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.”
Luka: “I think we have a young team. Outside of Kyrie, you know. Kyrie getting old.” 😂
(via @cjzero)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 31, 2024
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.
Luka Doncic Spoke On Getting To The NBA Finals
Doncic has now finally made it to the biggest stage in the NBA in the sixth season of his career and the five-time All-Star was asked what that meant to him.
“Means a lot,” Doncic said. “It’s not easy. It was very hard road, very hard. But we are here, obviously we’re not done. We need four more but I think today we all deserve to enjoy this win.”
(starts at 0:22 mark):
Luka says he couldn't watch the #NBAFinals because he had school in the morning 😂
Now he's playing in them 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0NuS5GbTRd
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 31, 2024
While Doncic didn’t watch the NBA Finals growing up because he had to go to school, I am sure many kids in Slovenia will be up early to watch him in action. You’d better believe he won’t disappoint them with his play either.
Doncic put in some outstanding performances against the Timberwolves, who just could not slow him down. He averaged 32.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in the series and was deservingly named Western Conference Finals MVP.
Doncic was struggling in the earlier rounds of these playoffs due to various injuries, but he seems fine now. Wrapping up this series in five games also means he gets more time off to recover before facing the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
I expect Doncic to put up big numbers against the Celtics and he should get plenty of help from Irving as well. What remains to be seen, though, is how well those role players perform on that stage.
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