The Dallas Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals following a 124-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Luka Doncic was understandably in a jovial mood afterward and he hilariously said that his teammate Kyrie Irving is getting old during his postgame press conference.
“I wouldn’t say reverse, I think we have a young team,” Doncic said. “Outside of Kyrie, you know. Kyrie getting old.”
Doncic had been asked about the roles being reversed for the Mavericks from two years ago. In the 2022 Western Conference Finals, they were an inexperienced team going up against the Golden State Warriors, who had been there and done that.
Now in 2024, the Mavericks were the ones with the edge when it came to experience against the Timberwolves. Doncic made it clear, though, that apart from Irving, they are very young and they indeed are.
If you look at the starters, Doncic, P.J. Washington, and Daniel Gafford are all just 25 years old, and Derrick Jones Jr. is only slightly older at 27. Irving is the lone elder statesman as he is 32 years old.
Among the key reserves, Dereck Lively II is a rookie who only turned 20 this year while Josh Green is 23. This is a fairly young group and they should only get better as time goes by.
As long as Irving keeps playing at a high level alongside them the Mavericks will remain serious contenders. The eight-time All-Star was excellent here against the Timberwolves in Game 5, finishing with 36 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists.
For the series, Irving ended up averaging 27.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. The Timberwolves’ defense had made life miserable for Devin Booker and Jamal Murray in the earlier rounds, but Irving proved to be too much to handle.
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