Minnesota Sports Forum

An aggravating roller coaster of emotions throughout tonight's game. So many things you can point to as reasons we lost the game, which I will touch on below. The series isn't over. I'm not so sure we aren't a more talented group than Memphis. But too often we are own worst enemy in these games. So allow me to present a postseason edition of the 2+1:

1) The Wolves as we've known are not the most mentally strong team. Kat's troubles have been well documented and he had his moments tonight. But there were others. Have to give credit to Edwards for tying the game late, but he almost single handedly ground our offense to a halt down the stretch. Way too much dribbling, way too much iso, way too poor shot selection. Why stop doing what we did for 43 minutes? If we just play our game and maintain mental toughness there is no reason we lose that game. Beverly stupidly fouls out. He's one of the few mentally tough guys we have and he took himself out of the game. Then we don't corral any rebounds when we really needed them. It all added up to a lot could have's and would have's that I'm going to try and forget.

2) You could talk about the dubious officiating here, but I'm not going to do that. I've been watching the NBA long enough to know this happens on the regular. I am going to talk about turnovers. Without the sloppiness in the first half, we could have had a sizeable lead going into halftime. 7 for KAT, who has no clue how to play against the double team. 5 for Beverly, and 4 for Russell. 16 turnovers between those three players. There is an opportunity cost for each mistake, and we simply can't expect to win on the road when you make that many.

Plus - 1 - We can still win this series. We have just as much talent as Memphis if not more. Morant, Jackson, and Bane are really good players. But we can match their talent, that's not the problem. I expect a tough hard-fought win in game 6, and then a tossup in game 7. Hopefully we get a fair shake from the officials that we really didn't get tonight. We've waited this long for playoff basketball, let's not give up yet.

And that's the postseason edition of the 2 +1.

Meh. None of this matters.

The Wolves would get destroyed vs. the Andrew Wiggins-led Warriors in Round 2.




[Note: Actually, this is exactly why I was so intent on the Timberwolves making the playoffs. Many, many teams in the past have learned a great deal from postseason failure.]

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Meh. None of this matters.

The Wolves would get destroyed vs. the Andrew Wiggins-led Warriors in Round 2.




[Note: Actually, this is exactly why I was so intent on the Timberwolves making the playoffs. Many, many teams in the past have learned a great deal from postseason failure.]

We would get Phoenix wouldn't we? Don't they re-seed after the first round? I actually feel we match up pretty good against the Warriors.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Meh. None of this matters.

The Wolves would get destroyed vs. the Andrew Wiggins-led Warriors in Round 2.




[Note: Actually, this is exactly why I was so intent on the Timberwolves making the playoffs. Many, many teams in the past have learned a great deal from postseason failure.]

We would get Phoenix wouldn't we? Don't they re-seed after the first round? I actually feel we match up pretty good against the Warriors.

I dunno. I was just gently poking the bear.

I don't think the Wolves would have much of a chance either way in Round 2. But that's ok. The season has been a rousing success compared to most expectations. Sure, we can still be disappointed in HOW the team lost these games, but it's still going to be a huge step forward regardless of what happens in Game 6 or beyond.

No reseed, Warriors (barring some Jokic magic) will play winner of Wolves/Grizz.

There isn't a team in the league MN can't beat, problem is MN beats themselves to often.

Your question about why the Wolves stop doing what got them the lead in the first place is one I have as well.

Something happens which causes them to completely lose rythm. It has happened in almost every game. The shot clock keeps getting short, shots are heaved, and the ball stagnates.

These are the stretches that actually cost us the games

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Meh. None of this matters.

The Wolves would get destroyed vs. the Andrew Wiggins-led Warriors in Round 2.




[Note: Actually, this is exactly why I was so intent on the Timberwolves making the playoffs. Many, many teams in the past have learned a great deal from postseason failure.]

We would get Phoenix wouldn't we? Don't they re-seed after the first round? I actually feel we match up pretty good against the Warriors.

I dunno. I was just gently poking the bear.

I don't think the Wolves would have much of a chance either way in Round 2. But that's ok. The season has been a rousing success compared to most expectations. Sure, we can still be disappointed in HOW the team lost these games, but it's still going to be a huge step forward regardless of what happens in Game 6 or beyond.

Yup, massive step forward. It certainly feels like we have the talent - or close to the talent - to compete with anyone. We might just need one or two more pieces, but they don't need to be stars. The mental and decision-making growth is where there is huge room for improvement.

BTW, this series ain't over. I think our squad is pretty comfortable at this point playing in Memphis. So if we win Game 6 at home, this thing is damn near a toss-up.

(BTW part II - Morant looked out of gas/weakened until his late game heroics. I do wonder if the wear and tear is starting to really get to him. There were entire Memphis sets where he just stood to the side).

Q-was-here wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Meh. None of this matters.

The Wolves would get destroyed vs. the Andrew Wiggins-led Warriors in Round 2.




[Note: Actually, this is exactly why I was so intent on the Timberwolves making the playoffs. Many, many teams in the past have learned a great deal from postseason failure.]

We would get Phoenix wouldn't we? Don't they re-seed after the first round? I actually feel we match up pretty good against the Warriors.

I dunno. I was just gently poking the bear.

I don't think the Wolves would have much of a chance either way in Round 2. But that's ok. The season has been a rousing success compared to most expectations. Sure, we can still be disappointed in HOW the team lost these games, but it's still going to be a huge step forward regardless of what happens in Game 6 or beyond.

Yup, massive step forward. It certainly feels like we have the talent - or close to the talent - to compete with anyone. We might just need one or two more pieces, but they don't need to be stars. The mental and decision-making growth is where there is huge room for improvement.

BTW, this series ain't over. I think our squad is pretty comfortable at this point playing in Memphis. So if we win Game 6 at home, this thing is damn near a toss-up.

(BTW part II - Morant looked out of gas/weakened until his late game heroics. I do wonder if the wear and tear is starting to really get to him. There were entire Memphis sets where he just stood to the side).

45 out of 48 mins in a playoff game dealing with Bev / J-Mac / McDaniels he was just gassed but still was game when it mattered most.

Volans19 wrote:Your question about why the Wolves stop doing what got them the lead in the first place is one I have as well.

Something happens which causes them to completely lose rythm. It has happened in almost every game. The shot clock keeps getting short, shots are heaved, and the ball stagnates.

These are the stretches that actually cost us the games

If it were that easy to keep doing the good things everyone including Memphis would do it. It's also worth remembering Memphis is a good defensive team. It's not easy for any team to just keep playing well offensively and obviously the Wolves are a young team.