Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport
Dallas Mavericks vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Western Conference Finals – Game 1
After surviving challenging series, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Dallas Mavericks open up the Western Confernece Finals tonight at Target Center.
Is this the season for Luka Doncic?
The Dallas Mavericks had many ups and downs during the regular season and kept the same trend when the playoffs came. They were blown out in the opening game against the Los Angeles Clippers, which was the wake-up call for Luka Doncic and his teammates. The Mavs bounced back and won the series in six games. The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder were next. Again, the Mavs won the series in six, with the last game coming down to PJ Washington’s free throws in clutch time. Doncic is the leading force for the Mavs, averaging 27.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game, followed by Kyrie Irving, who scores 21.1 points per game.
Can the Wolves make it to the first NBA Finals in franchise history?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the hottest story in the NBA after they eliminated the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. They were the best defensive team in the regular season in the entire league, but with no significant playoff experience, nobody but them believed that they could go this deep in the playoffs. Sweeping the Phoenix Suns was sensational, and they started with back-to-back road wins in Denver. The Nuggets bounced back, winning the next three games, but then the Wolves had the final punch. First, they won Game 6 by 45 points and then came back from 15 down at halftime to win Game 7 on the road and advance to the conference finals. Anthony Edwards has been fantastic in the playoffs, averaging 28.9 points per game, and Karl-Anthony Towns is adding 18.8.
Betting Trends
The Timberwolves are 8-3 SU in the last 11 games overall, 10-4 SU in their last 14 home games, 4-1 SU in the last 5 games against the Mavs, and 6-1 SU in their last 7 home games against Dallas. Minnesota is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games overall, 7-3 ATS in the last 10 games against teams from the Western Conference, and 2-4 ATS in the last 6 home games played on Wednesday. They have played under the total point line in 7 of the last 9 games overall, in 4 of the last 6 games against teams from the Southwest Division, and in 8 of their last 12 games played in May. The Mavericks are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall and 6-2 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the Western Conference. They are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games on the road. Dallas has played under the total point line in 10 of their last 15 games overall and in 8 of their last 10 games against teams from the Northwest Division.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both teams have beaten the odds to make it to the conference finals, and this is a historic opportunity for them to reach the NBA Finals. The Mavs were at this point a couple of years ago but won only one game against the Golden State Warriors. They are by far the more experienced team than the Wolves, who have a couple of veterans like Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley Jr. However, the battle will be between Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards, who are unstoppable on the offensive end. The Wolves came up with a great defensive plan against the Nuggets in the previous series, and they will definitely show up ready for Doncic and Kyrie Irving. This will be a bar fight, and the Wolves will be the team to take the series lead tonight.
