The series of five consecutive successes already seems far away for Wolves. Beaten by the Hornets, crushed at home by the Warriors, the Wolves this time bit the dust against the Wizards of a Kristaps Porzingis in record mode (41 points). Worse, Karl-Anthony Towns was injured and Minnesota is keeping its fingers crossed for its interior…
As usual with Chris Finch’s troupe, the start of the match set the tone of the match, with the Latvian from the capital who chained the 3-pointers and allowed the Wizards to quickly take off (21-6).
Carried by the aggressiveness of Anthony Edwards, the Wolves will however several times try to pick up, but as they seem unable to chain the stops in the absence of Jarred Vanderbilt, they will never return to less than three possessions. It’s a new defeat, and a new defensive debacle (142-127) for this team.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Karl-Anthony Towns injury. It’s never good when a player hurts himself. So when KAT pulls up in midfield on a defensive drop, feeling something snap in his calf, all of Minnesota holds its breath. The interior had to be helped by his teammates to reach the locker room, but Wolves seem to think that their “franchise player” avoided the worst…
– Kristaps Porzingis at his best. Three 3-point shots to start the game, skill, deterrence. This is the best face of Kristaps Porzingis that we have seen this evening, the Latvian “Unicorn” having taken advantage of the opposing defensive problems to achieve his career best with 41 points at 12/18 in shooting, including 6/10 from far.
– Wolves’ sad defence. The “matchup” with Kristaps Porzingis was complicated for Rudy Gobert, who played wide and could not cover access to the circle. But overall, Minnesota’s defensive issues, especially without Jarred Vanderbilt, are very concerning. D’Angelo Russell is systematically overwhelmed, Anthony Edwards takes a lot of risks and no one seems to be on the same wavelength.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Kristaps Porzingis. It has been said: this match is the example of why Kristaps Porzingis was nicknamed the “Unicorn”. 2m21 giants capable of blasting opposing defenses at 3-points, it does not run the streets. The former Knicks and Mavericks was only afraid of one thing during this match: that the gap would become too large, and that he could not get his personal best in the fourth quarter. -time…
✅ Kyle Kuzma. He too hurt Wolves a lot, in a different style. When on the move, against rotating defenses, Kyle Kuzma is a real poison. He finished the game with 23 points at 9/16 shooting, 9 assists and 7 rebounds, a symbol of his activity and his impact.
⛔️ Wolves’ major five. We could dwell on the awkwardness of D’Angelo Russell, the not always controlled aggressiveness of Anthony Edwards or the difficulties of Rudy Gobert in controlling the interiors which deviate, but it is overall the whole major five that has got wet again. And who can’t find solutions.
THE FOLLOWING
Washington (11-10): the Wizards visit the Nets, Wednesday night (1:30 a.m.)
Minnesota (10-11): new complicated duel with the reception of the Grizzlies, Wednesday evening (02:00)
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