Mavs vs. T-Wolves Game 5 Preview, NBA Coaching Updates

staved off elimination in Dallas. We thought it might have been two sweeps, both in the Eastern Conference Finals in the Western Conference Finals, but the Timberwolves had some other plans, some really solid big games from Anthony Edwards. Karl Anthony Towns made his appearance here in the Western Conference Finals in a big way that helped Minnesota get that win. And it was an off night for you know, pretty

much everyone. You look at Dallas playing without Derek Lively the second I know you will find out soon and we will all find out if he will be available to play tonight. Has been a key component for this Mavericks team. Luca had twenty eight, fifteen, and ten, but was just seven and twenty one from the field and pretty quiet night. As I said, for a lot of the others on the Mavericks team, you get set here for tonight. Sean, I know you've been locked in with

this series. What's your expectations of what you're going to see from both of these teams given the fact that a little unusual circumstance here or Minnesota having an opportunity to go back home in a Dallas team that has been so good in the closing minutes, despite the fact that this series has been so close in each and every game.

it's three to one. Every game of this series pretty much has come down to crunch time and the team that had enough, I would say, creators, shot makers, things like that. That would be Dallas. You know, now they're back home, they'll have the crowd obviously behind them. Is it possible for the Timberwolves? Now, remember, you know this is a team that you know doesn't really hasn't really lost that many home games, and they lost the first two games at home in this series. They really gonna

lose three straight at home? You rarely rarely see that in the NBA playoffs. I definitely give that. I've said it's fifty to fifty and if you asked me to pick a team, I would say it's any Minesota number one. We're not so sure really about Derek Liveny even even if he plays, will he be one hundred percent? Will they have him on the court for that long? And also, you know, did we see the worst of Carl Anthony Towns?

And now is he ready to turn a corner? Have we seen the worst of the worst of Anthony Edwards? Is he ready to turn a corner? Because again, it comes down to those two core players that's the bulk of their offense. This is a team built on defense, not really an offense. So when those two players aren't hitting those shots, it puts a lot of pressure in their defense to hold the opposition to you know, under

forty percent shooting and whatever. Well, when you've got Kyrie, when you're defending Kyrie Irving, you know, and Luca Dantis, that's awfully tough to do. Sarah, that's tough to do because when those guys aren't making shots themselves, they're excellent at running lobs and finding the open man. So in a nutshell, I would say I kind of even favored the timber Wolves in this one. Number one, there had

the home crowd. Number two, I think their core players have shed that funk that they had in the first three games. And I look forward, I think the series is going to go back to Dallas.

game he was on Luka Doncic. You had McDaniels on Kyrie Irving, adding length and just kind of switching up the looks in the coverages they were seeing and in some way surprised that maybe didn't happen earlier in the series, but I'm interested to see if that's something that Chris Finch and Mike and Norry continue to stick with here and what changes that adds to Jason Kidd his coaching

staff how they approach things. I'm with you, I'm torn, like you say, fifty to fifty, and that's exactly how I feel, because I think overall just how series has been. I think for all of us who want more basketball, we're glad to see that it did not end in a sweep, but that certainly wouldn't have been indicative of

the play on the floor. However, Sean, I have a hard time thinking that Luka Danci and Kyrie Irving will both be as off as they were in the same game inability to execute in the same ways we saw down the stretch. There was a killer mentality I felt like from both of those guys in those first three games, and obviously close out games. There's a reason that saying goes it's the hardest games to win, but I think

somehow Dallas finds a way to pull it out. And you talk about Minnesota being at home, but I do think there's a different type of pressure that comes from being at home. What do you expect for Minnesota to do if it all any changes with how they defend Luca, how they defend Kyrie, and what they continue to throw at them in terms of trying to make the others beat them. As we've seen some solid games from guys like PJ. Washington, like Derek Jones Junior, how they continue to combat that.

other team to make adjustments to you. You're right, if carl If, Kyrie Irving and Luca are hitting the shots, I mean, look, that's a very tough team to beat. I think Anthony Edwards has done probably about as good a job as anybody's going to do on you know, defending you know, Kyrie Irving, Luka Dancis. What are you going to do. He's number one. He's an expert at drawing files. He's that'xpert of hitting the shots with range and finding teammates. I mean, some of his passes cross

court passes, you know, just unbelievable. Only he can well maybe him and Nikola Jokic can really do that. But look and look again, it's a make or miss league, and I think Minnesota is going to stick with a defensive game plan. They just got to play better defense in the clutch. I think their defense through first three and a half quarters has actually been pretty decent. You know, it's only been those last three or four or five minutes when the game is you know, pro grabs, and

they've had a lapse here, a lapse there. You saw Kyrie Irving hit a key three point shot in Game three. You saw what Luka Dontins has been able to do down the clutch. If Jade McDaniel, if noz Reid, if he's on the court, by the way, I think Nazview should be playing more. But that's just me. Anthony Edwards, Carl Anthony Towns, if all these guys can lock up for those last three minutes, again, very tough task, very tough ask for anybody, even the top righted top rated

defensive Minnesota. But if they can do that, I see the series going back to Dallas.

ABC Sean. This Celtics team, they've been here before, they've they've done it before. We have a lot of talk, of dialogue of whether it's a synergy between Jason Tatum Jalen Brown, whose team it is. There's all sorts of discussion, narrative in thoughts on this team that achieved so much and has achieved so much so early, but just has missed out on the ultimate ultimate prize of winning the title. What do you think this time off, this layoff and

regardless of whether it's Minnesota or Dallas. What do you think this will do for the Celtics team as there is so much on the line with their pathway, with their competition to finally find a way to get the one thing that they have been missing out on.

you lose your basketball edge? You know? You know all the little instinct little things that are only sharpened or kept sharp through repetition and you know practice, you only can go so far with that. Having said all that, I think he's a bonus for him. I don't think he's a necessity. This is not Jason Tatum sitting out for a month. This is not Jaylen Brown sitting out for a month. It's not true holiday. You know, you know, those are key key players for them. Christas Perzingis at

this point is a luxury. He's a bonus for a team that really didn't need a bonus for a team that actually, if you look at the way they played and who they played in the first three rounds, it was the other team that was missing key pieces. I don't think we've seen the true Celtics team yet. In addition to Porzingis being out, I just don't think they've been tested. I think they've kind of got a little

bit lucky here. And look when you were and you can go back and everybody's championship run for the last twenty whatever how many years you want to go, and there was a measure of luck. Some teams have more luck than others, but there's been a measure of good fortune or luck. You know, the opposition made a bone head play, had a key player out or whatever, and it helps you go a long way. And I think the Celtics right now to this point have been the

definition of that. They have benefited from the other team being heard and they will benefit at least we think of getting Chris STAPs wersuing is a key piece, a guy who can get you twenty points, who can stretch the floor, play some decent interior defense, getting him back for the NBA Finals.

But I do think this long of a layoff at this point of the season, and when it's systematic and you're in a rhythm and you're trying to continue that type of momentum and stay at the level, use the word edge, and I think that's a perfect way to describe it, of making sure there's no slippage when you

are getting back to that. However, again, this is the way the things lay out, and for the Celtics hopefully too, it doesn't provide too much time to overthink and overanalyze how you've been playing, what this means, what this moment means. But regardless, they will soon find out who their opponent will be in the finals. But in the meantime, get set for Game five here tonight in Minnesota at thirty pm Eastern on TNT.

lou to a long term contract extension. I know that was something that was in a lot of discussions in someone they desperately wanted to keep and wanted to have running the show. There, of course, the championship coach of that twenty sixteen Cleveland Cavaliers team and the Los Angeles Lakers.

That's been the big question we've heard about the candidates and the individuals that they've continued to interview, but the one at the top of the list has been JJ Reddick, who will be calling the finals for ESPN ABC along with Mike Breen and Doris Burke. Sewan your thoughts if in fact JJ Reddick, who has a podcast with Lebron James. And obviously we know about his resume playing in the league, and you can hear it in the way he speaks, the way he analyzes the game, just his basketball acumen

and his desire to be in a coaching position. What's your perspective if the Lakers do, in fact, after the finals run is over, named JJ Redick their new head coach.

is on the clock. You've got Anthony Davis, who you know he had blessed with good health, and you're asking this team to win a championship with a guy who has never in any capacity high school, middle school grade. I think he coaches.

match or whatever. Don't you want to give this job to someone who knows and Tyler? I think first of all, Tyler should thank the Lakers for having that opening because that leveraged him to getting more money with the Clippers. But that would be the perfect guy. But try to get TYLERU. He knows Lebron James, He's championship tested and true. That's the guy you need coaching the Lakers, not JJ. I'm really surprised by this. I don't think it's going to work out. I could be wrong. I could be

totally wrong, Sarah. I just don't see how this is going to work out.

always have regardless of who the head coach is. And for the Lakers, you said that the time is kind of towards the end here for who knows how much longer Lebron will play, but you want to make sure that you are getting everything out of that in terms of competing for a title, in terms of potentially thinking outside the box. And maybe this is the outside of

the box thinking that they want. I know too, as reports have come out, it's not just about now, it's not just about I think we're focusing a lot about on Lebron James, their relationship, what that will be like first year head coach. I think in many ways for the Lakers, they look at it too as a long term play and they realize that this could be someone that you start young, you bring in early, and what it looks like not just now, but years from now,

and someone that can grow into that position. And I know that's a contrast of what you would think with the Lakers and think with what they want to do right now and winning right now with Lebron James. But I think in some ways it could be parallel tracks and kind of twofold of an individual that you think is bright, has got a brilliant basketball mind, can resonate and relate with players, and so what that looks like

in the growth process down the line. So either way, I think all of these things interesting decisions, tough decisions to make. But I do think the indication of Lou in committing to the Clippers and what that looks like some of the names out there, I do think there's a lot of writing on the wall that this may be the move that they ultimately make. So we will see. You mentioned Toron Lou wrote briefly them. Just in terms of the Clippers, what will happen with the extension, Kawhi

already signing that extension, what happens with Paul George? How do you think this potentially impacts the way the Clippers may be shaped into the summer.

I just think he has just been saddled with bad luck, and to see him be able to work with a completely I don't know if that's ever going to happen, by the way, because if Paul George signs elsewhere, then he loses his star, right, and then you're stuck with Kawhi Leonard, who again all NBA player Team USA. All that, I'm not here to question quite Leonard's body of work.

I definitely am here to question Kwhi Leonard's body. There's a difference, right, And so all of a sudden, if you're Tyl Lou, you lose Paul George, how are you going to be playing some old James Harden, old Russell Westbrook? Are you starting from ground? And you're going to a new arena as well? So the Clippers, obviously we're smart to lock him up. But I just wonder if Tyleru missed his window of championship opportunity with this team, because of all those injuries.