We are almost halfway through the season for the Wolves (21 wins – 19 losses), somehow clinging to the Top 10 in the Western Conference. Beaten at home by the Warriors who were also not in great shape, a journalist then asked Anthony Edwards what he would change if he had a magic wand…
“There would be two things: screen delays and the start of matches. The middle five. We are terrible. Every game. We arrive on the pitch without energy and it is the substitutes who come in and give us energy. The starters must enter the field with energy. They have to come in like they want to play basketball, like they love basketball. And we have to go for the rebound. On offense, we have to throw ourselves into it, and on defense, we have to control our players” he blurted out in response.
It must be said that the Wolves were trailing 34-12 at the end of the first quarter, and therefore had to chase the score. The only positive point is that the team came back into the match.
No “engine” among the incumbents
“There is no moral victory but there was like 32-10 in the first quarter and we would have thought that it was going to end like against New York (133-107 defeat) but we fought and I'm proud of that. »
Rudy Gobert and Chris Finch also regretted the offensive rebounds left to the Warriors, and in particular the one recovered a few seconds from the end by Andrew Wiggins following the missed free throw by Gary Payton II.
“But the match was lost in the first quarter” reminds the coach. “It’s obvious. Because afterward, we have to play perfectly and it comes down to missed layups and forgetfulness on Stephen Curry. »
Even if he recently changed his five, to integrate Donte DiVincenzo in place of Mike Conley, the technician could only note the lack of “engine” of his holders, who simply did not make the necessary efforts in the first quarter. The Wolves' attack was generally reduced to sequences in isolation from Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, without the ball moving or causing the opposing defense to move.
