Bradley Beal told Chris Finch that he didn’t think the Minnesota Timberwolves played hard enough after the Phoenix Suns’ 125-105 win over the Wolves in Game 82. Phoenix’s win came nine days after beating the Timberwolves 97-87 in the desert, completing a three-game regular-season sweep.
The Vegas betting lines opened even between the 3-seeded Wolves and 6-seeded Suns, but they favored Phoenix as the week went along. However, the Timberwolves won 120-95 in Game 1, and Suns coach Frank Vogel emptied the bench with 3:37 left to play. ESPN favors the Wolves to win the series after Game 1.
“We just wanted to show that we was the desperate team tonight,” said Anthony Edwards. “These guys came in here and whupped us on our home court the last game of the season and was giggling, laughing.
“It’s going to be hard to beat these guys. We’ve got to bring it every night. It’s just one game. They’re going to be ready to go the next time we play ‘em.”
Edwards led the Wolves with 33 points in Game 1 and has been a leader since the regular season ended. He said Karl-Anthony Towns will be an X-factor in the series because the Suns will double- or triple-team him, leaving Towns open. When a reporter asked what changed between Game 82 of the regular season and the first game of the playoffs, Edwards immediately pointed to Jaden McDaniels’ efforts.
“Jaden did a great job tonight,” Edwards offered. “Even KAT. KAT did a great job. [Kevin] Durant made a lot of tough shots, which he’s been doing his whole career. But other than that, I think we did a good job as a group tonight.”
He also emphasized Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s efforts off the bench. “I’m looking at his plus-minus,” Edwards said while glancing at a box score in front of him. “He was a plus-28 on the floor. I think he was the MVP tonight. He made every play that we needed offensively and defensively.”
Edwards has looked ready for postseason play since the play-in game against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021-22. The Timberwolves had missed the playoffs in 16 of 17 seasons before they edged the Clippers 109-104 to secure the seventh seed to play the Memphis Grizzlies. Minnesota lost that series in six games, and the Denver Nuggets beat them in five last year. However, Edwards has continued to grow as Minnesota’s face of the franchise.
After Denver beat the Wolves 120-111 in Game 3, Edwards sat and stared at the mirror in his locker before leaving the locker room without comment. Following Minnesota’s 114-108 overtime win in Game 4, Edwards said he did some soul-searching and knew he never wanted an opponent to sweep him in his career.
“I take pride in [not wanting] to say I got swept,” he said. I don’t ever want to say I got swept in my career, so I definitely took it personally tonight.”
The next step for Edwards and the Wolves is to win a playoff series. To do so, Edwards must trust his teammates. He alone cannot will the Timberwolves past the first round. Edwards must read the defense and find open teammates when opponents send multiple defenders at him. Finch emphasized that as much as Edwards’ takeover in the third quarter.
“Obviously, the third quarter was electric, spectacular,” Finch said. “That’s stuff we haven’t seen from him in a little while. We hadn’t put one of those runs together. Then, when they started doubling, he made all the right plays. Guys made some shots. We missed some real wide-open ones, too.
“Even the turnovers early, he was trying to get to the right things. I’m really pleased with how he played at both ends of the floor.”
Edwards’ stats declined after the All-Star break, likely because he was dealing with various injuries and sickness. He averaged 26.3 points on .471/.386/.841 shooting splits in 52 games before the All-Star break. In the 27 games after, he averaged 25.3 on .443/.303/.826 shooting. However, he led the Wolves with 33 points, shooting 58.3% from the field, 4 of 8 from three, and made one of two free throws. He was also second on the team with six assists.
“I want to score,” Edwards said when a reporter asked about Phoenix’s defense against him. “It definitely takes away my scoring ability. They do a great job doing it, man. They throw it in every once in a while. If I made a couple, they’d start to double-team me all the time. Vogel is great at taking somebody out of the game, and I feel like he did that in the fourth, but my teammates came through big-time for me.”
Edwards must be at his best for the Timberwolves to advance past the second round. But he’s starting to discover when he needs to take over and when he needs to get his teammates involved. Edwards is playing with the best supporting cast of his career and learning how to take advantage of it. Sometimes, he takes over, but he’s always in command.
