OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves must solve Oklahoma City’s ‘AAU’ defense to avoid a 2-0 deficit in the Western Conference finals.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards used the term to describe Oklahoma City’s young, aggressive unit after the Thunder held the Timberwolves to 34.9% shooting in a 114-88 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday.
“I mean, it’s hard to process because it was different every time,” Edwards said after Game 1. “Heavy in the gaps, sometimes trap the ball screens sometimes don’t. Sometimes just run and jump. It’s kind of similar to like AAU. They remind me of like an AAU defensive team. Just run and jump. Fly around. It’s pretty good.”
Edwards said the first key for him is to be more aggressive. He didn’t like that he scored 18 points on just 13 shots in a Game 1 loss, well below his normal output. He said his adjustment for Game 2 on Thursday night will be a simple one.
“Play without the ball a little more, get a little more cardio in,” Edwards said. “Should be good.”
Minnesota coach Chris Finch said there’s plenty of ways for the Timberwolves to improve. They made just 15 of 51 3-pointers in the opener and committed 17 turnovers.
“We’ve got to pick up our decision-making,” Finch said. “We’ve definitely got to play with more force. We’ve got to play with more pass-pass combinations. We got to go somewhere a little bit quicker.”
Oklahoma City leads the league in defensive rating by a large margin in the playoffs. The Thunder lead all playoff teams with 10.8 steals per game and an opponent field-goal percentage of .407 in the postseason.
Lu Dort and Alex Caruso are two of the league’s best on-ball defenders. Caruso is versatile enough to defend guards or a big like Denver’s Nikola Jokic, as he did last series.
Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous Alexander are quick and strong and are good in passing lanes — Williams had five steals in Game 1. Cason Wallace is an exceptional athlete. That allows the Thunder to keep fresh bodies on an opponent’s best players.
In the paint, Chet Holmgren has been one of the league’s top rim protectors and Isaiah Hartenstein has been one of its top rebounders.
The result can be overwhelming. Several Minnesota players struggled with their shooting on Tuesday. Mike Conley made 2 of 8 shots, Donte DiVincenzo made 3 of 14 and Nickeil Walker-Alexander made 3 of 11.
Edwards said it was more about the Timberwolves than the Thunder.
“They got great looks, just couldn’t make them,” Edwards said. “A lot of them went in and out. And that’s going to help us. That’s going to help me and Ju (Julius Randle) because they usually make those shots. So we’re not really worried about them making shots. We’ll be all right.”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault expects the Timberwolves to adjust.
“This is a really, really good team that’s got great resolve,” he said. “These are great players. They have a great coach, tactically. So they’re going to have the next pitch that we’re going have to hit. We are aware of that, so we have to get to work.”
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