The final gap is almost flattering for the Wolves. Tuesday in Los Angeles, the last finalists of the Western Conference missed their debut in this 2024/25 season, losing to the Lakers (110-103). Minnesota hasn't exactly looked like one of last season's surprises. Anthony Edwards' teammates will be more expected, but above all they will have to be able to reproduce their level of play from a few months ago. Which they came pretty far at the Crypto.com Arena.
The Timberwolves have some extenuating circumstances. They were playing their first official game since the major summer trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York and added Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the roster, and the interior had only been able to play only one pre-season match under its new colors. Unsurprisingly, Minnesota's game suffered, particularly offensively. “ We were just static » admitted the former Knicks All-Star after the meeting in comments reported by the Star Tribune. “ We were all playing hard, trying to do a little too much. I had two situations myself that I could have avoided. »
Anthony Edwards cut off from his teammates
With only 17 assists, the Wolves attack has often been sclerotic, too dependent on the exploits of Anthony Edwards. The guard certainly scored 27 points, but in 25 attempts (10/25 shooting, 5/13 three-pointers) for only 3 “assists”, all in the last five minutes. Even Mike Conley, usually among the most reliable leaders in the league, could not avoid the coughs of his team (two assists for three lost balls).
However, coach Chris Finch had chosen to operate with a rotation reduced to eight players to limit permanent changes, and the necessary adaptation that would go with them. Rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr did not come into play, nor did Josh Minott, who had nevertheless made a good impression in Summer League and in preseason.
A choice which will not have paid off even though the preparation matches had nevertheless given satisfaction. “ The ball became very sticky » imagined the Wolves coach. “ Then everyone started playing individually”.
“ We were really cut off from each other » he continued at a press conference. “ It's like all the flow, rhythm and good intentions we built up on offense during the preseason are no longer there. Even when we were able to get open shots, they didn't go in largely because of that (13/41 from 3-point range). We didn't create enough good positions to have any rhythm. »
Become the hungriest team again
If Julius Randle believes that his team did not fail to make the effort, this was not the general opinion in the ranks of Minnesota. No more stressed than that, Anthony Edwards nevertheless argues that the Wolves were “ not ready to play“. “ We were too relaxed, as if the opponents were going to respect us. We must do more. » “The Lakers had the majority of possessions indecisive, this must not happen » says Rudy Gobert, who extended his lease with the franchise before the meeting. “ This has to be who we are every game, this is our identity. One of the reasons we were so good last season was that we were the hungriest team almost every night. We need to find that again. »
The best defense in the NBA last season was notably outclassed inside despite the French pivot, who suffered against an unleashed Anthony Davis and the Angelinos who scored 72 points in the paint.
“ There was a lot in our game plan tonight, maybe too much at times » assumes Chris Finch. “ We may need to simplify some things quickly. But I didn't see a lot of resistance like we normally show. Even when we had opportunities to stop the Lakers, we didn't do a good job early in the game. We must achieve a different sense of urgency now. The season started and we didn't answer the call.“
