Amid one of their most memorable playoff runs in franchise history, the Minnesota Timberwolves have taken the NBA by storm.If a first-round sweep of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns didn’t cement Minnesota as a legitimate contender, ousting the defending champion Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinal series certainly did.Led by star guard Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves punched their ticket to the conference finals for the first time since 2004, but this feel-good story has reached its final chapter.Minnesota finds itself up against the Dallas Mavericks, and it has its hands full with one of, if not the, best backcourts in the league in Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.And there’s no chance that duo lets Dallas lose this series.Doncic and Irving took over in Game 1, going off for 33 and 30 points, respectively. Doncic also had six rebounds and eight assists on his ledger as the Mavericks escaped Minneapolis with a 108-105 victory.Just two years ago, the Mavericks reached this stage of the postseason, but they were blitzed by the Golden State Warriors and came up three wins short of the Finals.That Dallas team had virtually no experience when it came to making a deep playoff run, as it went into the Western Conference finals on the heels of back-to-back first-round exits following a three-year postseason drought.Sound familiar? It should.Minnesota has followed an identical course, missing the playoffs three years in a row (2019-21), then getting bounced in the first round in each of the past two seasons ahead of a trip to the conference finals. Trippy stuff, right?Point is, Edwards and the Timberwolves aren’t quite ready for a series where the lights are this bright — yet. Their time will come, and it will likely come soon, but a little bit of postseason heartbreak is going to be standing in the way.That probably isn’t what veteran Minnesota guard Mike Conley wants to hear given his agonizing track record in the playoffs, but it’s the truth.It also might be time to stop jumping the gun and acting like Edwards is the second coming of Michael Jordan. Listen, he still very well may be, but we certainly aren’t going to find out here in 2024.Edwards has started to falter as the stakes continue to rise. In Game 7 against the Nuggets and Game 1 against the Mavericks, he has combined for 35 points on 12-of-40 shooting (30 percent).Don’t let those lackluster performances take away from the incredible postseason that Edwards has had, but also don’t turn a blind eye to the fact that maybe the 22-year-old isn’t at a point where he can lead a team to a title.Still, Edwards believes Minnesota controls its destiny.“We came out flat (in Game 1),” Edwards said. “We found our energy, then we went back to being flat. So, I think it was just on us. Everything was on us.”Maybe the Timberwolves do go out and flip a switch in Game 2 to even the series at 1-1. But even then, we’re still calling this Dallas’ series to lose.With Irving, the Mavericks finally have the veteran leadership they needed to get over the hump, and hey, Doncic isn’t a bad go-to option either. Dallas spent its time going through trials and tribulations during the playoffs, and now it’s time for Minnesota to pay its dues.
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A statement from Al Sadd CEO Turk Al-Ali read: The Al Sadd administration has agreed on Xavi s move to Barcelona after the payment of the release clause stipulated in the contract.
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