Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards Staying Confident After Game 1 Loss: ‘We’ll Figure It Out’

Of course we are talking about the Western Conference finals, where Edwards and the Wolves took it on the chin at Oklahoma City, dropping a 114-88 decision.

Edwards finished with 18 points, but was just 0-of-1 from the field in the fourth quarter. He did not score in the game’s final 12 minutes.

“I definitely got to shoot more,” Edwards told reporters in OKC. “I only took 13 (bleeping) shots. … Probably just get off the ball a little more, play without the ball. I think that will be the answer. Because playing on the ball, they’re just going to double and sit in the gaps all day. So, got to go watch some film and pick it apart. We’ll figure it out.”

For the record, Minnesota scored just 88 points in its Game 1 loss to the Warriors last round. Then the Timberwolves proceeded to win four straight. But the Thunder are a different beast entirely, with their swarming and relentless defense creating all sorts of issues for everyone.

“I mean, they clogged the paint,” Edwards said of the Thunder’s dominant second half. “That’s what they do. They don’t got much size down there, so they bank on us not making shots, I guess. Because every time I go to the rim it’s like four people in the paint.”

If that’s the plan, it indeed worked. Edwards nor his teammates could get anything going in the final two quarters.

“We had good looks, we just have to make shots,” guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “Myself, I have to make a couple shots and it loosens up the defense for Ant. It’s a domino effect.”