Three Thoughts - Mavericks Grab Game 1
Dallas grabs the series lead by winning a thriller on the back of the franchise superstar
We can watch a lot of playoff basketball and not see a game with as many twists and turns as last night’s matchup in Minneapolis. It was an instant classic, with both teams experiencing plenty of moments when they felt the game was swinging in their direction.
In the end, the league’s top clutch team for almost the entire year proved their mettle in the Western Conference Finals as the Mavericks' best players outperformed the Timberwolves' best players, winning Game 1, 108-105. It was glorious theater, and the winner will feel quite pleased with grabbing the first game in this long fight.
Dallas has finally done something they have struggled with: winning a Game 1. Not just under Jason Kidd, but since the 2011 NBA Finals, the Mavericks had been 1-11 in Game 1 opportunities. Well, now they are 2-11.
These are My Three Thoughts:
–This was the design. On the most optimistic of days, this was the plan for the Dallas Mavericks when they gambled everything to acquire a player the league was pretty much grown tired of. They risked plenty to go get Kyrie Irving and put him next to Luka Dončić in the belief that there would be many nights like Game 1 of the Western Finals.
This would be playoff basketball that might even compete for an NBA title. There would be times, deep in the playoffs, when the supporting players would not have much to contribute on the offensive end of the floor.
Dončić can do so much, and we have seen it clearly. But there comes a point in the playoff journey when someone needs to shoulder the burden alongside any superstar. The history books show this as clearly as it gets: there are no “one superstar” champions in this sport. The second guy has to be at least an All-Star and one who can create buckets on command at a world-class level. We have seen it time and time again, and many one-man shows eventually fall from exhaustion.