Minnesota
These aren’t the Big, Bad Wolves — Minnesota smacked by Blazers in Portland
The Timberwolves have lost consecutive games against teams that simply are not very good.
The second of which came Tuesday night in Portland, as the Wolves fell 122-108 to a Trail Blazers team they drubbed at home just five days prior.
But that’s the reality for Minnesota at the moment. The Wolves turn the ball over too often and don’t exhibit the same defensive dominance they demonstrated a season ago. When both things are true, you can lose to anyone. Including a Heat team playing sans Jimmy Butler, and even a Portland team that didn’t have Deandre Ayton or Anfernee Simons, the latter got hurt after playing just five minutes in Tuesday’s bout.
It didn’t matter. Portland had more than enough firepower to blow past Minnesota’s defense. Portland’s season high for made triples entering the contest was 14. The Blazers went 18 for 32 from distance against Minnesota.
“We’ve also given up lob dunks at the rim,” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters, “so we didn’t take either way.”
As the Wolves were attempting to claw back into the contest in the fourth, Portland simply rode Jerami Grant to the finish line. The versatile forward waltzed around whoever Minnesota threw at him for one bucket after another. It was clear Grant was who would take the shots for the Blazers. He finished with 21 points. Minnesota could do nothing to stop him.
These are not the big, bad Wolves. They’re a relatively tame unit at the moment.
Seven players for Portland scored in double figures.
Naz Reid led the Wolves (6-5) with 28 points, while Anthony Edwards tacked on 26. But Minnesota struggled from distance, shooting 13 for 35 from beyond the arc, and committed 23 turnovers that led to 25 Portland points. Minnesota has committed 20-plus turnovers in three straight games for the first time since 1995.
The Wolves’ giveaways Tuesday included numerous errors inbounding the ball, as well as an 8-second violation in which Julius Randle failed to recognize the clock as he was contested dribbling the ball up the floor.
“Just sloppy,” Finch told reporters. “Carelessness, highly controllable ones.”
Finch noted Minnesota is losing the structure within its offense, while at times also trying too hard to jam the ball into Rudy Gobert down low.
“Guys are trying to make these high-risk plays a lot — way too much,” Finch said. “You’ve got to make the simple play.”
Tuesday marked Minnesota’s first group play game of the NBA Cup in-season tournament. A 14-point loss delivers a devastating blow for the Wolves’ chances of advancing to the knockout round with three group stage games yet to play, particularly with the defeat coming at the hands of the worst team in the pool.
The Blazers fell by 45 to an under-manned Memphis team on Sunday, then turned around and beat Minnesota two days later.
The Wolves and Blazers (4-8) will again do battle Wednesday in Portland.
Originally Published:
Minnesota
Nuggets-Timberwolves takeaways: Jaden McDaniels backs up his talk, as Minnesota dominates Game 3 with defense
This wasn’t close. With the Denver Nuggets missing Aaron Gordon with a calf injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead in Game 3 and never looked back. The Wolves came away with a 113-96 victory and a 2-1 series lead behind a team effort and a dominating defensive performance that included holding Nikola Jokić to 27 points on 7-for-26 shooting.
Let’s get to some takeaways.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves defended
The Nuggets led the NBA this season in points per game (122.1 PPG). The Nuggets led the NBA this season in offensive rating (121.2). The Nuggets scored 96 points in Game 3.
Minnesota pressured and sped up the Nuggets right from the jump. By the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets were 3 for 21 from the field (1 of 9 from 3). Active ball pressure bogged the Nuggets’ attack down, physicality disrupted their off-ball movement. The Wolves flew around all night long to keep the Nuggets in a box. Denver had only 12 assists as a team in Game 3. For comparison, Jokić averaged 10.7 a night in the regular season.
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Rudy Gobert protected the paint and contested versus Jokić. Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo hounded Jamal Murray. Denver’s dynamic duo combined to shoot 12-for-43, a credit to the Wolves’ game plan and execution.
Ayo, look at this team effort
If you wondered what the ceiling was for Minnesota after it added Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline, it was on display in Game 3. His ability to defend and attack in transition always jumped off the page, but on Thursday night we saw a command within what Minnesota wanted to do. His drives were consistent, his paint touches were important and his ability to punish Denver’s defense was key. He and DiVincenzo allowed the Wolves to find a flow in the second quarter.
Think about this: Anthony Edwards played only 23 minutes, with eight of those coming in the second half, and I did not feel that until typing this very sentence. That was the impact of the team effort from Minnesota.
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McDaniels set the tone with his Game 2 postgame comments. It’s one thing to talk the talk, it’s another thing to walk the walk, and he ended up strutting like Oba Femi in this one. The ball pressure and screen navigation against Murray were one thing, but the cuts, drives and dunks were another.
It would be hyperbole to call this Gobert’s most impactful game, but it was a reminder of his impact for Minnesota. There was a confidence from Gobert (see: left-hand hook), a command as far as keeping the flow going, and a trust from his teammates to make the right play.
Where does Denver go from here?
Losing Gordon was a big blow, but the contrast between the group we saw in Game 1 and Game 3 was startling. Jokić/Murray shooting aside, this was one of the rare occasions we didn’t feel the force of Denver’s offense. All of its off-ball actions, cuts and movement were disrupted.
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Ball movement became a stagnant adventure. Transition attacks did not feel as dangerous. Pressure points were not hit. The defense that looked great in Game 1 and slipped in Game 2 disappeared Thursday night.
The Nuggets have to get back to (at the very least) their identity to deal with this Wolves team. The offense has to keep the pressure on, getting the ball where the Nuggets want, and playing with their tempo. And the defense cannot be what we’ve seen the last two games. The formula is there, but the effort has to match. Never forget that Wolves can detect their prey.
Minnesota
Minnesota woman detained by ICE needs emergency surgery for tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst, lawmakers say
Minnesota lawmakers are calling for the humanitarian release of a woman detained earlier this year, amid Operation Metro Surge, who is suffering from a tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst.
Federal immigration agents arrested 23-year-old Andrea Pedro-Francisco in Burnsville on Feb. 5, just days before she says she was scheduled to have surgery.
Pedro-Francisco moved to Minnesota seeking asylum with her mother back in 2019. Right now, she is being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas.
State lawmakers — including practicing ER physician Sen. Alice Mann, D-Edina — held a news conference Thursday morning at the Capitol to push for Pedro-Francisco’s immediate release.
“An ovarian cyst this big can put weight on the ovary and cause the ovary to twist onto itself, cutting off the ovary’s blood supply. This is a medical emergency,” Mann said. “This can impact fertility, and we are talking about a 23-year-old. If not treated, this can lead to infection and even death.”
Also on hand Thursday was North Dakota-based pastor Ellery Dykeman, who said he met with Pedro-Francisco last week in the detention center. Dykeman said she looked thinner than he had seen her in pictures.
Dykeman said Pedro-Francisco told him she is forced to climb up to a third-level bunk despite immense pain extending from the right side of her abdomen to her back.
Earlier this month, Democratic Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig said her team is tracking 20 medical cases with improper care within ICE detention. A quarter of them have serious conditions, her office says.
WCCO has reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Minnesota weather forecast. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Most of Minnesota will be under a marginal risk of severe weather on Thursday, with rain and rumbles expected.
Thursday weather forecast
Local perspective:
A line of storms is expected to develop in west-southwest Minnesota on Thursday and grow in coverage as well as intensity tracking east into the early evening.
Large hail and damaging winds are the prevalent threats, but an isolated tornado is also possible along the line.
Isolated showers are expected to form in the western part of Minnesota on Thursday morning.
Rain chances in the Twin Cities area increase in the afternoon, as a line pushes through with possible thunderstorms.
Stay Sky Aware with FOX 9 for the latest.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
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