No Edwards, No Problem? The Wolves Are 5-1 Without Their Star, and Flagg's Mavs Need Their First Win Over Minnesota Since the Luka Days

By Marcus Delaney, RF Sports Radio Mavericks voice

Mavs fans, two winning streaks walk into Target Center tonight, and only one walks out. Dallas has won three straight. Minnesota has won four straight. And the Wolves have done it without Anthony Edwards, which tells you this is not a soft night just because the other team's best player is in street clothes.

The facts

Dallas (7-4, ninth in the West) tips off at Minnesota (8-3) just after 7 p.m. CT on KFAA Channel 29 locally and NBA TV nationally, with radio on 105.3 The Fan, per Mavs Moneyball. Edwards has been out since arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 29, and Minnesota is 5-1 without him, with four of the five wins by double digits, per Mavs Moneyball. The Wolves have been off since a 115-100 win over Utah on Sunday.

Per Fadeaway World via Yahoo Sports, Minnesota leads the NBA with a 105.1 defensive rating and has the league's second-best net rating at plus-11.1. LaMelo Ball averages 18.3 points and 6.0 assists, Ayo Dosunmu 18.1 points while shooting 46.7 percent from three, and Jaden McDaniels 17.0 points. Edwards (knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) are out. For Dallas, Dereck Lively II (foot), Tarik Biberovic (heel), Sergio De Larrea (knee) and Morez Johnson Jr. (shin) are listed out.

Cooper Flagg averages 25.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists on 50 percent shooting. "It's unbelievable he's a 19-year-old doing this," Dusty May said, per the NBA.com preview. Mavs Moneyball notes Flagg is 6 of 11 from three over his last two games, and that Dallas has not beaten Minnesota since the Luka Doncic era. Timberwolves Today's plan for Flagg: wall off the rim and make him shoot floaters, where he makes 39.2 percent from 3 to 10 feet.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: this is a rebounding game, not a Flagg game. Minnesota grabs 14.5 offensive rebounds a night, per Yahoo, and Dallas is still without Lively. If Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington do not finish possessions, the Wolves will get 15 extra shots and the Mavs will lose no matter what Cooper does.

On Flagg, I love that the Wolves are daring him to beat them from eight feet. He is 19. He will figure it out, maybe not tonight, but he will. The more important number is the six threes in two games. If that is real, you cannot wall off anything.

And Kyrie gets the late-game ball. That is the whole point of having him.

Prediction: Timberwolves 112, Mavericks 108. Dallas competes, but the glass decides it.

What to watch next

Watch the rebounding margin, Flagg's shots in the paint against Rudy Gobert, and whether Max Christie breaks out of his shooting slump. Then the road trip continues. For what Dusty May said about Christie and Zaccharie Risacher, read our Nov. 11 look at Christie and Risacher, and follow the season on our Dallas Mavericks page.

Radio question: is tonight the night Dallas finally beats Minnesota, or do the Wolves keep rolling without Ant?

Sources: Mavs Moneyball - Mavericks at Timberwolves preview; Fadeaway World via Yahoo Sports - Wolves vs. Mavericks preview and injury report; NBA.com - Mavericks vs. Timberwolves game preview; Timberwolves Today - Make Cooper Flagg settle for floaters; AP - Dallas plays Minnesota after Flagg's 43-point game.