NBA News & Fantasy Basketball Notes 5/22

May 22nd 2024

Cooper Boni

Each day, this column will provide live updates for all NBA news. Enjoy up-to-the-minute alerts for injuries and lineup confirmations. The Key News to Watch section will highlight notable injuries to monitor for the current NBA slate.

Key NBA News to Watch

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Dallas Mavericks News

Confirmed Lineup: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Jones Jr., PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford

  • Olivier-Maxence Prosper (ankle) — Out

  • Maxi Kleber (shoulder) — Injured

Doncic and Irving combined to score 40.4 points per game in the previous series versus the Thunder, but Washington was critical to Dallas advancing as he averaged 17.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. His play will be critical versus the Wolves, whose 108.4 Defensive Rating in the regular season was the league's best. The Mavs lost three of four games against Minnesota throughout the 2024 campaign, but each of those outings occurred before Washington was acquired by Dallas.

Minnesota Timberwolves News

Confirmed Lineup: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert

Towns commented on the Wolves advancing past the previous round, noting how long he's been waiting for this type of sustained success. "I’ve been here nine years," Towns said. "I’ve talked about wanting to win and do something special here for the organization, and for all the failures ... in this moment, you can celebrate the wins." Towns was huge in the Game 7 win versus Denver, posting 23 points and 12 rebounds while adding two steals and a block. Minnesota is one of five active teams that has not reached the NBA Finals.