Tonight marks Game 1 of the highly anticipated NBA playoff series between the Warriors and the Timberwolves. Both teams are coming off huge opening-round victories and will be looking to keep their momentum going, especially Anthony Edwards, who put on a dominant display against the Lakers. Funnily enough, Charles Barkley was more impressed by a different Wolves player’s performance against the Purple and Gold.
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Breaking down the matchup was the Inside the NBA crew. Shaquille O’Neal hyped up Edwards’ performance against the Lakers and recognized that the 23-year-old is positioning for the “Face of the League” spot. “He wants it. He wants all the smoke,” claimed The Diesel. “I like his attitude. That’s the attitude you’re supposed to have as a youngster and there’s people ahead of you. Before you become the king, you have to kill the king.”
As good as Edwards was, it was Julius Randle who really showed something to Barkley. “The guy who impressed me the most — Julius Randle played fantastic against the Lakers,” said the 11-time All-Star. “I thought the difference in the series was this guy. He was just bullying the Lakers.” Chuck is right on the nose. Randle averaged 22.6 points a game and was dominant in the paint against the much smaller LA team.
Kenny Smith agreed with Barkley regarding Julius’s incredible opening-round heat. But the two-time NBA Champion brought up a good point regarding the Wolves’ next opponent. “This series, he’s gonna have Draymond Green on him,” stated Kenny. “I think it’s gonna be a little bit different for him. The matchups.” Like Chuck, Kenny is right on the nose.
Draymond is an all-time defender, not to mention a menace in other areas of the game. Randle will have his hands full. On the other side of the court is Ant, now going toe-to-toe with Jimmy Butler, who will probably be a much more aggressive defender for Ant than anyone on the Lakers squad.
The problem for the Warriors is that, like the Lakers, they are not as big as the Wolves. That won’t stop Steph Curry or Butler from doing their thing on the scoring end, but can the Dubs protect the board better than the Lakers did against Reid, Randle, or Rudy Gobert?
