericks 101 Timberwolves 119<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not many predicted Minnesota and Dallas in the Western Conference Finals, but both teams are deserving of getting to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":24979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[162],"class_list":["post-24978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-nba"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t