Playoff Player Ratings: Game Two | Memphis Grizzlies
Wolves crash back to earth in game two.
If the Minnesota Timberwolves’ win in game one was the soaring heights of a rocket ship blasting to the moon, then game two was the scolding-hot sting of it crashing back to earth. Just as the former felt like breaking free of every imperfection that this plucky squad possesses, the latter felt like a microscope being held over each and every one of them. This is the playoffs, a roller coaster of emotions weaved into an on-court chess match, there is a chance to rectify it in just a few day’s time, but this was a forgettable performance.
Game Recap
The game ends 96-124. A thorough thrashing, there is no other way to put it. As you could probably guess, it didn’t start that way, and instead of starting with the free-flowing liquid basketball that both of these teams have oozing out of their very pores, it started with fouls. Whistles, whistles, whistles. So many whistles that in all fused into one long squawking and piercing cry, like a thousand magpies swooping around the FedExForum. There was no flow, no champagne hoops, nothing to glean from the 41-minute first period, just ticky-tack fouls and uncountable free throws being doled out to both sides at random.
Eventually, we arrived at the second quarter, and perhaps that’s around the time when the Timberwolves started to miss that incessant magpie caw. Memphis’ one-point lead at the first break paled in comparison to the damage they dealt in that second quarter, as they found the shackles that had been missing in game one and latched them firmly around the helpless wrists of Minnesota’s offense. The Wolves got just six points from their starting five and made just seven total field goals (7-for-19) as things began to unravel rapidly. The Grizzlies didn’t have all of their offensive cylinders licking flames themselves, but they were ravenously scrambling on defense and even a mediocre offensive period was enough to send them into the halftime intermission with an 11-point buffer.
After that, it was all bad for the Wolves. Nothing good. A second half that they had ought to correct and forget or this series is a wrap. It was a river of bad decisions with the ball in hand and a flood of bad decisions without it. Their offense was drenched in mostly unsuccessful isolation attempts, their defensive rotations and ability to guard without fouling were woeful and they ended up walking willingly into Memphis’ web. Now, they get to fly back to the comfort of Target Center and do it all again — this time with a point to prove and a cold dish of revenge to be served.
Player Ratings
*Player Ratings only apply to players who play 10 or more minutes*
D’Angelo Russell: 2/10
At some point he is gonna have to come to the party. He has his invitation. There is beer in the fridge for him to drink and all of his favorite songs will be playing — he just needs to walk through the fucking door.
He almost seems shellshocked at the intensity and the ball pressure and the scheme-adjustments. Instead of the silky smooth table-setter and the shot-creating virtuoso that we know he can be when he is on, we’re getting the minutes-long disappearing act and the overthinking and overdribbling when he isn’t. When he does find a pocket of space to get off a shot, they’re clanking perpetually. This is the party, man, time to rock the fuck up.
Finished with 11 points (43.1% TS), 2 rebounds and 4 assists with a -44.1 net rating.
Patrick Beverley: 2/10
He is a rabid dog, but this one was like the entire Grizzlies team threw him a juicy steak and then walked right past as he munched it. While he was tearing into the fat, they were ransacking the fuck out of everything he was there to protect.
He was just a complete non-factor. It’s weird, because his whole shtick is that he is always a factor, no matter the game or the box score or the baying crowd, but this was just a whole lotta nothing. He missed his shots, outside and in, he made slow decisions with the ball in hand, and he was more mannequin than manic as a point-of-attack defender. You get the feeling this might be lightning that won’t strike twice.
Finished with 6 points (38.7% TS), 2 rebounds and 4 assists with a -42.6 net rating.
Anthony Edwards: 5/10
Saying he was Minnesota’s best starter — and maybe best player in general — isn’t really a compliment. They were all shit, massive turds floating down a river of shit, he was just less shit than the others. Where the rest would be hard-pressed to scrape up a handful of highlights between them, Edwards did have a few spurts of offensive excellence.
The problem, however, is that he didn’t do enough to drag himself out of the shit. He still got burned as the low-man or ball-pressure defender numerous times, he still turned the ball over five times (compared to just the single assist) and he still spent the night trying to overcome big leads with a single isolation hammer blow. He needed more help, absolutely, but he had his own demons gnawing at his game.
Finished with 20 points (59.2% TS) and 6 rebounds with a -25.2 net rating.
Jarred Vanderbilt: 2/10
Schemed out of it. Didn’t even cross the 10-minute threshold but he is a starter and it would be a little fucking weird if I just omitted him wouldn’t it? Anyway, don’t be surprised if this is a theme going forward or if he isn’t a starter next game. It’s not a knock on him — his skills, hustle and unflappable work ethic are still valuable in the right setting — but the playoffs are about exploiting matchups and Taylor Jenkins has exploited him with aplomb.
Finished with 2 rebounds and a -50.4 net rating.
Karl-Anthony Towns: 3/10
If unfathomable jump shot kick-outs were wins, then the Minnesota Timberwolves would be parading the Larry O’Brien trophy through Downtown Minneapolis. Unfortunately, if my aunt had balls she’d be my uncle, and Karl-Anthony Towns doing dumb shit in big games is a fact that we’re all starting to feel the harsh consequences of.
Just don’t fucking kick out on an open 3-point look. Keep your legs in a natural position. Worst case you don’t get called for offensive fouls that destroy the team’s rhythm and best case you don’t crumble somebody’s leg. It’s just oh so avoidable. Maybe Ja Morant wriggling into you and drawing a whistle isn’t avoidable and maybe scoring against a defense hellbent on pressuring you rabidly on the catch isn’t either, but Towns needs to control the controllables. Instead, here we are, talking about another game riddled with foul trouble and low shot attempts culminating in a big fat loss.
Finished with 15 points (71.3% TS), 11 rebounds and 2 blocks with a -36.2 net rating.
Malik Beasley: 3/10
They were all just fucking crap, weren’t they? Beasley was crap, too. He didn’t stand out like some of the others, but Memphis did a great job of closing down his airspace and making him defend. In the end, he didn’t really shoot and he certainly didn’t defend.
Finished with 7 points (58.3% TS) and 3 rebounds with a -46.3 net rating.
Jaden McDaniels: 3/10
If you’re looking for the good, he blocked the fuck out a few shots at the rim and it’s always satisfying when his big shadowy wraith arms are swallowing up an unsuspecting field goal attempt. If you’re looking for the bad, it was everything else.
Finished with 2 points (14.3% TS) and 3 blocks with a -19.1 net rating.
Taurean Prince: 5/10
Took a few awful isolation shots in the first half when Chris Finch was deploying a lineup that kind of forced Prince to be a bit more of a shot-creator and that went about as well as a fart in Thailand. When he was surrounded by better pieces he looked more at home and he was one of the few players who rotated crisply on the defensive end for most of the night. There will be more minutes for him going forward, he feels important.
Finished with 12 points (76.1% TS), 2 rebounds and 2 steals with a -33.7 net rating.
Naz Reid: 2/10
Chris Finch has never lambasted a player after a game like he did with Naz Reid after this one. Straight up fucking roasted the big bumbling fucker.
Maybe it was harsh? He did have double-digit points, knocked down a pair of what felt like timely treys, he even slapped away a few stray shots at the rim. Or maybe it’s not? He did make more of the same fumbling mistakes, he is the worst rebounder I’ve ever had the displeasure of watching, and he lights Minnesota’s aggressive defensive coverage on fire whenever he is on the floor. It will be super interesting to see what Finch does with him next game.
Finished with 12 points (90.4% TS), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks with a -18.8 net rating.
Jordan McLaughlin: 2/10
Felt small. Like a little cockroach scurrying through a pack of hungry mice. Cockroaches can be hard to kill, but other times you can just stomp the fuck out of them and splatter them into the ether. Aside from a couple of nifty finishes around the rim, his inability to create shots for himself consistently or defend above his weight class made this game feel like the latter.
Finished with 4 points (100% TS), 4 rebounds and 4 assists with a -5.0 net rating.
Jaylen Nowell: 3/10
Came on late, jacked up a bunch of shots, missed most of them. Looked about as likely to score against Memphis’ lockdown defense as anybody — which wasn’t that likely.
Finished with 6 points (30% TS) and a +17.3 net rating.
Play Of The Night
Cross Veer for Anthony Edwards
Were there any plays in this game? It felt like digging through a haystack of isolation tomfoolery and ghastly turnovers to find the very few sets that actually worked out for the Timberwolves. The funny thing is that this one is a beauty, the stark opposite of what the game was as a whole.
The set, a cross veer action, is all about leveraging both Anthony Edwards’ and Karl-Anthony Towns’ greatest strengths. Towns, running into the corner and popping out of a pindown where he can launch a quickfire triple with ease, and Edwards, looping around the pindown and trotting into open pastures with the rim in front of him. It’s tough to guard. Because Xavier Tillman is so extremely worried about KAT knocking down a jumper, he abandons his role as tagger (and maybe switcher) of Edwards. Edwards’ man, Kyle Anderson, is behind the play and relying on Tillman to make the right call. He doesn’t. The Wolves will need to use more of these kinds of plays in game three.
Great job. For me, the video at end stops midway through and I don’t see a FG attempt.
Knew the game was a definite ugly loss after game 1 victory, didn’t even bother to listen while working on other projects. Obviously a good decision, sadly you had to watch to write this review. Thanks for taking one for the team last night Jake!!