A dejected Bradley Beal sits at the post-game podium after the Minnesota Timberwolves thumped the Phoenix Suns 120-95. “Obviously, we’re pissed off about the loss,” Beal said, “but we’ll motivate ourselves and know we can play better.”
Down the hallway, Edwards spoke matter-of-factly about Minnesota’s win. “Beal told our coach that he don’t think we play hard enough,” Ant said, referring to something Beal said after Game 82.
The Suns swept Minnesota in the regular season, 3-0, including dismantling them 125-106 in Game 82. However, the Wolves studied the tape from those games and adjusted accordingly to propel themselves to a Game 1 win.
In the regular season, the Suns built a big lead early and then rode that lead to the finish line. In Saturday’s game, though, the Wolves finished down one heading into the second quarter. Edwards’ superhuman third quarter and Chris Finch’s defensive adjustments throughout the game fueled the win.
In the season finale, the Wolves had Edwards guard Kevin Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns on Grayson Allen, and Mike Conley guarding Beal. But in Game 1, Finch had Edwards guard Beal, Towns on Durant, and Conley on Allen. The switch allowed Edwards to play significantly more physically with Beal and let Conley chase Allen around the court.
However, the switch looked ineffective in the first quarter. Durant attacked Towns, scoring 11 points primarily on isolation plays. But that slowed down Phoenix’s ball movement and helped stop their other players from finding a rhythm.
While Durant was able to score, the rest of his teammates appeared frustrated by the increased physicality. Jaden McDaniels and Edwards hounded Devin Booker and Beal. That caused Booker and Beal to lash out at the referees in frustration and frequently turn to their bench and head coach in frustration. When McDaniels checked out, the Wolves subbed in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Minnesota’s defensive intensity increased. With McDaniels on the bench, Edwards and Alexander-Walker pressed Phoenix’s ball-handlers anytime they got the ball.
Below is the significantly undersized Alexander-Walker shutting down Durant’s post play.
As the pressure intensified, the Suns appeared to fracture more from their offense. The first half ended with Phoenix’s stars attempting to hunt pick-and-roll mismatches and playing isolation ball off those screens. Essentially, the Suns’ Big 3 took turns trying to find a weak link in Minnesota’s defense while using minimal ball movement. That resulted in the Suns having only eight assists in the first half and finding themselves down 61-51 at the half.
Below, Durant attempts to take advantage of a mismatch on Conley and has to force the ball out to Allen to reset. Notice the body language of the Suns players not involved in the play.
After outscoring the Suns by 11 in the second quarter, the Wolves ramped up their defense. Finch encouraged Rudy Gobert to switch on pick-and-rolls or blitz depending on who the ball-handler was. The Timberwolves also had to rely more on their bench. Towns picked up a questionable fourth foul early in the quarter, forcing the Wolves to play Naz Reid and Alexander-Walker more minutes.
Below is Alexander-Walker again battling the much bigger Durant to force a turnover.
The combination of the trust in Gobert and the bench unit paid off. The Wolves limited the Suns to only 21 points in the third quarter, mainly because of their hounding defense and because Gobert could switch to smaller players. The third quarter closed with an electric Edwards performance where he scored or assisted on 13 of the 14 final points in the quarter.
Edwards had a mesmerizing three over Durant that led to an eruption from the fans and an iconic trash-talking moment.
The Wolves finished the quarter up 20 and never looked back. They proved their adaptability and toughness were more than enough to hang with the sixth-seeded Suns. Chris Finch showed that last Saturday’s game plan was not a glimpse of what was to come in the playoffs but a mirage to keep Phoenix unprepared.
Beal ended his press conference by acknowledging that “it’s gonna be a good series.”
Across the hall, Edwards said, “They’re going to be ready to go the next time we play them.” The Wolves have also proved they will be ready, and Finch may have a couple of tricks left up his sleeve.
