Due in part to his knee issues, Anthony Edwards is averaging 21.3 points and 2.8 assists on 44.2% field-goal shooting.
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A glass-half-full perspective for Minnesota in its Western Conference semifinal series would suggest that the Timberwolves have the San Antonio Spurs right where they want them.
It was only 24 months ago, after all, the Wolves prevailed in a situation similar to what they face now. Then as now, they trailed 3-2 in the series against Denver, not only the higher seed but the defending NBA champions. Then as now, the Wolves regrouped at home, using Game 6 to propel themselves to not one but two victories.
They whooped the Nuggets at Target Center 115-70, then mounted a furious second-half comeback in Game 7 to reach the West Finals for the first time in 20 years.
Drawing on that experience shouldn’t be too difficult, considering the Wolves went back to the conference finals last year. The opponents they’re facing Friday (9:30 ET, Prime Video), the Spurs, are a deep and aggressive bunch led by a big man, Victor Wembanyama, as uniquely talented in his way as Denver’s Nikola Jokić is in his. And the Wolves already dispatched Jokić and his mates two weeks ago.
The parallels sort of end there. Minnesota was essentially built to knock off Denver by the same front-office exec, Tim Connelly, who built the Nuggets’ title team. It’s not likely there’s one team among the other 29 that is built to handle the Spurs’ advantage with Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman who puts every game plan through a stress test.
San Antonio has every reason to want to close out this series in Game 6. Avoiding a Game 7 reduces the margin for error, reduces its guys’ injury exposure and conserves a couple of days’ and 48 minutes’ of general wear and tear.
It wouldn’t earn the Spurs more rest – if they win Friday, the West Finals will move up to start on Monday. But if this series requires a Game 7, the winners’ next foe – Oklahoma City, which swept the Lakers – will have had a full week off before the Wednesday opener.
Here are three things to watch for in Game 6:
1. Wolves get off to a better start
The Spurs defeat the Timberwolves 126-97 in Game 5, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.
Five games is way past the point of any feeling-out games. Minnesota has trailed in the first quarters by seven, seven, 15, six and 15 points, and it’s no coincidence that the three times it lost the opening 12 minutes, it lost the games.
There have been admissions out of the Wolves’ locker room that they have been guilty of straying from their game plan, lapsing into habits or instincts that aren’t the soundest against this specific opponent. Only way to fix that would be more diligent adherence to what coach Chris Finch and his staff have drawn up.
Another option would be to fiddle with the starting lineup, at least to alter the games’ early minutes. Naz Reid, a versatile big capable of playing anywhere in the frontcourt, would be an obvious tweak. And both center Rudy Gobert, somewhat nullified as a defender by Wembanyama’s mobility, and forward Julius Randle, struggling offensively, could reasonably be swapped out.
In the backcourt, Ayo Dosunmu or Terrence Shannon Jr. could help with bonus scoring as we’ve seen earlier in the series or a fellow such as Bones Hyland could get hot for four minutes as a game’s pivot point.
2. As Wemby goes, so go the Spurs
Victor Wembanyama (22yr, 128d) becomes the 3rd-youngest player in NBA history to record 25+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in a playoff game. With UM Music (“Stand Up” by Ludacris)
The Spurs are 7-3 in these playoffs. The only games they’ve lost were Game 2 in the first round vs. Portland when Wembanyama was out for concussion protocol; the opener of this series when the big fellow went 0-for-8 from the arc while adapting to a new team’s physical challenges, and Game 4 when his angry right elbow shut him down in less than 13 minutes.
Wembanyama got his mind right before his bounce-back in Game 5, with an apparent assist from the counsel of former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich (who met the team’s charter flight from Minnesota on the tarmac to talk to the 22-year-old).
The Wolves might not find or create any more openings on par with those to go through or around Wembanyama. There even was a tinge of resignation to some of their remarks after Game 5, when Wembanyama scored 18 of his 27 points in the first quarter to trumpet his renewed focus (and non-NBA suspension).
“Some of the stuff that Wemby was doing, you don’t really have too much of an answer for it,” Anthony Edwards said. “Just kinda hope he misses.”
Said Finch: “Wembanyama is a really tough cover. Any time we’ve made a mistake around him with regard to executing the coverages to help him, we’ve paid for it.”
In the first postseason of his career, Wembanyama is averaging 20.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.2 blocked shots while shooting 53.8% from the field.
3. Finding ways to free up Edwards
Anthony Edwards’ 36-point Game 4 performance leads the Wolves to their 2nd win in the series.
Some nights, Edwards has made swift decisions, deft passes and slick moves to cope with San Antonio’s double teams. Others, he has looked a tad slow, a step behind or a bit forced.
The best way to get Edwards loose for the back end of what he does – scoring in bunches, inside and out, sparking a run for his side or stopping one for the Spurs – is to draw away those extra defenders or keep them off him in the first place. Much as Detroit has tried to do with its dominant backcourt star Cade Cunningham, the Wolves would like others to handle the ball across midcourt to help Edwards stay elusive and avoid traps.
That was the difference in Game 5 between the early minutes of the first half and the start of the second, when Minnesota quickly turned a 59-47 deficit into a 61-61 tie.
As Randle told reporters Thursday: “Just getting Ant off the ball and setting some screens for him so they can’t just trap him when he dribbles over halfcourt. Every time he dribbles over halfcourt, they’re trapping him.”
Edwards’ playoff production is off. Due in part to his knee issues, he is averaging 21.3 points and 2.8 assists on 44.2% field-goal shooting and 32.1% on 3-pointers. All are career lows, compared to his first four postseasons.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
