After upsetting the Spurs in Game 1 earlier this week, things went quite differently for the Timberwolves in Game 2. In the words of coach Chris Finch: Minnesota got “punked” by San Antonio and the series is now tied heading back to the Twin Cities.
The Spurs annihilated the Wolves, 133–95, on Wednesday night. The No. 2 seed played hard right out of the gates, looking every bit like a team absolutely furious they dropped Game 1 at home. Minnesota managed to withstand the initial flurry in the first quarter but got run off the court in the second quarter and entered the locker room down by 24 points at the half. Matters did not improve from there.
Anthony Edwards, who will have to play like the superstar he is for the Wolves to survive this series, came off the bench for the second game in a row. The 24-year-old returned far sooner than expected from a hyperextended knee that knocked him out of a few games in Round 1 and has played under a minutes restriction so far this series. It worked well in Game 1; Edwards scored 18 points in 25 minutes on 8-for-13 shooting to help Minnesota pull off an unexpected win.
But Game 2 proved a much rockier experience for everyone involved as the young star finished with 12 points on 13 shots and didn’t step foot on the floor in the fourth quarter. It kept him to 24 minutes, which is perhaps the only positive takeaway from the game at large for his team, but Edwards finished a -33 in those minutes.
“I told the guys after the first game, the natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, the away team, they get blown out Game 2,” he said to reporters after the game. “So we can’t come out cool, and we came out cool. And what happened? We got blew out. My mama used to tell me, ‘A hard head make a soft ass.’ That’s what happened tonight. Those guys, I tip my cap to those guys.”
Now the series will head to Minnesota for Game 3 and Game 4. Adjustments will have to be made by Finch in order to avoid another disastrous meltdown like Wednesday night. Fortunately, there’s one clear and obvious adjustment that would benefit the Timberwolves—insert Edwards into the starting lineup.
Why putting Edwards back into the starting lineup could boost Wolves
It’s not rocket science to identify Edwards shifting back into the starting five as a useful adjustment. He’s Minnesota’s best player, even hobbled as he is now, and San Antonio treated him like such when he was on the floor in Game 2 by constantly sending double teams his way. While it’s not certain whether such a move would allow Edwards to get into a groove, it just makes sense to ensure the roster’s star and leader is on the floor to start the game in the playoffs where every single second matters.
Edwards was asked about that possibility after Game 2 and his answer was, unusually, both short and diplomatic; the sixth-year scorer merely stated it wasn’t up to him but he was ready to do whatever was required.
It’s the only move Finch should make after Game 2, though. The starting lineup without Edwards, consisting of Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr. has played 20 minutes against the Spurs over two games. The Timberwolves have lost those minutes by six points, mostly due to scoring struggles; that starting five has hit only 18.2% of their three-point tries and gone 3-of-11 from the free throw line. Those numbers are made more problematic by the fact it’s the only five-man lineup to play more than eight minutes together this series.
Edwards, as one of the premier scorers the NBA has to offer, would obviously help on that front. And it puts the Spurs into a conundrum right off the bat, whether he replaces Conley or Shannon Jr. They could keep double-teaming Edwards, but if he starts making the right pass, that will regulrarly result in open shots for his teammates. Will San Antonio risk that and allow his teammates to find their groove? Or will coach Mitch Johnson instead back off, letting Edwards try to do damage while shutting the water off for the other four players on the court?
Whatever choice is made doesn’t automatically benefit the Wolves. But they have to force the Spurs to make a choice at all. Otherwise the defensive gameplan for San Antonio becomes far too easy to execute, as we saw in Game 2.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Edwards take the floor at the start of the first quarter on Friday night.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Timberwolves Have One Obvious Adjustment to Make With Anthony Edwards After Getting ‘Punked’ in Game 2.
