Although he is no. 7, 12 wins ahead of the Spurs, he still has to play the playoffs, which makes the Timberwolves very injured. Fortunately, the Timberwolves withstood the pressure.
In the first playoff, the Timberwolves stubbornly reversed in the face of Downs's downturn and 6 foul departures, defeated the Clippers, or entered the playoffs as the 7th.
Although they are all 7th, playing this extra playoff has also benefited the Timberwolves a lot .
It proved Edwards' leadership ability and also played the momentum of the Timberwolves. Let the Timberwolves know that in the playoffs, anything can happen, such as your star will be depressed and will leave the court, but there is no choice but to fight harder.
If the Timberwolves were 8th against the Suns, I would think that the likelihood of a black eight was almost zero, but the Timberwolves were 7th, and against the equally young, playoff-inexperienced Grizzlies, how many chances do the Timberwolves have?
Matchbacks review
The two sides drew 2-2 in the regular season.
Game 1: Grizzlies 125-118 Timberwolves. The Timberwolves opened the score 38-23 in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies tied the score 32-21 in the fourth quarter, and the two sides went into overtime, and finally the Grizzlies won overtime.
Russell had 30 points and seven assists, Edwards had 27 points and Towns had 25 points and 13 assists, the Timberwolves' young big three, and apart from that, only Mike Daniels scored 11 points, and none of the other players scored in double figures.
Morant had 33 points and eight assists, Melton had 19 points, the Grizzlies' bench was the Wizards, Clarke had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Kyle Anderson had 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
At one point in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves led by 16 points and ended up with a 29-13 tie, with Morant scoring 13 points.
Game 2: Grizzlies 95-138 Timberwolves. The Grizzlies trailed by 17 points in the first quarter and ended up in a crushing defeat.
Game 3: Grizzlies 116-108 Timberwolves. The Grizzlies played 37-24 in the third quarter to win the score.
Russell had 29 points and six assists, Edwards had 30 points, Towns had 25 points and nine rebounds, and the same Timberwolves had no other double figures.
Morant had 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Bane had 21 points, Jaylen Jackson had 20 points, Clark had 14 points and Conchar had 15 points. In the third quarter of the opener, Morant contributed 11 points and four assists.
Game 4: Grizzlies 114-119 Timberwolves. Later, the top was replaced by timber wolves.
Russell had 37 points and nine assists, Towns had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Edwards shot just 1 of 11, Beverley scored 13 points, and bench Beasley scored 17 points to become a Wizard.
Morant scored 20 points, Bane 14, Jackson 21, Williams 21, Clark 10 and Melton 12.
The two sides drew 112 in the last 2 minutes, but Russell broke out and Morant failed to perform the miracle, missing 3 shots to bury the victory.
Versus analysis
In terms of lineup, the two sides have played in the main lineup several times in the regular season, the Timberwolves big three are Russell, Towns and Edwards, and other players also have the icing on the cake, such as Beverley, Beasley and so on. The Grizzlies are mainly Morant, Jackson, Brooks, Bain and Melton. The Timberwolves' Big Three are more aggressive, but the Grizzlies' lineup is more balanced, which is why the Grizzlies still have a high winning percentage without Morant.
Judging from the regular season matchups between the two sides, both sides have the strength to play a wave of attacks, of course, there is also the risk of a sudden collapse.
Since entering 2022, the Timberwolves have ranked first in the league in offensive efficiency, Towns, Russell and Edwards have played more and more confidently, and the defense of Beverley and other players can also help the team. It can be seen that the offensive climax played by the Timberwolves in the game was at least driven by the presence of the two giants.
And the first game of the playoff also shows a problem, that is, the big three also have the possibility of downturn, especially without playoff experience, the possibility of downturn is greater, once the big three are depressed 1-2, they need Timberwolves role players, with defense and hard work to help the team, this Beverley's role is very large, obviously only a bronze, but can play the momentum of the king.
The Grizzlies are newborn calves who are not afraid of tigers, hard to kill the Warriors last season, a comprehensive team play, coupled with a superstar who dares to take responsibility, the Grizzlies have the key factors to become a dark horse.
In the first round of the playoffs, if there is no accident, the Timberwolves and Grizzlies will still have an offensive battle, and the way the two sides play is like this, they also have such strength, but both sides are too young to control the rhythm, so if this group of games has a big ups and downs, it will not be surprising at all.
Although the Grizzlies are the second in the league, they may not be able to stabilize the first round, and in the playoffs, the superstar play will be more dominant than the team play, so Morant needs to take on more team responsibilities, but if the Grizzlies want to keep the victory, they must do a little, don't let the Timberwolves play momentum - especially Edwards, whose uncertainty factor is the greatest. The Grizzlies should also beware, don't let Beverley affect the mentality of the game, and don't let the little people stir up trouble.
Overall, if the game is normal, the Timberwolves are still very promising until Game 6, at least 1 more game than the 17-18 season, as for wanting Black Seven, it really has to wait for the Grizzlies to make a mistake.
What kind of performance can Edwards, Towns and Russell's two-piece one-eye combination play in the playoffs? It's really worth looking forward to.