Dereck Lively, named to the NBA’s All-Rookie second team, is expected to deliver big for Dallas in the conference finals.
The headliners in pursuit of a spot in the NBA Finals are All-Stars Luka Doncic of Dallas and Anthony Edwards, who led the Timberwolves with 38 points on the night Gafford brought up. Dallas couldn’t forget about Holmgren at the 3-point line, which won’t be the case with the 7-1 Gobert. Instead, the Mavs will try to lure away from the rim a guy who was just named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time.
When the Mavericks traded for Gafford, it appeared he would back up Lively, the 12th overall pick in last year’s draft. The fifth-year pro started his Dallas stint so strongly, he eventually took over as the starter. “I thought he did a great job of imitating Moses Malone,” Kidd said after Dallas’ clinching victory over the Thunder. “It’s easy to say he should start, but he’s playing his role for us, and that’s coming off the bench and giving us energy and changing shots and finishing in the paint.”
“We don’t have a big three, we have a big 15,” Towns said while sitting next to Edwards after Minnesota rallied from 20 points down in the second half of a Game Seven victory that ousted the defending champion Denver Nuggets on their home court.