Following a decisive weekend matinee victory in Game 1 at FedEx Forum, we officially have a series on our hands after the Memphis Grizzlies laid the hammer down on the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 on Tuesday night. The rematch in Memphis was a far cry from the fluid and high-octane offense Minnesota displayed in the series opener. The Timberwolves shot just 39.5 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from deep. And for a team that relies on generating and converting three-pointers more than any other team in the league this past season, that level of inefficiency simply won’t get it done on the national stage.
Knowing what we know now since the start of the series, some of the Wolves’ biggest concerns have been on display.
- Can Karl-Anthony Towns have a sustained impact on games without getting into foul trouble?
- Is the physicality and pace of playoff basketball too much for D’Angelo Russell to overcome?
Let’s start with KAT. Last week’s play-in victory over the Los Angeles Clippers gave all of his detractors warranted ammunition over his inability to rise to the occasion. But Towns quickly flipped the script after he dominated Game 1 against Memphis with 29 points on .611/.400/1.000 shooting, 13 rebounds, three assists, and one block in Minnesota’s 130-117 win.
Unfortunately for Wolves fans, KAT’s self-sabotage display reappeared after he picked up his second foul just over two minutes into Game 2. Although head coach Chris Finch’s gamble paid off early on by continuing to keep Towns on the floor without picking up his third, Taylor Jenkins’ removal of Steven Adams from Memphis’s lineup proved critical for both teams. Towns was already struggling against the Grizzlies’ backup bigs when he was assessed his third foul at the 7:08 mark of the second quarter with Minnesota trailing 49-41. Naz Reid was inserted for the rest of the first half, and the Timberwolves trailed by 11 at the break.
In KAT’s defense, no one played particularly well for the Timberwolves in Tuesday night’s contest, rendering his foul-trouble absence as merely an afterthought in Memphis’ shellacking of Minnesota — despite Dave Benz doing all he could to inject life into Bally Sports’ broadcast once the Wolves cut the deficit to 19 points late in the third quarter.
But as the stakes continue to get higher throughout the series, can the Timberwolves count on their franchise’s foundational piece to be there for his team when they need him most?
Which brings us to our next All-Star on the roster. When D’Angelo Russell helped carry the Wolves past the Clippers in Towns’ absence in the play-in game, expectations were high for DLo to maintain his level of play once the lights got a little brighter in the playoffs. And with two facepalms under his belt so far this series, Minnesota will undoubtedly need significant improvements from their starting point guard if they want to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.
Through two games, Russell is averaging 10.5 points on .227/.300/.889 shooting and 6.5 assists. To his credit, DLo isn’t turning the ball over at an alarming rate, but the Timberwolves certainly miss his offense right now. DLo’s inability to consistently win off the dribble has forced him into taking extremely difficult shots whenever the ball doesn’t find him for a quality look on the perimeter.
As the game slows down in the playoffs and teams are required to execute in the half-court, will Russell be able to seize the moment starting in tonight’s Game 3? And that goes for both ends of the court. With Memphis doing everything they can to force either Patrick Beverley or Anthony Edwards off of Ja Morant, will Russell be able to answer the call defensively when the Grizzlies continue to hunt him by forcing the switch onto Morant?
Even though there’s reason for concern out of Minnesota’s most important vets, the Timberwolves have continued to demonstrate ways to overcome these obstacles on their way to securing big wins — just as long as two of their Big Three show up.
As Edwards justifiably garners all the headlines both locally and nationally, a different player is the ultimate X-factor for the Timberwolves as they embark on a first-round upset.
Since the All-Star break, the Timberwolves have been riding the hot hand of sixth-man Malik Beasley and his impeccable marksmanship from three. Beasley is shooting .446 percent from three on nearly seven attempts per game over the past 23 contests, including the play-in and playoff games against Memphis.
Over this span, Beasley has made four or more shots from deep in 11 games. Minnesota’s record is 9-2 in these scenarios — including a perfect 2-0 against Memphis.
Most recently, Beasley caught fire in the series opener on Saturday and provided a serious spark off the bench with 23 points and converting 4-of-10 from long range. Truth be told, Beasley could and probably should have had an even better start to the series after he missed some wide-open looks from three down the stretch of Game 1.
When Beasley finds the stroke of late, the Timberwolves are extremely hard to beat — warts and all from the rest of the team. Despite Russell’s struggles in Game 1, Beasley picked up the slack for Minnesota’s offense as he has done time and time again for this team during the stretch-run.
Circling back on Minnesota’s first game back from the break on Feb. 24 — which just so happened to be against a fully-healthy Memphis Grizzlies team. Edwards struggled mightily, going 1-of-11 from the field for just five points in 32 minutes. And just like he did for Russell in Game 1, Beasley stepped up for Ant with 17 points off the bench and 5-of-7 from deep in Minnesota’s 119-114 victory at Target Center.
Or how about when the Timberwolves went on the road and picked up arguably their two biggest wins of the second half in Miami and Denver. Against the Heat, Beasley drained four threes while Russell struggled with his shot going 3-of-13 in 34 minutes. On April Fool’s Day in Mile High, there was Minnesota’s highest-scoring bench player going 4-of-10 from deep, picking up an inefficient Edwards on that particular night.
If this team has taught us anything, it’s that there’s certainly enough firepower offensively to help lessen the load for Minnesota’s Big 3. With head coach Chris Finch telling the media that the ball was sticky for Minnesota’s offense in Game 2, look for the Timberwolves to do a better job of generating quality looks for Beasley when the Grizzlies defense loads up on Minnesota’s marquee scorers.
If the Timberwolves can find a way to get Beasley to his magic number of four three-pointers, along with at least two standout performances from Edwards, Towns, or Russell in Game 3, recent history has shown us that Minnesota is extremely tough to beat — especially for the Memphis Grizzlies in these circumstances.
