The Dallas Mavericks winning Game 1 on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves has people reshuffling their playoff predictions. People who backed the Wolves as the superior team in the WCF are now forced to reassess their pick. With Skip Bayless, he only has to make minor adjustments because his bet was on the Mavs even before the series started. On the recent episode of UNDISPUTED, Bayless readjusted his prediction while giving major props to Luka Doncic for being an absolute beast during away games.
Advertisement
Bayless reiterated his previous prediction, which was ‘Mavericks in six’. He said that the Dallas team would steal one of the two games on the road and then would dominate when the series comes home. However, now Bayless believes that even after stealing Game 1, the Mavs aren’t done with creating problems for the Wolves. The reason he was forced to make the minor adjustments is Luka Doncic and his hunger to perform in away games in the postseason.
The media veteran said, “If you look hard at Luka’s road playoffs record, he is the ultimate NBA road warrior. But he doesn’t look the part. He doesn’t look intimidating to me, he’s constantly crying and whining to the referees, and then he’s giggling about, ‘I made a shot.” Despite not looking the part, in Bayless’ opinion, Luka can put the team on his back and get them through the hurdles of away games.
.@RealSkipBayless is concerned for the T-Wolves ahead of Game 2:
"This is scary for the home team. Luka is the ultimate NBA road warrior." pic.twitter.com/aDDxjS4E1I
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 24, 2024
Bayless highlighted Luka’s playoff record on the road in his career. The Mavs star averages, 32.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting at an impressive 48% from the field, 38.7% from the three-point line, and 76% from the free throw line.
On top of these stats, Luka has yet another offensive powerhouse playing alongside him: Kyrie Irving. The duo combined for 63 points (Luka 33, Kyrie 30) against the Wolves in Game 1, and they must be prepared to double down on it in Game 2.
Luka Doncic recently broke Michael Jordan’s record
The Mavs are having a dream run this season, led by the formidable duo of Luka and Kyrie. So, it’s obvious that some records will be broken along the way. Recently, The 25-year-old broke Michael Jordan’s record of most consecutive 20-point games on the road in the playoffs. MJ previously held the record with 15, Luka, during the Clippers series moved past him to 16 games in a row with 20 or more points.
Luka Dončić set the record for most consecutive 20-point games on the road in the playoffs (16) after notching 27 points and counting through the 3rd quarter of tonight's game in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/QCDA0UvCqC
— Mavs PR (@MavsPR) May 2, 2024
The record-breaking stint is also bringing major comparisons his way. During a recent episode of UNDISPUTED, Bayless said that even though he wasn’t a fan of Luka for a long time, he is now willing to put him above Larry Bird and compare him to MJ as far as fourth-quarter performances are concerned. Luka torched the Wolves in the fourth quarter of Game 1 by putting up 15 points on the board. After that, the home team couldn’t manage to come back into the game.
