Minneapolis – Newest NBA MVP He lowered his head and dripped towards the basket, an attempt by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to overcome one of the best perimeter defenders in the league in the middle of the fourth quarter of another decisive victory By Oklahoma City at the finals of the West Conference.
After his right arm was subtly hooked by Gilgeous-Alexander at the beginning of the trip, Jaden McDaniels reached half of his back and pushed the Minnesota tormenter with enough force to send him to the floor on Thursday with the Thunder by 16 points.
McDaniels received a flagrant penalty 1 and shrugged with the importance of the thrust later. He had fouls to give, he said, so he used one. But it was a clear Frustration sign For the Timberwolves, who so far have seen their own championship aspirations overwhelmed by a well -built team that pursues the title with a mixture of invisible equilibrium, precision and implacability anywhere else in these NBA playoffs.
“We have to fulfill his aggression,” said Julius Randle, who had his worst performance of This postseason In game 2 with only six points in 2 of 11 shots and four ball losses.
The Thunder will take an advantage of 2-0 and a burden of trust and impulse in game 3 on Saturday night at Target Center in Minneapolis.
“We have to be desperate,” said McDaniels. “Every possession matters.”
One of the most discouraging developments for the wolves of game 2 was that they kept the Thunder at 9 of 33 shots from a range of 3 points and still lost by 15.
He skillfully removing the NBA tendency driven by data away from the middle -ranking jumpers, the Thunder triggered 63% in 2 points, many of them outside the lane against a team of the wolves that has been established as large, quick enough and strong enough to constantly remove the edge and perimeter.
“We have to do a better job when challenging that. We are trying to eliminate many things. They do a great job when entering those places,” said Mike Conley, who in Plus-19 is the only network player for the series wolves.
The rest of the guards in their usual rotation of eight men have been very overcome during their time on the court. Anthony Edwards is a 45, Donte Divinzzo is a less-47, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a less-20.
As critical as hardening in the middle of his defense for the wolves, Randle will return again. After averaging 24 points by 52% shooting in their first 11 playoff games, including game 1 of this series, its fight against intense pressure on the Thunder’s ball was so pronounced on Thursday that coach Chris Finch kept him on the bench throughout the fourth quarter.
“Probably just standing and spending too much,” Randle said. “I have to get into actions, put myself in motion. We know what kind of defense they are. They will invent you.”
Unfortunately for the wolves, the Thunder put themselves out of the way Almost three weeks ago When they wasted an advantage of 13 points in the middle of the last quarter and lost their first game of the second round when Aaron Gordon de Denver hit a triple with 3 seconds.
The Nuggets presented several different defensive strategies that the Thunder finally discovered how to turn on their way to win the series in seven games. The wolves have done the same until now, emptying the play book in an attempt to keep controlling the Gilgeous-Alexander game that moves and the role players do not defend them beyond the arch.
But while the wolves are superior to the defensive of the Nuggets, the Thunder used that experience not to practice the post -support art of the fast adjustment and cut the teeth in some closed games. They took a lot of tactical and mental impulse, in this confrontation.
“We had our backs against the wall and we had to answer several times in that series,” said coach Mark Daigneault. “And now we have a different challenge. We are in 2-0 instead. We know that they will play very aggressively, hard, comfortably at home, and now we have to have the mental hardness to go to that challenge.”
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