The Timberwolves had their best franchise season since 2004, when Garnett was on the roster. And for just the second time in their history, they made it past the first round. However, just like 2004, the team lost the Western Conference Finals.

Match-ups. That's what it is. 1. Wolves are better suited against Nuggets - the GM of Wolves was from Nuggets, and knows how to slow jokic using gobert, towns, and reid. They don't have the personnel to stop the athleticism of Lively and Gafford trading minutes. 2. They also don't have a designated physical defender like Dort for Luka, and you still have to defend Kyrie. 3. Overly relying on 3 pointers is a red flag in the playoffs. 4. Towns played scared. He was fortunate that despite fouling out, Lively was on the bench for game 4. That missing constant physical presence and lob threat was really the key to not being swept.

I honestly believe Jason Kidd's eclectic lineup selection is lowkey genius. He does it on purpose solely to create a consistent bench presence, and a psychological fortitude for all his players to understand how inconsistent things can be, therefore they always need to stay ready. That's why Dallas is having such success this year. Getting decent minutes from random counter plays in the playoffs is 1) much needed rest for the starters, and 2) a great way to make the other team's coach have to try and gameplan for you with out-of-practise players, where you automatically get the advantage.

I lowkey miss ur old style vids…. Bring back the trumpet

J Kidd philosophy: "Always keep them guessing". He's smart,

I don't want to hate, but Minnesota might not make it back here. What did we see from the Nuggets and Heat last year? They lost good role players to other teams that offered more $$$ and never saw the same success. They have THREE max players and none of them were even the reason they got to the WCF. Players like McDaniels, Conley and Walker were the real glue to this team along with their coach.

When Luka and Kyrie are both cooking it’s about as close to unbeatable as I’ve ever seen

It’s crazy that Minnesota refused to make Luka work on defense. They just allowed him to stand near the dunkers spot waiting in help or to close out on McDaniels in the corner. Luka was absolutely cooking on offense and they just let him rest on defense. Not to mention they have no clue on how to stop high screen action. Just let Luka’s defenders crash into screens, immediately get put in jail on Luka’s hip, all while the big is retreating in drop coverage.

You forgot to mention that nobody could stop the mavericks alley oops and gobert getting humiliated by a rookie

Very good observation and analysis. You are a genius sports analyst. Thank you for sharing.

Great video Andy!! Thanks!!

I usually always learn something new from Andy's videos. Thanks!👍

I agree on the Nuggets. I think their downfall was not utilizing the size they have on the bench. They needed Deandre Jordan and Zeke Nnaji, both 6’11. They ran Jokic into the ground in game 7. He was exhausted. Nuggets need to address backup Center in the draft or free agency.

Bobcats in 6.

The Timberwolves had many issues to beat the Mavs: 1. The Mavs exploited their weaknesses thanks to Jason Kidd's strategy 2. Towns and Gobert are extremely passive espescially their offense and defense. Towns was really scared of making mistakes and Gobert was mostly a shell of his former self like he just really scared of the critics doubting his defensive abilities especially that he had got the DPOY title over Wemby and that pressure puts him in a bad spot. 3. Anthony Edwards used alot of energy guarding the best players (Luka and Kyrie) until at the point he is wearing himself down and shows zero energy to produce efficiently. 4. The Mavs got so much good players especially with the drafting of Lively acquiring PJ and Gafford at the trade deadline

to be fair, The Timberwolves had their best franchise season since 2004, when Garnett was on the roster. And for just the second time in their history, they made it past the first round. but that season like in 2004, they lost in the WCF

i been waiting for this vid

Andy spot on....

We all forgot about Luka during our infatuation with Edwards. Luka is every bit as good as MJ, Kobe and LeBron at 25 and some would say better. I can’t wait to see what kind of numbers he puts up this series.

All three teams could have won the title based on the matchups. insane...

Good analysing video

Should be tough for them to improve, given current salary situation. Above first apron, gotta be close to the 2nd.

Pritchard vs Exum gonna be 🔥

The DAL MIN was a Gafford x Lively series

If the Mavs win the NBA Championship this could be the best playoff run even because no one had them making it this far.

As a lifelong Timberwolves fan it’s been a rough 24 years and this years loss stings a bit but hey the future is looking bright

This is the first time in 20 years the Wolves experienced this plus Ant is only 22 so they can only improve from here.

We need to Run it Back. I'm just glad we are relevant again

KAT’s eligible for a supermax, which the Wolves should not give him for any reason. They gotta trade him next season, when his stock is at its highest; I don’t doubt that KAT can be an All-Star next season. That will be the Wolves’ cue to deal him for inside defensive depth and 3-point shooting. Knicks have the same issue with Julius Randle. Despite all the flack he gets, the Wolves should keep Gobert. A 4-time DPOY is still a 4-time DPOY. Wolves should build around him and Ant and try to complement for Gobert’s lack of offensive versatility. A guy like Gobert can win you a chip when optimized. The Jazz made the same mistake, not surrounding Gobert with enough offensive power; and when they did, they sacrificed all their perimeter defense, which Gobert doesn’t help with since he’s more focused on defending inside (and shouldn’t, as the team’s starting CENTER). The Wolves are also a stupidly expensive team and are due to pay a luxury tax of $70M+ with the new CBA. Trading KAT will relieve a ton of that, but simultaneously they have to retain Conley and McDaniels. Ant making the All-NBA team makes his salary jump way up and Gobert’s contract is very expensive (but deservedly so). Best course of action is to trade KAT for perimeter defense and 3-point shooters/shot creators. But given the Wolves’ poor management history, I think they’ll run it back…

I think Jason Kidd is opening the door for more retired NBA All-Stars to coach a team, and it’s fun to watch. I wouldn’t ever consider myself a fan of Kidd when he played, but I love seeing former NBA stars succeed in coaching, management and other parts of the game. I think these guys would make great coaches one day too: - Rajon Rondo - LeBron - Chris Paul - Tyrese Halliburton - Jaylen Brown - Kyrie - Fred Van Vleet - Mike Conley This is just based on their court vision, their awareness on the floor and just how smart some of these guys are. Although Brown can be a liability at times (like last year’s playoffs), that man is probably the smartest guy in the NBA in terms of knowledge and book smart, so I’m sure that could translate well to coaching

2 things went wrong for T-Wolves 1. Luka Donćic 2. Kyrie Irving

The analysis was good and brought up points I never thought about. To be better, I believe there should be further emphasis on: - conditioning training - skills training - coming up with new or unique plays (this may be a challenge, but worth the investment of time) There will need to be a serious discussion on "who wants it bad enough" and perhaps some tough decisions will need to be made in terms of who plays. But with all of that said, in general, most of the ingredients are there, they now need more: - heart - work-out time - humility

The Timberwolves couldn’t stop Luka. He was a one man wrecking crew.

Weirdly enough, I think that the irony of having PJ and Derrick Jones Jr will help the Celtics exhaust them. The lob won't be there for boston, but the threes will. Gafford is hesitant to come out to the three-point land and I think that will lead to him having less minutes than against Minnesota

Proud of this team! LET’S GO WOLVES!!! 💪🏀🐺

Tim Hardaway Jr. Is an underrated bucket that’s why tbh. I watched a lot of Mavs games this year and when he gets going, it’s incredible to watch. He reminds me of JR Smith when he first got to Cleveland tbh

Not sure what the wolves will do to build on this, but here's hoping they can improve on the offense and get some more depth. They really need to figure out the finances for this team though. At least they own their 1st rd pick this year. A reliable backup PG would be nice, along with some SG/SF depth. We'll see. Tyus Jones rumors have been in circulation again as Monte Morris might walk in free agency. Good season, regardless of the loss, and I'm proud of these guys.

Their series wasn't lopsided other than Game 5. Every other game was close but the Mavs have Luka and Kyrie. Reminded me a lot of the Spurs-Lakers series in 02 where every game was a dogfight but the Spurs couldn't stop Kobe at the end of games so LA got a series win 4-1. Ant needs to get better; he will. Dude is still only 22 with a ton of potential for development in the next 2-4 years.

I think kyrie & luka clutch plays is the real reason thats it.. game 1,game 2,game 3... Minnesota leading until the 5 min mark of the 4th then pressure time..luka & kyrie handle it

As a Mavs fan they should have taken Rudy off the floor played KAT at the 5 and naz at the 4. But trading Rudy for another ball handler would be what I would do in the offseason if I were the wolves

In 2K24, I traded Gafford because the Wizards game plan with him screening was to give him the pop instead of the roll. He couldn't shoot, and I traded him for somebody. I deleted the save, and I forgot where I traded him to. It was predictable for Washington to trade Gafford. Their game plan did not reward Gafford giving a screen. I have a fantasy draft MyNBA, and I picked Tatum first and then Rudy to have a good front court. I then drafted Jrue late because I wanted Lonzo and Clarkson before they were drafted. I then went for Batum, Payton, Nance Jr., and McGee to give me an all Lakers bench. I then rounded it with 5 more players in each position. We haven't lost while being the Pelicans and using Willie Green's game plan. I even have an expansion league with KCP as the leading scorer and Gordon Hayward as the shot chucker. I also drafted Okongwu first overall and went on from there. I even had a Wolves save where I traded Gobert and KAT to bring in Dejounte Murray, and I forgot who else earlier on in the season. I like building teams because it's fun to do instead of always using the pre-set roster and teams.

This man Andy Hoops is in PLAYOFF MODE

Yearly Gobert getting exposed

All they had to do was put KAT at the 5, bench Rudy and tell him to work in the paint but he wants to shoot 3's like he steph

The Wolves were bragging they have Michael Jordan and every basketball expert and anaysts were predicting them to sweep the Mavs very easily.

Mavericks had so much injuries this season especially prior to All Star break. They’re used to an inconsistent lineup. Their depth is more on flexibility rather than big name players. They can beat teams in different ways and their roster can play a lot of styles.

"Without expectations" is a bit of an understatement though.. It's quite obvious that the T-wolves roster was built to beat the then-defending-champion Denver Nuggets. And they thought that was already half the job. They saw the Mavs matchup as nothing but a conditioning workout en route to face the Celtics in the Finals.

Matchups and playoff experience was the deciding factor in this series. Luka and Kyrie have been to the WCF before, Kyrie already has a ring. No one for Minnesota has been there before. And then for matchups, Edwards got what he wanted, he wanted to guard Kyrie. However, Kyrie is one of the most mobile players in the league, right alongside with Curry. They will always move off-ball, which tires out their defenders, hence why Edwards was so gassed in game 1 & 2, until they had to switch him to guarding Luka instead, who doesn't move much off-ball. Also, give Kidd his flowers, he did plays to get Gobert guarding Luka at the perimeter. Gobert is DPOY, but his strength is shutting down the paint, he's not athletic enough to guard the perimeter.

Twolves will be a force to be reckoned with.

Finally someone with sense to realize what actually went wrong. Kat and Ant choked this series, not Gobert

New Subscriber here

Ain’t this only the 2nd time the wolves been past the 1st round? Their core still has a nice future but let’s keep it real: *KAT just ain’t built for the playoffs!*

Everything that went wrong with the t wolves man that's tough let's see kyrie and luka oh it was easier than I thought lol

The biggest thing that happened to the Wolves is they were victims of believing their own press clippings. Denver had NO ONE (other than Braun) who could guard Edwards and like you said, Joker wasn't going to risk getting into foul trouble to try to stop him. So he scored and scored and scored (and still had games in the teens). Then he gets to Dallas and suddenly there are 4 guys who can guard him to a point, and a shot blocking center protecting the rim every minute of the game. Having 2 guys playing part time allows them to be on the floor at all times and with great energy, which KILLED Minnesota because they never got easy baskets except on offensive rebounds (which they still struggled to lead).

J Kidd does love Tim Hardaway. Timmy had a rough rough rough ass shooting stretch after the trade. But for some reason he stayed out there. Just wished that Hardy got more play during that time. Timmy a better shooter but Hardy can shoot and put it on the floor

Anyone remember when they put a picture on the Timberwolves media of them working out after beating Denver???

Why are these youtubers has better takes than those on TV. I learn nothing from those so called tv analyst. smh

Where's the trumpet?? 😭

Don't get me wrong I love Ants fiery competiveness, but sometimes he talks too much without backing it up, he is borderline delusional some times in his trash talking lol, he got humbled by an injured Luka in that WCF

Although I agree with most of your analysis, even though the play at 4:10 showed ant missing a contested layup, gobert is there at the rim unable to finish two chances at a put back. This is why dallas is able to drive and finish in the paint cus the wolves bigs are reluctant to help off gafford and lively; two bigs who can clean up the offensive boards really well. Gobert averaged just over 7 boards in 5 games, to be 7 foot tall and grabbing less than ant is kinda crazy

They go go have a hard time next season cause I believe more teams Fina step up

C'mon give Hardy his props he averaged 8 points on 60% from 3 this series

What went wrong is Naz Reid out played KAT and Daniel Gafford had more blocks than Rudy. Although Ant struggled he still took shots and played defense.

Best analysis of the playoffs so far on the planet.

Goes to show how the league is all about matchups, Minnesota was the best matchup for Denver cause they have so much size for Jokic and Murray is a heavy scorer off screens and Wolves defense is strong in that department, Dallas however got the 2 best tough shot makers in the game but Ant wasn’t able to get to the rim as much compared to the last 2 series’, also KD/Book/Beal were pretty predictable to guard compared to Luka/Kyrie

I don't think Anthony Edwards understood how much Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving rest during the games. They can afford to do that, since they both are considered a "lead guard" for the Dallas Mavericks, and take turns running the starting unit. There hasn't been too many backcourts with both guards being All-Star level shoot-first, "create your own shot" predators. Usually the 2-guard on a team is a catch-and-shoot 3&D specialist. 🏀

Totally saddening to see one of my favourite NBA teams Minnesota Timberwolves to bow out such a way while eliminating the defending champions Denver Nuggets but I hope to see them coming back stronger through a few more solid draft picks and quality signings,good friends!!!🙏🏻

From my naked eye that knows only the basic concepts of basketball, what I saw was that the Wolves lost because the Mavs played better. The Mavs shooting was better, their offensive and defensive game plans were better, even their head coach Jason Kidd whom I didn't think much of, seems to work well with the team in harmony. I think this Dallas team has a chance to win it all as long as their magic holds and that's the Luka magic that many are talking about.

The defense couldn’t stop the Mavs backcourt duo

Yea Jamal Murray was given too much leash in that series and the nuggets just seemed like they couldn't get into the offense they had last year come off screens and back door cuts, almost like the length of Minnesota was too much

At least we don't have to listen to Antman yelling "HEY..." every time he drives the net now... "HEEEEY... HEYYYYY... HEEYYYYY... HEY.... HEEEEEEYYYYYY..."

Call me a patriot but I cheer for AE because he's the next American born NBA superstar. Nothing against foreigner coming to the NBA but it's nice to cheer for someone who grew up in the US.

When you saying she referring to a man is pure 😂😂😂😂

892 likes and zero dislikes, interesting

Dallas looked dominant with a 4-1 win, but you can't forget the Wolves in the first 2 games were leading like 80% of the time or something ridiculous like that. They had an 18-point lead in Game 2 in the 2nd quarter. They just completely ran out of gas, combined with KAT having one of the worst shooting performances of all-time in Games 1-3. 27.8% FGP and 13.6% from 3 🤮 Once Dallas got that momentum after Games 1 and 2 it was pretty much all over. They're the more experienced team and it showed. I do think you point out some really good points here though. Dallas's 2 bigs are extremely athletic and have great hands - stone-hands Gobert really hurt the Wolves in this series, couldn't stop them in the paint, score or even rebound despite his +/-. Luka and Kyrie performed in the clutch while Ant only had 1 clutch performance in Game 4 (again, probably due to running out of gas). Ant was a lot better than I think people give him credit for - he had to learn how to play point guard literally during these playoffs because Conley was dealing with an achilles injury. He almost averaged a triple-double this series despite the poor shooting in Games 1 and 2, he was leading his team in points/rebounds/assists through the first 3 games, he just didn't have any consistent help. People also forget the tailbone injury - he wouldn't use it as an excuse but you could see him grimacing and grabbing at it in Game 7 and during his post-game interviews in the Dallas series.

Everybody was on Anthony Edwards and kat for their lack of offense for God sakes, they literally nicknamed kat bad kitty and Barkley and Shaq. We’re all over him basically saying that all he’s doing is shooting threes and not trying to get into the paint. And everybody has been clowning ant because he got tired out and couldn’t do anything on offense because he was guarding Kyrie

I think small ball set up is ending anytime soon, even tho the wolves didn't make it to the finals they face 2 small ball line up before facing mavs and they beat them then theres the mavs playing 2 bigs at the same time

the problem with minnesota is KAT, because he doesnt know how to use his height like jokic, he prefer to play like a guard instead of a bigman. If he actually learn post moves he would be unstoppable.

Give us Finals preview

Ant needs to develop his offensive bag

Mate, it's the Wolves! 😂😂😂😂 Never underestimate Glenn Taylor!

Edwards never said "i got kyrie"

Wolves were built to beat Joker, with two frontcourt bigs and enough good wing defenders to stiffle guys like Murray, who is a great player but not elite offensively. But against two of the top 5 offensive backcourt players? The Mavs were built to exploit their weaknesses and ignore their strengths. Add in the fact that the team Alpha is still very young and none of the vets are known as playoff performers and you get what you get.

KittyKAT didn't any energy left after putting up 1500 shots on his off days......

I hope the Wolves don't dismantle the team, or they bring more consistent players for that system.

“Mavs’ length got to him.” -- this is a 7-foot KAT.

So much for Edwards being the Next Jordan. You Hot Takes crack me up. You're always Wrong but still You just have to knee jerk your way thru life.

Towns had to develop a stronger Mental approach to the game, I love my team- best season since KG!

People calling this just a bad matchup are the same who were picking the wolves to win the series..like you didn't think about that when picking??Wolves just got lucky that they didn't meet a good defensive team in the playoffs with real paint presence earlier..

Speaking of coaching and adjustments and such, I say one thing only: you can rarely fix a fighter but trainers are a dime each while majority stake holders are a nickel. Am I saying the NBA is fixed? Yep.

The role players from the nuggets were legit just trash that series . Something that is rarely seen or said about them . Probably won’t see that again . Especially if MPJ takes a leap this year

Yes sirrrr-skie!!!

Never count the chicks before they’re hatched. Never chase a bubble between cliff and ravine. Never under estimate a fighter’s last ounce of courage. Never put too much stars above your head… you only need one.

You mentioned recently that you’ve had a dip on views and that makes me sad. You are a fantastic creator and you deserve all the plaudits my dude 🫡

I thought Wolves can go all the way because of Ant, but Dallas had the Best Player, 1 of the Skilled Player, 2 Tyson Chandler-esque Bigs plus PJ, DJ, Green, Hardy, THJ, Kleber Mavs can also beat the Nuggets with that lineup I'm going all in for Mavs this Finals

You forgot to MENTION that the REFEREE is a BIG TIME REASON for this. The REFEREE SREWED this series!!!!...

The Twolves have nothing to fear because they got Edwards Edwards need to keep working on his shot and McDaniels needs to be more aggressive on offense and improve his shot KAT needs to improve his shots and maybe actually take those 1500 threes a day

Looking back at the Mavs' ride to the Finals, the only team kinda give them trouble is the Clippers with multi perimeter offensive threats that made BOTH Kyrie and Luka worked on trhe defense before their old age kicked in and they ran out of gas in the final 2 games. The Celtics is also happened to be good on the perimeter offense, AND on the defensive end, too. Either Porzingis or Kyrie will be watching their old team lifting the trophy, adding quite some narratives before the Finals. I will miss the TNT crew, and personally i like them to broadcast the Finals, not ESPN :(

The Wolves were drained of their Ki after beating the Nugs.

Ant getting this experience is good they need to keep most of their core. I see the T-wolves being champions next season or season after as long as they don't do anything drastic and make positive minor tweaks.