The Timberwolves have lost to the Nuggets for the second time in a row with a 2-0 lead. The two sides returned to the same running line.
Back-to-back home losses hurt the morale of the Timberwolves, and Timberwolves core Edwards gave everything in Game 4 to score a career-high 44 points in the playoffs. Helplessly, two fists are hard to beat four hands.
In this crucial game, Timberwolves No. 2 star Towns played averagely. He hit just 5 of 18 shots and finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Especially in the first half, Downs made only 1 of 10 shots.
The gap in regular season playoff performance is significant
Downs is an excellent scorer, especially with his three-point shooting. In this year's playoffs, people thought that Towns played the best performance of his career, but as time progressed, fans found that Towns' weakness still did not improve, and he may be the biggest weakness of the Timberwolves in this series.
Towns was an absolute star in the regular season, playing in 573 regular season games in his career, handing over 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, shooting 52.4% from the field, 39.6% from three-point range in his career, and more than 40% from three-point range in multiple seasons.
Downs is shooting a staggering 41.6 percent from three-point range this season, and many media outlets consider him to be the NBA's most capable three-point shooter.
In addition to his strong shooting ability, Towns also has a well-rounded offensive skill, whether he can cut inside like a traditional center and compete for offensive rebounds, or he can be like an outside player who can carry the ball to complete a fast break or a face-frame break. Downs' versatility is a big headache for opponents.
In the first round of this year's playoffs, Towns averaged 19.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. While the scoring was not a career-high, it shot an excellent 53.1 percent from the field and a terrifying 52.9 percent from three-point range.
Currently, Downs has a playoff shooting percentage of 54.3 percent, with only two players, Wright and Klebeel, shooting higher than Downs.
Downs' current advantage seems to be only three-point shooting, and Downs has a lot of problems in other areas.
The impact of playoff intensity
First of all, the playoff confrontation is intense, especially for the inside. Downs' confrontation ability is relatively average, and in the interior line, Downs relies more on height and flexibility to play.
After the G3 and G4 Nuggets increased their defensive intensity and changed their strategy, Towns began to struggle. Downs scored a total of 27 points in the two games.
G3 Downs barely got a shot on the inside, hitting all three-pointers.
G4 Downs was completely locked by the Nuggets, and he couldn't stand up to Gordon Downs, who was only 2.03 meters tall. Porter Downs Jr. didn't have much of an advantage against the forward.
The most puzzling thing is that when Towns misplaced the Nuggets outside of Pope and Braun, he couldn't score easily. The above two players are aggressive defensively and have enough strength in their lower limbs, which makes Downs' shots uncomfortable.
Downs always couldn't find a chance against tough forward defenders, such as playing the playoffs for the first time in his career, against the peak Rockets, Downs averaged only 15 points per game and shot 46.7% from the field.
In last year's playoffs, Towns' stats against the Nuggets were also relatively average, averaging 18 points per game and shooting 45.7% from the field.
The intensity of the playoff confrontation, Towns' consistent scoring means is only three-point shooting, which limits his offense to a certain extent.
Where did the defense go?
The bigger problem for Downs is on the defensive end, Downs has excellent defensive talent, is 2.13 meters tall and weighs more than 110 kilograms.
When he first entered the league, people praised Downs' defense. At that time, Towns was a pillar on the inside, whether it was grabbing rebounds or blocking the rim, he was well organized, but now Towns has become a player with no defensive influence.
In this year's playoffs, Downs averaged just 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks per game, especially blocks. A 2.13-meter-tall interior player averages just 0.3 blocks per game, which is incredible.
Edwards, who is only 1.93m tall, averages 0.9 blocks per game, and it can only be said that Downs' defense is neither aggressive nor aggressive.
In addition to the visual part of the data, Downs will have a lack of concentration and leakage when he is on the court, and at the same time, he has poor defensive habits and often likes to play, which also leads to his high number of fouls.
Downs averaged 3.3 fouls per game during the regular season. Ranked second in the league. The number of fouls and departures is the highest in the league.
In the playoffs, Downs also averaged a whopping 3.9 fouls per game. Many games were on the verge of fouling.
G3 and G4, a big reason for the Nuggets' offensive resurgence is Towns.
In the positional offense, the Nuggets used pick-and-rolls to lure Downs out as much as possible, and Towns often made mistakes when defending pick-and-rolls, giving Joshua and Murray a lot of shooting opportunities.
At present, the Nuggets and the Timberwolves are back on the same running line, although on the surface the Timberwolves still have a chance, but the momentum has gradually tilted like the Nuggets.
If the Timberwolves want to continue their series winning hopes, Towns will have to step up and do everything they can to help the team on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Dear fans, how do you assess Downs' performance in this year's playoffs?