Black Seven's dream was shattered, and the Timberwolves failed to take advantage of the opportunity at home, losing to the Grizzlies 106-114 and being eliminated 2-4.
This game, in fact, they have a good chance to win and drag the series into the seventh, but in the end, the Grizzlies, who are more capable of fighting overall, have completed another reversal, and this is the third time in this series that the Timberwolves have suffered a double-digit reversal and lost.
In Game 3, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies by 26 points at most, but eventually suffered a big reversal and lost by 1 point;
In game 5, the Timberwolves led the Grizzlies by as many as 13 points, and finally were reversed to lose by 2 points;
In this G6, they again led by a maximum of 13 points, but were once again reversed in the fourth quarter and were also eliminated by the Grizzlies.
In fact, before the start of the series, it was hard to believe that the Timberwolves could force the Grizzlies into desperate situations many times in this series, and even saw a very big hope for Black Seven. It's just a pity that they didn't grasp it themselves, and in the end they still failed to create a miracle, which is a pity.
But through this series, it is not difficult to find that under the leadership of coach Finch, the Timberwolves have seen signs of rise in the next few seasons. In particular, the performance of 20-year-old Anthony Edwards in this series has made them lose now and win the future.
At the end of the G6 half, Edwards scored 20 points, and by this point, he had scored 141 points in his first playoff series, creating NBA history, becoming the player 20 or younger who scored the most points in a single playoff series. And after the full game, he raised the record to 151 points!
So far in the playoffs, Edwards, who is only 20 years old, has averaged 37.8 minutes per game in 6 games, can contribute 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks, and averages 9.5 3-point shots per game, shooting 40.4%!
Compared to Downs' ups and downs in this series, Edwards has undoubtedly taken over the baton of the team's top scorer, and it is very likely that after the baptism of this series, he will officially overwhelm Downs and become the number one core of the Timberwolves' reconstruction!
Edwards' energetic performance on the court, a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, seems to be more suitable to play the leader of a team than the Sven Downs. There is reason to believe that this playoff experience will also allow Edwards to grow faster and become a real star player.
Of course, the energy That Edwards has shown does not mean that he will be able to lead the Timberwolves to a rapid rise next season. Judging from this series, if the Timberwolves want to make a difference in the future, they urgently need to improve the following two points:
First, improve your defense
The Timberwolves' offense has been excellent, they have multiple scorers who can easily get double-digit points, and the offense doesn't have to worry at all, which is why they have been able to lead the Grizzlies by double digits many times. However, they have been repeatedly reversed by the Grizzlies, and the biggest problem is that after they were limited by the Grizzlies' strong defense, they could not make the opponent play the defensive end, so they were repeatedly taken away by the opponent in the final wave.
While the Timberwolves have a backcourt like Beverley who can pester moorant Morant, they also have only one Beverley in their lineup, and the team's overall defensive ability is relatively weak, which is the problem they have exposed in this series.
Second, improve experience
The Timberwolves have had many opportunities to win or even achieve Black Seven, but in the end they have not grasped it, and the most important thing is their lack of playoff experience, especially a few home stars, which can be described as extremely scarce. So, when they maintained the lead in the game and faced the crazy counterattack of the opponent, the lack of experience made them seem a little overwhelmed and did not know how to face it.
At the same time, although head coach Finch has many years of assistant coaching experience, the head coach's experience is also lacking, and these games are obviously insufficient in preparation for dealing with the Grizzlies' counterattack. But to be able to lead the team to play with the Grizzlies to this point, it has been very good.
So, the Timberwolves have improved some experience in this playoff, but they also need more veterans with rich playoff experience to help them stabilize their positions, which may be the focus of management reinforcements in the offseason.