Yesterday, the Eagles of the East and the Pelicans of the West hitched a ride on the last train of the playoffs, and today the playoffs officially begin. In today's four-set showdown, the lone ranger, who lacked a master, lost to the Jazz, and the result was not surprising. The most surprising thing is that the Timberwolves "went down the gram" and beat the second-largest Grizzlies in the West. Not long ago, the Timberwolves had just experienced a vicious battle, and they were in good shape when they encountered the Grizzlies who had been fighting for a long time, and the defeat of the Grizzlies was understandable. However, the showdown between the two teams is full of suspense in itself, the Grizzlies are a confrontational talent team, and the Timberwolves are not, and the two teams must be prepared for a protracted battle.
The Grizzlies sent a storm of youth in the regular season, overpowering other Western Teams with their strong stature and all-round scoring style. In the face of their tough style of play, many teams can't adapt in a short period of time, but the Timberwolves are an exception. The Timberwolves are also a youth team, sitting on two top picks and one top show, and the team's talent is definitely the first in the league. In talent showdowns, the Timberwolves have never lost. As a result, the Grizzlies' high-intensity confrontation could not play an advantage in front of the Timberwolves, and at the same time, the more mature Towns and Russell played an advantage in the playoffs, which was obviously not available to the Grizzlies' young core team. Whether it is Morant, Bain or Jaren Jackson Jr., although they have talent and immediate combat strength, they are only players in the rookie contract period after all, and in terms of combat experience, they are obviously inferior to Russell and Towns.
Trapped by the gap in physical talent, Russell's personal performance today was not good, which is the usual performance of almost all thin guards against the Grizzlies. Russell shot 2-of-11 from the field and had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists, but even so, his contribution to the team was still positive, his number of shots was the fewest of the three core players, and his tandem and organization were relied upon by the Timberwolves. In addition, Towns, whose play-off performance was a mess, also showed his due performance today. Towns has 29 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists, he is no longer obsessed with outside projection, put more energy on the inside of the hand-to-hand combat and confrontation, if Towns can overcome his own confrontation problems, then he will be an MVP level player, at least in this series, he will be the most critical factor. The Grizzlies sent Adams in a matchup with him, but it was actually a set of natural dislocations, and Downs' agility and range could be used to the fullest against a slow Adams.
The most surprising thing is that second-year player Edwards is the best player in the game, with 36 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, and shooting 52% from the field. Edwards used to give the impression that he had top physical talent and rough technique, and it was difficult to perform at a high level in high-level games, but he proved himself in both the playoffs and the playoffs. Edwards' progress is truly impressive, and he has become the absolute core of the Timberwolves. Under the repeated encirclement of dillon Brooks and Bane of the Grizzlies, Edwards' confrontation is obviously better, and today's Grizzlies are caught in two alignment problems, Towns and Edwards, which are the two main players of the Timberwolves, which is very dangerous for the Grizzlies.
Another important reason for the Grizzlies' defeat is Morant. Morant's stats today are also very eye-catching, with 32 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, but his plus-minus is the lowest -16 in the game, which is enough to explain the problem. The Grizzlies didn't play better because of that when he was on the floor, to part, he disrupted the Grizzlies' chemistry. In the final stages of the regular season, Morant has been suspended for 9 consecutive games, and even so, the Grizzlies are still soaring, and "the Grizzlies without Morant are better" has gradually been confirmed. Morant's ability to tear through the Grizzlies' defenses also puts a lot of defensive pressure on the Grizzlies — Morant's defensive ability is the worst in the league. The problem is that by the playoffs, Morant's projection threat is basically zero, the opponent's preferred strategy is always to let him shoot, if he can't respond, the offensive fluency will be greatly reduced, the defensive end will be targeted, the Timberwolves have three quality singles, And Morant's defensive problems will be infinitely magnified.
Morant once shot a high-quality three-point performance in the regular season, but his stability was not guaranteed. Defenders without shooting ability, in the playoffs are difficult to do, Westbrook has been the best example, Morant's superstar road, or a long way to go.