The Minnesota Timberwolves went into the Western Conference Semifinals against the Warriors as a heavy favorite. After defeating the Lakers in five games in the first round, it seemed like Anthony Edwards and Co. deserved to be the favorites. However, their Game 1 performance has made them underdogs once again.
Advertisement
The Wolves lost 88-99 in one of their worst shooting performances of the season. Even with Stephen Curry’s early exit after playing only 13 minutes due to a hamstring injury, which was later revealed to be a strain, the Wolves were outmatched.
While discussing Ant-Man and the team’s failure on Nightcap, Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson gave some valuable insights for the Wolves star. Sharpe outlined Ant’s struggles on the floor. He only managed 23 points in the game and shot one of five from the three-point line. The entire team had an off night on shooting from distance.
The Wolves shot under 40% from the field on 86 attempts and only made five three-pointers on 29 attempts. In comparison, the Warriors made 18 of their 42 three-point attempts. Ant also had a shockingly dull outing in terms of facilitating. He only made two assists throughout his 42 minutes on the floor, and Sharpe believes it was one of the key reasons why the Wolves lost.
As a fan of Ant-Man and the franchise, Ocho was disappointed in their performance. He said, “Ant-Man has to be on [going forward]. He has to be on fire, he has to be the leader and go out there and not only facilitate but take the game over.” Even though it’s too early to count them out, the Wolves need to do something spectacular in Game 2 to restore their fans’ faith.
They’ll have an edge over the Warriors going into Game 2 because Steph is expected to be out. After the win, Steve Kerr said, “We’re definitely game planning for him to not be available on Thursday. We don’t know yet. With a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.” Tonight’s win gives them some cushion for the next outing, but their problems are far from over.
Ant has been asking for a playoff series against the Warriors for two years. He has been confident in his ability to crush them. But he didn’t show the same attitude in Game 1 and is rightfully being criticized for it. Charles Barkley also criticized his leadership and poor performance in the first game.
Chuck said, “You know when you’re a great player. First of all, you bought all this smoke. You said you wanted the smoke. I want the Warriors! And you got it. You had one point at half-time. When you’re the man, you get all the credit, but you get all the blame. That’s the way it works.”
Edwards and the Wolves have a lot of work to do to level the series. More importantly, Ant needs to figure out a way to dismantle the Warriors’ defense so that he doesn’t get embarrassed again in Game 2 on Thursday.
