The favored comment among hyped-up Timberwolves followers after Wednesday’s 108-105 loss to Dallas at Target Center has been predictable.
That would be, “It’s only one game and there’s no reason to panic,” and while the math on the current length of the Western Conference finals is easy, the belief must be stated that there are two reasons to panic.
Those would be Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Yes, it’s not over at 1-0, not close to that, but when the other team has the two best players in the competition — more dangerous than the ANTs, KATs, NAWs, JMacs, etc. — then sudden fear or anxiety among fandom becomes reasonable.
Let’s face it. Our club has “SlowMo” in Kyle Anderson, and they have the “Slow Monster” in Doncic — only 25, looks 32, but clutch beyond belief.
The Mavericks also have Irving, 32, but moving like he’s 25, perhaps because he hasn’t been exactly an ironman in recent times. There was a pandemic in there, of course, but he only played 103 regular-season games in the three seasons from 2019 to 2022.
Kyrie also didn’t wear himself out in college playing at Duke for Mike Krzyzewski, back when the revered mentor (including by himself) was early in his transition from “We graduate our players” to Coach One-and-Done.
Due to injury, Irving only played 11 games — eight nonconference, three postseason — in his single 2010-11 season at Duke. That was enough to make him the first overall draft choice for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
