Defensive Dončić and Dominant Wolves

Quick takes from 2 Game 2s

It’s tough to follow the first-round rhythm. There are so many games happening in the first 4 days of this round, and since none of the series is yet out in the clear regarding how it will develop, you can’t also just “ignore” one yet. BOS-MIA has the potential for it, but they still haven’t played game 2.

I wasn’t able to watch Game 1 between the Wolves and the Suns completely, only skimmed through the highlights, and didn’t even watch the MIL-IND matchup yet, so no words on that one, but I’ll try to share some quick words about the yesterday’s games.

Exciting Monday

Before I get started, I just want to say that Monday had a bunch of exciting games, all 3 series that I’ve covered in my latest post ended up in 2-0 lead for the higher seed, but I wouldn’t say that anything is settled in those series. Check out my thoughts on NYK-PHI, DEN-LAL, and CLE-ORL here:

I will touch on game 2 and what might lie ahead of us probably on Thursday.

MIN-PHX Game 2

Quick Summary

In the end, the Wolves looked like a much better offensively organized team. Anthony Edwards didn’t have a flashy scoring game like in Game 1, but his skip passes and good decision-making (that was already seen in the regular season) were a deal breaker for defensive schemes that the Suns pulled out for the Wolves.

The Suns played their usual ISO game with a bunch of mid-range attempts, that started off further from the basket and as the game went on they tried to reach the paint for short mid-range shots - that was a good setup as those are more high-quality shots. But their overall playmaking was off, they couldn’t get easy buckets, and couldn’t throw off the Wolves from their defensive rotations (other than several pick-and-rolls and some nice elbow sets from Nurkić).

The Wolves also showed their depth and quality. Mike Conley managed to keep the Wolves nearby in the 2nd quarter, Nickeil Alexander-Walker was again a great factor on the offense as Karl-Anthony Towns struggled with foul trouble, and Jaden McDaniels has shown even more flashes of improved offensive skillset.

Passing by Anthony Edwards and Decisiveness by Jaden McDaniels

These 2 skills were the key to the Wolves’ win in my opinion.

They can be greatly displayed by the previous clip. Edwards was continuously double-teamed throughout the game and didn’t manage to get in the same groove as in game 1 when he was mostly defended 1v1. Edwards kept making the right reads and passes and opened up a bunch of space for his teammates.

On the other hand, Jaden McDaniels stepped up big time. Along with Rudy Gobert, Jaden is their best defender hands down, but his display of offensive arsenal was just immense in this game. Drives, quick triggers on C&S 3-pointers, and even posting up Kevin Durant and scoring on hook shots or fadeaway were all a part of his game yesterday. That’s something that the other teams are lacking from their 3rd/4th options (the Cavs are currently lacking this with Mobley or Okoro for example).

Killer Turnovers

The Suns had 19 turnovers, 11 of them were live balls (or rather steals by the Wolves). The Wolves managed to score 31 points off those turnovers, and more importantly, a large chunk of the steals came early on in the game while they didn’t yet catch their groove completely, and the Suns actually had some offensive rhythm.

During that time, the Suns also had the advantage in offensive rebounds but the turnovers dragged them down and didn’t allow them to have a better cushion in terms of lead.

Devin Booker was out of touch yet again, and the scoring alone isn’t the biggest issue, it’s that he looks like a completely different version of the 2023 playoffs Booker, who solved every problem thrown at him.

Focus and Maturity of the Wolves

This was a big question coming into the playoffs for the Wolves, the Thunder, and other “young” teams. However, the Wolves don’t seem to struggle with that for now. Finch kept his cool and managed to control the team without many overreactions. The fact that they spent only 1 single timeout in the 1st half says a lot about that, even though it might seem like a minor thing at a glance.

They have a good 7/8-man rotation that could theoretically get expanded if needed. Everyone knows their role, they don’t have health issues (KAT seems to be fine) and Mike Conley provides great stability to the team in terms of leadership.

Is there hope for the Suns?

I underestimated them in my bracket before the playoffs. I thought that the Suns would beat them out in 7 games, but after the first two games, I can’t really see the Wolves losing this series. The Suns need a shakeup, but if Grayson Allen is out for a longer time (exited and didn’t return with an ankle sprain), their rotation reduces to only 7 players with little wiggle room for improvements.

They also feel very undersized. Despite the slow start, Gobert ended up controlling the boards and the paint on defense. McDaniels, Edwards, NAW, and Conley all hounded the Suns with great success and made their life tough. I do think though that the Suns were very fierce on the defensive side, made good adjustments for Edwards, and had there been fewer turnovers they could’ve come up with a win.

The home court will change the script a bit, and as with many series, game 3 will be crucial.

LAC - DAL Game 2

Quick Summary

The Mavs shot 8/24 while the Clippers shot 4/21 from the 3-point range through the first 3 quarters. The score was a lowly 66-65 for the Clippers heading into the last quarter, and only then did the shooting improve. The game was rough, one can even say brutal.

Luka Dončić was the first name of this match, as he put up a clutch performance on both sides of the ball, and managed to play his game from the start, unlike in game 1. Kyrie Irving was again a great scoring spark, and P.J. Washington was the 3rd player who stepped up this time.

The Clippers had Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup but had a different approach to the game from the start in comparison to Game 1. Ivica Zubac picked up two early fouls and spent most of the 1st quarter on the bench. They didn’t attack through him nearly as much as in 1st game. So the Clippers game defaulted to their usual play style. Off-ball movement to get a solid look at the rim in the mid-range with James Harden creating the shots. The only thing is that they were dead-cold throughout the game.

Better Shot Making from the Mavs

The game boiled down to shot-making. Kyrie and Dončić pulled off some great shots in the end as the game defaulted into ISO ball. Dončić performed big time on the defense as well, delivering some nice contests on Kawhi and Paul George.

That was in my opinion the biggest difference in comparison to the previous seasons, where Dončić was often hunted as a mismatch on defense but he stood his ground and one can even say “locked them up”.

On the other side, Dončić and Harden both kept hunting the Harden through the switches. The Clippers gave them the switch because trapping or blitzing Luka didn’t end well. Washington was a key factor in that, as he managed to score from the paint, and behind the arc in situations where Luka had to dump the ball to him, or the short roller Lively who made good decisions.

Brutally Slow Pace

This game was 3rd slowest in terms of pace, with 92 possessions for both teams. And it really felt that way. Teams wouldn’t push the ball other than steals that offered a clear path toward the opposing rim.

I would say that the Clippers might have been better at the later stages of the game, and they managed to make up for their poor shot-making by going quicker, as the Mavs didn’t settle well several times when going back to the defense.

The Mavs were also more gassed since Dončić had a ridiculous usage once again, Kidd maximized his rests by taking him to the bench only several seconds (in-game time) before actually calling the time out.

Free Throws almost made a difference

Just a quick note that’s easily visible from the box score, but the Mavs were really poor from the line tonight. They shot only 18/27 (66%) overall. They were 4th worst team in the regular season, and when the game gets tight, their best players (other than Kyrie) aren’t great free-throw shooters. They’ll have to be careful when foul chasing starts in future games.

Toughest Matchup so far?

I’d argue that this will be the toughest and least predictable matchup of the playoffs. Both teams are solid defensively, have great shot-makers, and the game can shift either way depending on who is hot or cold. The Mavs taking a break could end up being a really important factor as towards the end of game 2 it felt like the Clippers could take the lead, but as mentioned, it was their hot shot-making that sealed the deal.

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Cover image credits: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports