For the first time in this Western Conference final, the Anthony Edwards – Karl-Anthony Towns duo accumulated more points (54) than the Luka Doncic – Kyrie Irving duo (44) opposite.
The two offensive leaders of Dallas were thus clumsy (13/39 shooting, including 5/17 at 3-points), which the Slovenian, not very chatty in press conferences (as very often after defeats), only puts on account of a lack “energy”. Particularly on his part, since he considers himself responsible for this setback.
Perhaps also that there was the impact of the defensive change of the Wolves, which “switch” defensively Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. First defender on Kyrie Irving on the first three games, the first switched to Luka Doncic in this Game 4, when his teammate slipped on “Uncle Drew”.
“A great effort. He's a very good player and he's going to play very well.” Luka Doncic simply responded to the performance of his direct opponent, when Kyrie Irving was more talkative.
Jaden McDaniels' size didn't bother Luka Doncic enough
“He had a huge impact. He’s 2m06 tall, he’s a winger, and it’s the first time I found myself facing him at the start of the match” he admits about Jaden McDaniels. “But I love this kind of challenge, and I will adapt. This isn't the first time I've found myself facing a defender much taller than me, but I don't want to make it one-on-one between me and Jaden. It's up to me to be smart and be able to create 'mismatches'”
Very good to hinder the speed of Devin Booker or Jamal Murray with the previous towers, Jaden McDaniels was however much less effective in the face of the power of Luka Doncic, and the screens of the Mavericks.
We can also think that Chris Finch and his staff kept this card in reserve for a decisive match, even if they probably did not imagine that it would be to avoid the “sweep” at 0-3 …
“We were down 0-3, so we had to try to confuse the issue” confirms the coach. “Ant is good on the ball carrier, facing screens. Maybe a little size on Kyrie can help too. Obviously (Jaden McDaniels') size didn't bother Luka enough. So we just wanted to try something different. »
