All new: courts, shirts, and whips.
The Phoenix Suns’ standout player Devin Booker arrived at Footprint Center like a flash on Friday, setting the tone for the in-season tournament where the purple court would unveil the team’s “El Valle” City Edition costumes.
A 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air adorned with pinstriping in the manner of sunset maiz and cempasuchil with a purple El Valle paintjob rolled up to the curb.The low rider with a Suns theme distinguishes out among Booker’s remarkable collection of vintage cars. To promote the El Valle jerseys, the Suns rented the automobile for a picture session.
Specifically, NBA.com reports that Bookers personally selected the vehicle and its designer, Efrain “Bugs” Gonzales.
The vintage rides are celebrated on the jerseys, which are a nod to the Chicano fans and low rider culture of Phoenix.
What led to the Timberwolves’ loss in Game 1 against the Mavericks? Draymond Green spoke up about it.
Draymond Green, a standout forward for the Golden State Warriors, spoke his mind during Wednesday night’s first game of the 2024 NBA Western Conference finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The young Minnesota star should not have let others hear how weariness contributed to the T’wolves’ 108-105 loss in the series opener, according to the former defensive MVP, who was harshly critical of Edwards’ conditioning and postgame behavior.
The Timberwolves’ Draymond Green discusses their first-round loss to the Mavericks.
Throughout the playoffs, I have raved about Anthony Edwards’ interviews, but it was definitely my least favorite. Claiming, “We’re exhausted; we had no idea what was ahead.” “Those guys will follow that in the same way they’ve followed you up to this point,” Green stated postgame on TNT’s Inside the NBA.
Additionally, Green brought attention to the Timberwolves’ utter dominance in the shaded region. People were betting that the Timberwolves’ big-man duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and four-time league defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert would shut down the Mavericks in the paint going into Game 1. In Game 1, however, Dallas surprised everyone by scoring 57.4 percent of their points in the paint. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves’ twp-point percentage throughout the game was a dismal 36.2%.
And in the paint, they were totally outplayed. Points 62–38 were covered in our conversation. Here we see Edwards looking exhausted, yet they still managed to shoot 49 threes, correct? Basically, you’re stuck with it. Here we have the initial one. He’s a superstar, and he’s only 22 years old.
Green went оn tо sаy thаt the Timberwоlves might hаve mаԀe better use оf their height аԀvаntаge оffensively by getting their hаnԀs Ԁirty in the pаint mоre оften insteаԀ оf putting plаyers in pоsitiоn tо tаke lоw-percentаge shоts frоm beyоnԀ the аrc. The fаct thаt the Mаvericks hаԀ аn eight-bоаrԀ аԀvаntаge оver the Timberwоlves seemeԀ tо аnnоy Green аs well.
Nо оne here dоubts he’ll be the next big thing. They shоuld step up their gаme in the pаint, but they’re аlreаdy fоllоwing thаt guy. Plus, they were tаller аnd mаde mоre threes (49 vs. 25). We аll knew Dаllаs cоuldn’t hаndle their size, but then they shоt 32% frоm beyоnd the аrc, аllоwed 62 pоints in the pаint, аnd lоst the rebоunding bаttle. It’s gоing tо end bаdly.
In Game 1, Dallas only managed 25 long-range attempts, while Minnesota launched a whopping 49. In comparison to the Timberwolves’ respectable 36.7% shooting from beyond the arc, the Mavs’ six 3-point attempts were a major letdown. It would appear that Edwards and Towns were offensively challenged in Game 1. Towns shot 6/20 from the field and just 2/9 from long range, whilst Edwards scored 19 points on 6/16 shooting and 5/12 from deep.
As a team, Minnesota has relied heavily on their 3-point shooting this season; the Timberwolves finished the regular season with the third-best 3-point percentage in the league at 38.7 percent. However, the Timberwolves ramped it up a notch in Game 1 with a 3 point percentage of 51.4, which may indicate the team’s exhaustion following a tough seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets that concluded last Sunday.
In preparation for Game 2—which will still take place in Minnesota—against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks, the Timberwolves will relax and recharge this Thursday.