Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns, Chris Finch get real on increased Naz Reid role in Game 2 loss

While it was expected for a player like Anthony Edwards to go through the motions so to speak since he is inexperienced to a big stage like the Western Conference Finals, Towns is as well despite being older at 28-years old. Finch would say in his post-game press conference that Towns has “just got to calm down.”

“With KAT, I think he’s just got to calm down,” Finch said. “I think he’s coming out of the gate pressing a little bit, maybe getting off on the wrong foot and then chasing the game.”

Even though it is to be expected that a star player has an off game here and there, the Timberwolves find themselves down now in a hole where they lost both games at home. Towns has to step up and there is no doubt that he feels that way to a much higher degree as he acknowledges the massive platform he is on and said he has to “got to do a better job of executing.”

“We’re playing in the Western Conference finals,” Towns said. “You’ve got the four best teams in the NBA playing right now. Just got to do a better job of executing and finding ways to get it done.”

Still, it has been great for Minnesota fans to continue to see the growth of Reid as he displayed his talents this season, winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year. If the team can find a balance of letting both Towns and Reid thrive, it could be disastrous for the Mavericks.

Anthony Edwards says Minnesota is not “panicking”

However, the Timberwolves’ success all starts and ends with Anthony Edwards who had another frustrating outing despite scoring 21 points, recording seven assists, and collecting five rebounds. Even though the star and the rest of the team dropped two games in a row, he said that he does not believe “the locker room is panicking.”

“I don’t think anybody in the locker room is panicking,” Edwards said via The Athletic. “I hope not. Just come out and play our brand of basketball. We let ‘em make a run.”

Dallas has done a stellar job in maintaining the explosiveness of Edwards, making him pass up a lot more shots, which could also lead to his inexperience at this level. The 22-year old spoke after the game and talked about the strategy the Mavericks are doing against them and admitted where he is going wrong with his performances.

“They’re just showing me crowds, man, sitting in the gaps,” Edwards said. “But I’m turning down a lot of shots, like my midranges and stuff. I’m turning a lot of those down. But we’re getting open looks, so I ain’t trippin’.”

Finch emphasizes the stage the Timberwolves are in

The one noticeable trait from Game 1 was that Edwards was gassed trying to not only carry the weight of the offense, but also guard Kyrie Irving who is known for his speed and agility as the star was shown being administered oxygen during the game. He played another 40 minutes in Game 2 Friday night which in Finch’s eyes, “it’s what you’ve got to do if you want to win.”

“It’s the Western Conference finals, man. You can’t look to hide people or try to take breaks,” Finch said. “I don’t see Kyrie shying away from a matchup out there. It’s what you’ve got to do if you want to win.”

For the Timberwolves to achieve success like they had in the previous series against the Denver Nuggets or even throughout their successful regular season, Edwards has to obtain his sharp decision making back. This was a main point said by Finch after the outing where he even puts a player like their opponent in Irving as an example of who to model after.

“He’s gotta pick up his decision-making,” Finch said. “I think Kyrie is a good example – he’s playing quick off the catch, he’s trying to beat our defensive pressure with everything on the catch, going quickly.”

Timberwolves hoping to maintain Mavericks star Luka Doncic

At the end of the day, the game was close right until the very end where a three-point shot was made by Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic with 3.1 seconds left which ended up being the game-winning bucket. As he recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds, it was Rudy Gobert who ended up being the defender for that possession and despite winning Defensive Player of the Year, he couldn’t stop Doncic from making that shot.

“They believed in me to get a stop and he scored,” Gobert said. “And he scored a 3, which is something that he does very well. So, I’m definitely taking that responsibility that I need to be better in that situation.”

In any sense, the goal is simple for the Timberwolves if they want to achieve their championship aspirations as they are in a 0-2 series deficit. They could not win one game at home, so now they have to dig themselves out of a deep hole and win the next two in Dallas as their next opportunity is Game 3 on Sunday night.