The Wolves’ 114-88 loss to the Thunder stung in the Minnesota locker room. Especially for their star, Anthony Edwards, who had averaged 26.5 points per game in these playoffs and was held to 18 points on a poor 5/13 shooting after scoring just five points after the break, something that ended up driving him crazy.
“I definitely have to shoot more. I took 13 shots, but I’d say I probably just have to get rid of the ball a little bit more,” said a visibly angry Edwards. “Play off the ball. I think that would be the solution, because playing with the ball, they’re just going to double up on me and close the gaps on me all day long. So I have to watch some video, analyze it and understand it.”
Edwards lamented that his team could not take advantage of the tactical disposition of the Thunder, who closed themselves to lime and song in the zone (50-20 the score for them in the paint) and hopes that the
Playing with the ball, they’re just going to fold over me and close the gaps all day
Timberwolves will take better advantage of this circumstance in the next games:
“I guess they trust that we won’t score, because every time I go to the rim there’s like four people closing it,” he said. “So yeah, I guess they’re just clogging the paint. They put like four or five players in the paint, which forces you to take the ball outside. So you have to keep making the right play.”
I guess they trust us not to score, because every time I go to the rim there’s like four people closing it down, which forces you to double the ball out
The other side of the coin was embodied by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, his nemesis on the Thunder, who scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half on 8/14 shooting after a difficult start in which he was well defended by McDaniels. “Honestly, I didn’t change my mindset too much,” he confessed about his transformation after the break. “I just tried to stay aggressive and trust my work.”
I didn’t change my mindset too much in the second half, I just tried to keep being aggressive and trust my work
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault was also very pleased after his team’s shaky start: “For us to play so poorly offensively in the first half and be down four points at halftime was a great victory,” he said. His counterpart in the Wolves, Chris Finch, downplayed the defeat: “It’s the first game. They won at home. Congratulations! They played very well. There’s another game in two days,” he said.
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