The NBA playoffs continued, with the Timberwolves playing against the Grizzlies G6 officially attacking. This game is crucial for the Timberwolves because if the Timberwolves win this game, then the game can drag the Timberwolves into a steal 7 game. Conversely, if you lose this game, the Timberwolves' season will be over. Sadly, the Timberwolves have only played three good quarters as usual. In the first three quarters, the Timberwolves have been in a leading position, but after entering the final quarter, the Timberwolves have become less able to play. In the end, after four quarters of the game, the Grizzlies defeated the Timberwolves 114-106 with a 40-22 offensive wave in the final quarter, and the series advanced to the Western Conference semifinals 4-2.
Objectively speaking, one of the most important reasons why the Grizzlies were able to win the game in the absence of Morant is that the Grizzlies have done a very good job of controlling the details. Let's take a look at a few sets of data. Rebounding: The Grizzlies grabbed 56 rebounds and the Timberwolves had just 37 rebounds. In terms of free throw percentage: The Grizzlies shot 79 percent from the free throws and the Timberwolves shot 69 percent from the free throws. In terms of three-point shooting percentage: The Grizzlies are shooting 45 percent from three-point range and the Timberwolves are shooting 38 percent from three-point range. In addition to the control of details, the Timberwolves role players have played very well. Bain had 23 points and seven rebounds, Brooks had 23 points, Jackson had 18 points, 14 rebounds and Clark had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Obviously, in the face of these data, it can only be said that the Grizzlies win is well deserved.
Okay, after talking about the Grizzlies who won, let's talk about the losing Timberwolves. I believe that many fans will ask after watching this game, where did the Timberwolves lose? Who is responsible for the loss of this game? Some fans may say that it is caused by Russell's downturn, and some fans may say that it is caused by the Lack of adaptability of the Timberwolves head coach. Yes, Russell and timberwolves coaches are at fault, but they shouldn't be key factors in losing games. In my opinion, the player who is really responsible for the Timberwolves' loss should be Towns. After all, Towns is the heart of the Timberwolves, and Towns' performance in key moments is even more difficult to accept.
Towns played 40 minutes in the game, shooting 6-of-19, including 0-of-3 from three-point range and 6-of-9 from the free throw line, and got 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. Truth be told, such data simply doesn't fall to downs averages. Well, let's leave the data aside, let's talk about Downs' performance in the decisive moment. Fans who have watched the game will know how weak Downs was in the final moments. The game went into the final 2 minutes, by which time the Grizzlies had already overtaken the score, so the Timberwolves began to hand the ball to Downs on the offensive end for him to attack, after all, Downs was the leader of the team. But what is hard to understand is that Towns' three offensive choices are outrageous. First a long-range 2-point shot did not score, then another ultra-long 3 points did not score, and then another shot did not score. To put it bluntly, these three attacks by Downs undoubtedly ruined the game, and these three attacks are not the options that an interior player should have.
Say a thousand, say ten thousand, and Downs is too depressed in this crucial game. The season of losing this game to the Timberwolves is over, and the Timberwolves should really think about what to do against the upcoming offseason. Or it could be said that the Timberwolves really should be shuffled in the offseason, especially the two burdens of Towns and Russell, which really should be thrown off.