Timberwolves

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards leaned back in his chair and tried to digest a frustrating defeat to a team with much less talent than his Timberwolves.

Later in the period, he came up the floor in semi-transition, tried to put a spin move on Conley and fell to the court before losing the ball. Being lighter makes sense for Towns now that he is playing so much more at the 4 and needing to keep up with smaller players on the perimeter. “But one night one guy is going to score 30, and the other night, another guy is going to score. The Jazz routed the [Denver Nuggets](https://theathletic.com/nba/team/nuggets/) on Wednesday night, then just kept coming on Friday night, even after the Wolves rallied from seven down with 1:54 to play to force overtime on a bank shot from Russell. He has always had a manic energy to his game, but now he’s having even more trouble with the physical part of the game. They want for the Wolves to look like the star-laden, overpowering team that they envisioned when they traded for Gobert in July. [D’Angelo Russell](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/dangelo-russell-T78UXpDn5eShWlwg/) to run pick-and-roll with Towns and get a switch so Jazz point guard [Mike Conley](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/mike-conley-ATGxUh1i1HZNS4FM/) was guarding Towns. But Towns missed an open 3 out of it from the left wing and also couldn’t hit a point-blank floater over Conley, and Conley and [Jordan Clarkson](https://theathletic.com/nba/player/jordan-clarkson-lZN2TqEprnwssIGM/) both hit 3s on the other end to help the Jazz prevail. With four high-profile players on the team, there have been long stretches of games without any rhythm as they all try to find the chemistry and continuity this is going to take. “So I just wanted to try to be as aggressive as possible and dictate the game. But there he was on Friday night, thriving when coach Chris Finch went to the small lineup, seemingly out of desperation with Towns in foul trouble and the Wolves trailing by six in another disappointing third quarter. Edwards finished the night with a team-leading 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting with five rebounds and five turnovers.

Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards is still adapting to the team's dual-center look. "The smaller we go, the better it is for me,” ...

"(Finch) did the right thing." That's on me." "It's on me. I trust him," he said. "I'm cool. "It's the little things.

Anthony Edwards' game-high 30 points wasn't enough as Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and the Jazz take down the Wolves.

But Utah couldn’t secure a board, opening up the chance for Towns to find a wide open Gobert in the paint slipping a double-drag screen. The Wolves have plenty of things to sort out that are of greater importance than their end-of-game pecking order, but they can’t neglect it down the stretch of the season. So I wanted to try to be as aggressive as possible and dictate the game.” After Mike Conley drained a tough go-ahead 3 with 1:01 left to give Utah a 128-126 lead, Russell finally attempted the first non-Towns shot with 41 seconds left in the five-minute period. He scored the first bucket of OT, but Clarkson answered the bell with a 3 of his own. He tried to make up for it early in the fourth, getting up six shots in the first 3:47 of game time after shooting eight times in his first 16:46 played. 1 overall sensed he needed to take control of the game; Edwards poured in Minnesota’s first 11 points of the quarter before he passed the baton to Nowell. That set in motion, with 1:54 to play, everyone’s favorite game: ‘Who can get out of the ABC ramps first?’ “So I think that’s part of the learning process for us, just learning how to like, when you get up 12, try to keep your foot on the gas, keep doing the little things. Although Utah made seven of their 21 attempts in the frame, a respectable 33% clip from a defensive perspective, the Jazz capitalized on long rebounding opportunities by corralling six of those 14 misses and cashing them in for 10 points. The Wolves, in each of their first two games, put those defensive habits on display in bursts. Between allowing four 3s, committing four turnovers that led to nine of those 12 points, and giving up three offensive rebounds in only 3:10 of play, the Wolves deservedly found themselves trailing for the first time, 69-68.

The Minnesota Timberwolves hosted the Utah Jazz Friday night, welcoming back a few familiar faces. Former Timberwolves Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, ...

They have the personnel to be successful, but they’ll need to figure out some new strategies. For the game, Minnesota gave up 20 threes and allowed the Jazz to shoot 40% from outside. In implementing better defensive schemes, Chris Finch should be able to get more out of his players and allow his group’s defensive talent to shine. When he played with the Utah Jazz, Gobert was obviously a defensive stalwart. In all, this loss revealed one of the Timberwolves’ most glaring flaws: their defense. The Jazz outscored Minnesota by 10 in the third frame.