Defeat by 18 points and defeat by 19 points! The poor team of the NBA will fall short in a season of hard work
This season's NBA regular season came to an end, and the Celtics had no opponents in the East, but because last season's Eastern Conference champion Heat was stuck in the play-off zone, the second group fell directly into chaos, and the Bucks lost all the way and finally gave up the second. In the West, although the Warriors have the highest winning percentage (56.1%) in NBA history, the probability of entering the playoffs is too small, and they will play the Kings away and the Lakers and Pelicans away to lock up the eighth seed with two wins. As the defending champion, the Nuggets don't hide it, they just want to play the Lakers, and they don't know how much Malone hates James and the Lakers. And the biggest surprise in the West is that the Thunder has once again topped the first place in the West after 11 years, the three young people of Wei Shao + Durant + Harden in the past, and Alexander + Jay + Holmgren this season, which is embarrassing.
But there's one team that's easy to overlook, and they've also fallen victim to the top three infighting in the West (where the Nuggets manipulate the rankings): the Timberwolves. Blame the Timberwolves for not fighting for themselves, the finale was beaten by the Suns, and the Nuggets took the opportunity to take away the Grizzlies in waves, and the Timberwolves were squeezed into third place in the West and continued to play the Suns in the first round. From 42-40 last season to 56-25 this season, with the rise of Edwards, coupled with the combination of Towns and Gobert twin towers to dominate the basket, and the twin turbo engines of the bench Lee Kyle + Reed, the Timberwolves are the first in the West 80% of the time this season, their defensive efficiency is 108.1, maintaining a whole season, leading the league off a cliff, and limiting the opponent's shooting percentage + blocks + steals is also the top level in the league, but after working hard for a whole season, it fell short!
Let's start with the playoff pairing of the Timberwolves and the Suns. This season's Suns, known as the king of the final quarter collapse, the bottom of the league in net points in the final quarter, the net efficiency value and defensive efficiency are also close to the bottom level, to put it bluntly, Durant and Booker's stand-up singles mode, the opponent in the first three quarters constantly exerted defensive pressure, and the physical consumption was extremely great, as long as the efficiency of these two people declined in the fourth quarter, the Suns often suddenly lost fire on the offensive end, coupled with their already weak defense, some vulnerable. But from another point of view, Durant averaged 27.1 points per game + Booker averaged 27.1 points per game + Beal averaged 18.2 points per game in the regular season, and all three of them have super individual finishing ability, which is very suitable for playing a playoff game of individual heroism. This is precisely the biggest pain point for the Timberwolves!
This season, the Timberwolves can bully the defending champion Nuggets with their tough defense of the twin towers, including facing the first Thunder in the West, and they can also play the Clippers, but they can't beat the Suns! Three meetings in the regular season, in November last year, when the Timberwolves had reached the top of the West, they beat the Suns by 18 points, and Durant and Booker both scored 31 points! Including the two teams meeting again in early April, Durant took Allen and Beal, and beat the Timberwolves by 10 points again in the outside firepower, and he didn't fight with you inside at all! In the closing game, the Suns opened the gap early, and the fourth quarter became garbage time, with an unexpected 19-point victory, and a 22-point difference in the first quarter, and this time it was Beal's turn, with a 36-point bomb!
Why do the Timberwolves, who are the first in the league, defend against the Suns? In fact, the reason is very simple, the Suns' team building mode is the singles of Durant + Booker, plus Bill, who slowly found his form in the second half of the season, Vogel always insists on putting Allen on the court on the basis of opening up space, the strongest defense of the Timberwolves is on the inside, which is the tonnage confrontation advantage of Gobert and Towns, but the advantage of the Suns is on the outside, refusing to give you the opportunity to fight hand-to-hand. Just Durant and Booker, who can be called the most efficient duo in the playoffs, faced the Nuggets in the playoffs last season, and the two let go and forced the Nuggets to Game 6 is proof!
It stands to reason that the Timberwolves have dominated the West for a long time this season, and during the period when Towns was injured, the Timberwolves' record was still rising, and Edwards contributed a lot! But Edwards is not an emotionally stable star, having been fined by the league more than once this season for complaining about the referee's failure to give free throws, and some games have directly expressed frustration that can affect the team. This has led to some high-end games, Edwards is often sluggish, such as the last two games against the Suns, 3 of 7 in one game and 17 points in 6 of 19, and the referee does not give free throws, and his own mentality collapses first. To put it bluntly, I am still young and need to be experienced.
It can only be said that the Timberwolves are really a poor team this season, they have worked hard all season, but they have to fall short! Edwards and Towns have both said that the team does not care about being first in the West this season, but has a bigger goal in the playoffs. But the closing game didn't play well for a few games, and it happened to meet the team's biggest nemesis in the West, the Suns, which is equivalent to stopping in the first round! The Timberwolves' lineup is indeed strong, but it is slightly cumbersome, and the scoring points are not enough. In fact, the Suns played a difficult regular season, and when it came to the playoffs, no one could beat them, and the individual singles ability of the Big Three was too strong, and the Timberwolves were definitely not the only victims.