What do Wolves need to beat Mavericks in Western Conference Finals?

Dallas is going to give Minnesota all it can handle.

May 19, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) looks back following game seven against the Denver Nuggets of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks will tip off Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Wednesday night at the Target Center. What will the Wolves have to do to advance to the NBA Finals?

Impose frontcourt advantage

The Mavericks have completely changed their frontcourt in the last 11 months. After drafting Derek Lively II in last year's NBA Draft lottery, they acquired P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford at this year's trade deadline, reshapping their size in the post.

Minnesota is viewed by most as having the best frontcourt in the entire NBA. 4x NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, 2x All-NBA big man Karl-Anthony Towns and 2024 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid have proved that three near 7-foot big men can work in the modern game.

Washington, Gafford and Lively have all shown flashes of being great players this postseason, but the Wolves will be the biggest team they've faced by a pretty wide margin. Chris Finch and Micah Nori will need to impose their size advantage on the Mavericks in this series.

Defending Luka Doncic/Kyrie Irving

One of the most dynamic offensive backcourts in NBA history resides in Dallas. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are two of the best shot-creating guards the league has seen in the past decade. Doncic has averaged 27.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game this postseason, while Irving has been at 21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists a contest.

If the Wolves opening series sweep over the Suns taught you anything, it should be that they're built to defend dynamic scoring wings. Jaden McDaniels was recently named second-team all-defense, Anthony Edwards has proven to be a legitimate two-way player and Mike Conley Jr. has defended at a high level for his entire career.

Minnesota locked up Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in round one, there is no reason why they cannot find similar success defending Doncic and Irving in round two. It will be a much different task, but they have the personnel to do it.

Consistent bench production

Nickeil Alexander-Walker's scoring droped from 12.3 points per game in round one to 7.1 points per game in round two. Naz Reid's scoring increased from 9.5 to 10.9 per contest. Kyle Anderson played 12.7 minutes per game last series, scoring only 2.7 points a game.

The Timberwolves are at their best when they can rely on their depth and wear down their opponents. Alexander-Walker's defense off the bench against Jamal Murray was huge against the Nuggets, he will be asked to do much of the same against Doncic and Irving in this series. Testing the depth of Dallas' rotation will be imperative in the Timberwolves' hopes of advancing to their first-ever NBA Finals.