SAN ANTONIO–Before Wednesday night’s Game 2, minnesota timberwolves supper star Anthony Edwards He issued a warning to his comrades.
“The natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, that is, the teams that get away, is to lose Game 2,” Edwards said in his message. “We can’t cool down and come out.”
after all 133-95 shock defeat to recharge San Antonio SpursThe Timberwolves scored only 17 first-quarter points, 18 second-quarter points, turned the ball over 22 times, had 24 downs at the half and spiraled into a 47-point hole, sending the series back to Minneapolis tied at 1.
“We came out good,” Edwards said. “Look what happened. My mother used to tell me that a hard head makes a soft ass. That’s what happened tonight.”
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was even harsher in his assessment, telling his team after the 38-point blowout that “we just got punked.”
“Punk’d is crazy,” Edwards said. “But, I mean, just watch the film and see what we can glean from it.”
The film would depict a desperate and physical Spurs team pressuring the Timberwolves full court, attacking their dribble and deploying select double teams on Edwards, who, as he crossed half court, knocked the ball out of his hands and disrupted his rhythm.
“They were playing like crazy, weren’t they?” Edwards said of the extra attention from the Spurs. “Watch the film, find the holes in it. We didn’t make enough shots to get them out of it.”
Finch did not like how Edwards and the team’s other playmakers responded to the overload plan and increased pressure.
“It’s got to get rid of,” Finch said. “It’s got to be used as a catalyst for ball movement, what it needs to be. I thought we dribbled into tough spots. I thought we were late getting out of it. I thought our spacing around it wasn’t really good.”
The Timberwolves made only nine of their 30 three-point attempts, but were unable to punish the Spurs when they generated good looks. They missed 26 of their 44 shots in the paint and struggled to finish Victor Wembanyama. They turned it over 22 times, often getting the ball too loose in front of a swarm of active defenders.
“We have to go somewhere [with the basketball]”We’re kind of dribbling and going nowhere,” Finch said.
Asked about the “dribbling to nowhere” comment, Edwards said: “I don’t know. I got to see the film. But he’s the head coach. I’m on board with whatever he says. So if that’s what he said, that’s what we were doing.”
This has been a common criticism of Finch’s offense during the Timberwolves’ worst stretch this season. Some of their best scorers–Edwards, julius randallyouth reserves like bones highland And terence shannon jr. –Can return to a more stable isolation style.
“Getting the ball into bad spots,” Randle said after a quiet night of five turnovers. “Stuck in bad areas. I’ve got to find a better situation where I’m getting the ball.”
starting wing jaden mcdaniels Was one of the Timberwolves’ better performers in Game 2, but was again limited to a low minute total (20) due to early foul trouble. He was also benched for the first half of Game 1 due to three fouls in the first 15 minutes.
“You need Jaden on the field all the time,” Edwards said. “His being off the court hurts us every time. We know it. He knows it. The whole gym knows it. His team knows it. When he gets in foul trouble, they cheer. He knows he can’t foul. We’re not going to win if he’s not on the court.”
In Game 1, Edwards logged only 25 minutes after nine days due to a left knee and bone spur injury, and came off the bench to manage his workload. In Game 2, he finished in 24 minutes, but was on track for much more before sitting the entire fourth quarter of a blowout loss.
So it appears Edwards — who said his knee “feels good” — is ready to get back to a normal workload as the series shifts to Minnesota and the pressure increases on the Timberwolves.
“It’s not up to me,” Edwards said of his desired return to the starting lineup. “If it’s needed. Whatever is needed.”
The Timberwolves stunned the 62-win Spurs in the opener. San Antonio came back strongly in Game 2.
“They won by 40,” Edwards said. “I would be very confident… I salute those guys. They came out, they played hard, they were the more desperate team, they wanted it. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
