Why Timberwolves can't be trusted in Game 7 vs. Nuggets according to Bill Simmons (2024)

17/05/2024 19:14

The Minnesota Timberwolves bounced back Thursday night in a huge way, 115-70, after losing three straight contests and force a Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. However, sports analyst Bill Simmons is not buying the Timberwolves to ultimately win the series as he spoke about it on his self-titled podcast.

One of the main points he wanted to hone in on in terms of Minnesota would be the general inexperience of the team as they are led by star Anthony Edwards who is only 22-years old. Plus, he talks about not trusting their whole roster to win an integral Game 7, especially big-man Karl-Anthony Towns who questions his ability to come up in a high stakes game like Sunday will be for sure be.

“Just trusting Towns in a giant game, we haven’t had a lot of evidence that that’s a good idea. McDaniels his shooting, they’re bench just in general, Ant, who you’re still betting on a 22 year old guy who’s going to want to be the hero a game,” Simmons said. “Can he calm himself down, can he just find the angles, can he play like he did in Game 4 basically but in a Game 7.There’s just not a lot of evidence that if you’re trusting a young player and some of the variables they have that that comes through. With all that said they might come out and just be you know it could be Hagler Hearns and they’re just flying around, I think how the game is GNA be called is going to really matter especially in this one.”

Anthony Edwards said a certain clip shifted the Timberwolves’ energy

While there are some valid points on the inexperience since the Timberwolves is relatively young, one has to commend their performance where they dominated the entire game, never giving the Nuggets a chance to come back. What preceded the domination was the Timberwolves needing a reminder of how good of a team they are where about 30 minutes before tip-off, the team watched a clip showing the success they had in the first two games which Edwards says helped according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

"I think the last three games, we (were) all down on ourselves, just trying to point the finger, blame somebody," Edwards said. "And then today before the game, the coaches and the whole staff did a great job of putting a clip together (of) the plays that we made in the two games that we won against these guys. Everybody started to believe after that little edit that they put together, and I could tell the energy shifted. …So that was big time. I told them, 'That was big time putting that edit together.'"

Besides Minnesota bouncing back, Edwards as well was back to being the exciting player fans know him to be as he scored 27 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists while having a +43 rating on the floor. While Simmons questions if a 22-year old player can lead a team past the defending champions, he certainly has the abilities to do so.

Mike Conley was surprised by the “production” before Game 6

While usually a team will watch informative film on what to change on both sides of the floor, the edit they saw before the ball was tipped off in Game 6 was more of a highlight reel to shift the narrative. One player who was “surprised” to see it and benefitted from it was Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley who mentioned that it “was more of a change-our-mentality” tactic.

"Normally we have a (film) edit, just with certain offensive possessions," Conley said. "This edit was more of a production, one of those that show all the big dunks and highlights and the ball movement and with music behind it. It was a surprise. We'll usually see the defensive stuff and offensive stuff, but this time they plugged it up to the big speaker. We normally don't have anything plugged into the big speakers, just the (film) and coach will be talking over it. But this was more of a change-our-mentality sort of thing. It was the last thing we saw before going out, with like 25 (minutes left) on the clock. It was one of those where they show it, and then everybody just gets together and claps it up and brings it in."

Conley admitted Minnesota was “tense” through skid

Conley made his return to the lineup after he missed Game 5 with a right Achilles tendon injury that he suffered late in Game 4. Thursday night, Conley scored 13 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds as he admitted that the state of the team during the three-game losing streak was “a little bit tense” since they had won six straight playoff contests before.

"I think overall our mood might have been a little bit tense — tight," Conley said via The Atheltic. "You could see it in the way we played the last few games, when guys weren't as free as they should be. They should shoot certain shots, and then they'd pass them up. Guys were pressing a little bit too much. And that environment kind of led to us being a little bit tight, and quiet, in the locker room. We're normally very alive, laughing, funny, joking, doing all that stuff. It's not fun losing, but we still can keep our energy and vibe the way we want it. I think tonight, we got that back."

Karl-Anthony Towns believes team may have their “swag” back

Another player that will be important for the success of the Timberwolves in Game 7 that Simmons started off his qualms about is Karl-Anthony Towns who didn’t have a great game Thursday as he only scored 10 points, albeit he did record 13 rebounds. While he looks to have a great close-out game of the series, he spoke about how the team needed to see the “swag” they lost in the skid.

"I think it just made us realize the swag (that) I felt we lost in the last three games," Towns said. "Just to kind of visually see it, to see the way we play — the desperation, the toughness, the physicality, the emotion, and also the discipline, the execution, the tenacity. I think that we were lacking that for the last three games, and I thought that we did a great job — coaches and the staff, all the way from the top to the bottom — did a great job getting those edits, getting that film made. What a great time to pull that trick out of the hat."

Something has to give Sunday as the Timberwolves and the Nuggets will compete in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals where it is either win or go home. Denver looks to repeat as champions, but first get back to the West finals and as for Minnesota, they are seeking a return to the conference championship series where it will be their first time since the 2003-04 season if they prevail.

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