No wonder he’s besties w/ Paul George.

This game underscored to me that to stop Dallas you have to take away the lob threat. Dallas had better POA defense w/Ant and Kyle Anderson on Luka and the longer wings on Kyrie, but Dallas also had their fewest # of lob/backdoor baskets in this game (6, I believe). Minnesota did allow more corner 3 shots, but it’s better to take away their efficiency on lob plays and take one’s chances on corner 3s.

Ant was legit fantastic in this game. Somewhere in the 2nd half he figured out that taking 3s was essentially bailing out Dallas’ defense and so long as he had a wing shooter on the floor (Reid, NAW, McDaniels) or KAT, he just needed to get into the paint, make his fair share of drives/shots and use his gravity to kick it out to an open shooter.

Gobert was far more effective in the first and fourth quarters. He still has a tendency to chase dribblers, leaving the lob/corner 3 open. The more he doesn’t switch, rotates back to the action and picks and makes himself a presence to deter shots, the more effective Minny’s defense will be.

Dallas will probably have Lively back for Game 5, and they are far more effective at both ends with him on the floor. That said, he is a rookie, coming off a neck injury, playing a desperate team that won the physical battle and is eager to put on a good performance at home. It doesn’t matter what Lively does if Ant is playing well and he can find a guy to help share the scoring load.

I would really like to see this series extend into the weekend. Given the vibe and energy shift in this game, I do think Minnesota has a very good chance to force a Game 7.

But if they go with the old route then I’m okay with DeMar replacing PG13. Tired of PG13 and his excuses.