The Minnesota Timberwolves’ season came to an end, once again, without reaching the NBA Finals. After the defeat in the fifth game of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, star player Anthony Edwards vowed to work hard during the summer.
Edwards, who averaged 27.6 points per game during the regular season, was limited to under 20 points in three of the five games against Oklahoma City. In the decisive game, he scored 19 points with a low shooting percentage. Minnesota was outscored by 29 points during the 39 minutes that Edwards was on the court.I’m going to work like crazy this summer. Nobody will work harder than me.
Anthony Edwards
The Timberwolves coach, Chris Finch, acknowledged the Thunder’s superiority. The team committed 21 turnovers, leading to 18 points for Oklahoma City. Players like Naz Reid and Julius Randle had several turnovers, contributing to the defeat.They were the better team. They beat us, they hit us in the face, and we lost the game, we lost the series.
Anthony Edwards
Other key Timberwolves players, such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaden McDaniels, and Donte DiVincenzo, failed to replicate their performance from the previous game. Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley also failed to impact the game. On the other hand, the Thunder had five players in double figures, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 34 points.
Despite the disappointment, Edwards, only 23 years old, views the future with optimism. He acknowledges that he is starting his career and has many opportunities ahead. Coach Finch admitted the need to expand the team’s rotation.
I feel like we’re a better team than we showed. So there’s a lot of motivation for the summer, for sure.
Julius Randle
Despite the defeat, the Timberwolves had a good season, with a 25-6 record from March until the conference semifinals. They surprised the Lakers in the first round and also beat the Warriors.
The team made a significant trade to acquire Randle and DiVincenzo. Edwards recalled a conversation with Finch mid-season, where they set the goal of reaching the playoffs and winning a round.We did pretty well this year, man. We just came up short again. We’ll try to do it again next year.
Anthony Edwards
