What Warriors can learn from Mavs’ roster construction after ’22 WCF.
As Anthony Edwards danced down the court and waved goodbye to Denver Nuggets fans Sunday night, Tim Connelly’s grand plan was complete. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ ultimate goal still requires eight more wins, but to ever have a chance at lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Connelly knew the Wolves first would have to scratch and claw their way to taking Denver down from the mountain top.
Pieces will continue to be written and multiple deep dives will be done in the coming days on how Connelly, the Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations, spent nearly a decade building the Nuggets, only to leave right before they won their first NBA championship and then create a team to beat the champs in these Timberwolves.
Minnesota was made with one team in mind: Connelly’s former employers. The first team that was in the Warriors’ path to the title in 2022 failed to repeat as champions, stopped in their tracks in the second round. The second team that was on the Warriors’ road two years ago, the Memphis Grizzlies, watched a lost season go by and currently are prepping for the No. 9 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. But the third and final Western Conference roadblock the Warriors had to put away before reaching the NBA Finals is back in the conference finals for the second time in three years.
The Dallas Mavericks have changed exponentially since the Warriors needed five games to end their bid for the Finals two seasons ago, with a handful of moves Golden State can learn from.
First, let’s remember the Mavs’ starting five from Game 5 of the 2022 conference finals.
Luka Dončić had an inefficient near triple-double of 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists. He’s still there, of course. Dwight Powell, Dallas’ starting center at the time, had two points and two rebounds. He’s still there, but started only nine games this season and has played just under 15 total minutes in the playoffs this year with five DNPs (Did Not Play).
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 13 points in nearly 40 minutes. He’s now with the Brooklyn Nets and averaged his fewest minutes per game since the 2018-19 season. Reggie Bullock played almost 38 minutes and scored six points. He played 44 games for the Houston Rockets this season and averaged a paltry 2.2 points in 9.5 minutes per game.
