Luka Doncic nailed the game-winner over Rudy Gobert in Game 2 and enabled his Mavs to take a 2-0 lead in the WCF series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After being up 2-0 in the preceding rounds, the Wolves are now in a predicament despite not letting the Mavs run away with easy wins. Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards has cooled off after his heroics in the previous rounds. Before the series, Kevin Garnett had rightfully predicted that the series against the Mavs could be the “toughest challenge” for Ant-man.
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On “KG Certified”, the 2008 champion had expressed that in the first two rounds of the 2024 playoffs, Anthony Edwards didn’t come across against an “Alpha” like himself. This is despite him playing against Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in the first round while taking on 2024 MVP Nikola Jokić in the second round. As per Garnett, Luka Doncic is the real ‘Alpha’ who can make his ‘presence known’.
“I think in every series Anthony Edwards has played in, he’s been the alpha of the series. This is the first time he comes up against someone that’s equal of the presence. Luka come in the gym, you know he in the gym,” Garnett told Paul Pierce.
Then KG added that having “Bean spirited” Kyrie Irving further gives the Mavs an edge over their opponents. While lauding Mavs’ depth, the 2004 MVP didn’t discount his former squad’s chances. He hailed their “defensive intensity” and ability to employ a “nine-man rotation” which could help them get over the line against an evenly matched-up squad.
Since the Wolves are now down 0-2 in the series, Garnett’s optimism around his Wolves may have deterred. In that wake, another legendary Power Forward Charles Barkley gave his two-piece on Anthony Edwards and his Wolves.
Is Anthony Edwards gassed?
After being in the 30+ points range numerous times during the previous series, Edwards has slowed down. Since the Game 7 win against the Nuggets, he has scored in 16-21 points range while shooting just 29.8% from the field. During the Game 2 loss against the Mavs, he missed key shots and turned the ball over with less than 16 seconds left, which paved the way for Luka Magic’s game-winner.
Are these errors occurring because ANT is out of breath repeatedly? During the post-game interview when he was asked if “he needed oxygen” to catch his breath, he denied the incident. However, on Inside the NBA Charles Barkley claimed that he did need oxygen and had been tired after putting up tremendous work during the first half of the playoffs.
“There is a report that said he did go get oxygen beside the bench. Looking at the game, just, watching because you can see everything, you’re like,”yo man, he looks gassed’,” Charles Barkley told the Inside the NBA crew
Considering that this is the first time the 22-year-old has gotten this deep into the playoffs, he is realising the rigors of a deep playoff run. However, he has already shown that he is willing to take the challenge head-on and cruise through in tenuous situations. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he still has a lot remaining in his tank but he will need to pull off something special quickly or his team will have to wrap up their season before the championship round.
