Mavericks' shocking weakness against Timberwolves is bound to become strength

The Dallas Mavericks are in splendid territory, as they currently lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals despite coming into the series as heavy underdogs.

The Mavericks are on the precipice of making the NBA Finals and are armed with their best squad since the genesis of the Luka Doncic era, but that doesn't mean that getting three more wins against the Timberwolves will be an easy task.

As well as the Mavericks played down the stretch of Game 1, it's objectively true that the Mavericks stole Game 1 from Minnesota, as Dallas was down for a vast majority of the contest until Luka Doncic helped the Mavericks take grasp of the game with 15 fourth quarter points.

Mavericks' 3-point shooting against Timberwolves is bound to become strength

Doncic and Kyrie Irving played perhaps their best playoff game together since the start of Dallas' playoff run as they combined for 63 points, and Dallas' physical interior defense continued to prove why the Mavericks are formidable championship contenders, but there's one glaring area that the Mavericks will need to address going forward if they want to make the NBA Finals.

Despite Irving and Doncic's greatness in Game 1, Dallas' role players struggled to find their shot from beyond the arc, as the Mavericks shot just 6-25 as a team from outside in their victory over the Timberwolves. Conversely, the Timberwolves shot 18-49 from 3-point land, as the Mavericks were conceding too many open looks to Minnesota's role players on the other side of the ball.

The Mavericks drew some luck with Minnesota not shooting slightly more efficiently when you take into consideration that the Timberwolves missed plenty of open looks and shot nearly 50 3-pointers in Game 1, but the Mavericks should be impressed with the fact that they were still able to gnaw out a victory despite having easily their worst shooting game of the playoffs thus far.

The Mavericks have proven in these playoffs that they can shoot far better from 3-point range than they did in Game 1 versus Minnesota. The Mavericks may not have all of their role players hitting from deep on a consistent basis, but whether it's P.J. Washington or Derrick Jones Jr., we've seen different Mavericks role players step up to hit timely shots all throughout these playoffs.

While the Timberwolves' perimeter defense and timely ball denials were certainly factors in Dallas shooting such a low percentage from outside, it's highly unlikely that the Mavs shoot that poorly from downtown again in this series, and they will likely try to take more 3-pointers in the coming games as well.

As well as the Mavericks were able to counter the Timberwolves' efforts in Game 1, the Mavericks could potentially blow the door open in this series versus Minnesota if they can shoot even a remotely decent percentage from outside. However, the Mavericks can't lose sight of some of the things that worked well offensively for them in Game 1 just because they need to take and make more 3-pointers.

Dallas did an amazing job at penetrating the Timberwolves' drop-coverage schemes in the pick and roll, so combining that in tandem with some better shooting performances should bode well for the Mavericks' chances at making the NBA Finals.

For more on the Dallas Mavericks during their 2024 playoff run, stay tuned as we will have you covered till the end.