To say that Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was upset with the team’s performance against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals would be an understatement. Fresh off a dramatic Game 7 win against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the NBA Semifinals Series, expectations were high for the team. That thud you heard on Wednesday night was the Timberwolves coming down from the stratosphere.
Setting the Stage
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After the Wolves’ come-from-behind win on Sunday night, they were the talk of the NBA. The TNT studio team was effusive in its praise of the team. Special love was reserved for one of the NBA’s main attractions, Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards (Ant). The highlight of this moment was when former NBA superstar Charles Barkley mentioned to Ant in a post-game interview that he hadn’t been to Minnesota in a while and did Ant have any recommendations on where he should eat when he is in town.
Ant’s now famous reply was, “Bring ya ass.” These three words went viral immediately on social media and even spawned a t-shirt that sold like hotcakes. This only added fuel to the fire, ratcheting up the expectations for the Timberwolves. Some wise prognosticators were even lulled into the Timberwolves sweep fantasy.
Timberwolves Fall Back to Earth
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So the Timberwolves went out in Game 1 and laid an egg. They lost 108-105 but looked terrible all night. Mavericks superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving dominated in the paint all game. Karl Anthony-Towns (KAT) was clearly off his shooting game, hitting just 6-20 from the field and 2-9 from the arc. And Ant. Looked tired and listless all night, going 6-16 from the field with three turnovers.
Only the play of Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Kyle Anderson kept the Timberwolves in the game. McDaniels continued his streak of exceptional playoff performances, playing hard-nosed defense while still scoring 24 points.
Aftermath
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To their credit, the Timberwolves, to a man, took responsibility for their subpar performance. Edwards said after the game, “I don’t know, I think we just came out flat today. We found our energy. Then we went back to being flat. I think it was just on us. Everything was on us today. I didn’t get downhill as much. Just stuff like that, we were probably just a little tired probably.”
Point guard Mike Conley reacted, “Guys looked tired in a sense that we weren’t moving without the ball, we weren’t setting screens, we weren’t getting guys open. We were holding on to the ball a lot. No matter what call we made or set we tried to get into, there was not a lot of energy put into it. And you can’t effectively run anything without having that energy. We have to find that.”
And finally, Finch, “We haven’t really closed quarters very well, closed halves very well over the last handful of games. “It cost us a game in the Denver series. It certainly had an impact on this game tonight, too. We’ve got to be better in clutch moments.”
Timberwolves Move Forward
The Timberwolves know they have to come out fighting in Game 2 tonight. Finch has reminded them of what can happen to them if they are not ready, as witnessed by the results of Game 1 in this series and Game 3 in the Denver series. Finch is a well-traveled coach with international experience, and he is up to the task of getting his team ready for tonight. The players are aware that he demands their accountability.
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Greg Simbeck covers a variety of sports for Total Apex Sports. He specializes in MLB coverage. Greg has covered various sports for numerous other publications over the years.
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