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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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  3.  <title>Canis Hoopus -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>82-0</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48315/canis_hoopus_favicon.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2024-05-06T16:08:20-05:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.canishoopus.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2024-05-06T16:08:20-05:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2024-05-06T16:08:20-05:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Naz Reid Finding Himself Again Will Pay Dividends for the Wolves’ Playoff Hopes</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="2024 NBA Playoffs - Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n3Q0i6VQ7yB2NeRuvIiXz9M8jYw=/0x0:8214x5476/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73331106/2150963472.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;Naz Reid’s fourth quarter excellence in Game 1 helped the Timberwolves grab a 1-0 series lead. What changes did he make to his play from the first half to the second half to find success? &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="3zL10S"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com"&gt;Minnesota Timberwolves&lt;/a&gt; forward Naz Reid was crowned the NBA’s &lt;em&gt;Sixth Man Of the Year&lt;/em&gt; for the scoring punch he brought off the bench all year. Through 81 regular season games he averaged a career-best 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on 47.7/41.4/73.6 shooting splits while averaging 24.2 minutes per game, also a career-high.&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="OcXE7W"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.andthevalleyshook.com"&gt;LSU&lt;/a&gt; product was vital in helping the Timberwolves secure the third seed in the Western Conference and the franchise’s second-best regular season record of 56-26. He also helped keep Minnesota afloat in the race for the top seed in the conference when Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/3/7/24093238/wolves-star-karl-anthony-towns-injury-torn-meniscus-in-left-knee-out-indefinitely"&gt;torn left meniscus&lt;/a&gt; in March. &lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p id="1aXp4u"&gt;In the 14 games where he was inserted into the starting lineup due to Towns’ injury, Reid averaged 17.6 points, seven rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game on 46/42.3/62.5 shooting splits in 29.3 minutes per game. The Wolves posted a 10-4 record over the 14 games, which equated to a 71.4% win percentage — a 58-win pace.&lt;/p&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="9YOEUi"&gt;The versatile big man has posed a nightmare matchup for opposing defenses all season long, and he is a big reason why Minnesota has the bench advantage in this Western Conference Semifinals matchup with the Denver Nuggets. &lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;aside id="vgKb3u"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Wolves 106, Nuggets 99: Edwards’ Playoff Career-High 43 Points Wins Game 1","url":"https://www.canishoopus.com/timberwolves-scores-results/2024/5/4/24148926/wolves-vs-nuggets-final-score-recap-game-1-playoffs-anthony-edwards-naz-reid-career-high-jokic"}]}'&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/aside&gt;&lt;p id="Ss4Xy2"&gt;Having a better bench than your opponent will always play large when it comes to winning a singular game, let alone a seven-game series. To leverage this advantage, it requires the reserves to actually play well. As consistent as Reid was during the regular season, he has faltered for the most part throughout this playoff run. But he flipped the script in the second half against the Nuggets and powered the Wolves to a 106-99 victory to steal a game on the road and nab a 1-0 series lead. &lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="vULwnB"&gt;What were the differences between his play in the first half and the second half? &lt;/p&gt;
  26.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  27.        &lt;img alt="2024 NBA Playoffs - Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-a-BPeHsL56qDHUf1-se6TehxrQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25436126/2150955884.jpg"&gt;
  28.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Justin Tafoya/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  29.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  30. &lt;h3 id="NAJsxR"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Reactive Reid In The First Half&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  31. &lt;p id="liD7Vt"&gt;Naz only attempted three shots in the first two quarters, which made sense given the flow of the game; Anthony Edwards was on a heater and notched 25 of the team’s 40 total first half points. &lt;/p&gt;
  32. &lt;p id="HSd71R"&gt;It wasn’t the lack of shots that was the issue, it was the manner in which Reid took them. The dynamic big man has always played with a high degree of confidence and has never allowed any defensive scheme or defender on opposing rosters dictate his shot diet or how he attacks within the flow of the offense, but the first half against Denver was a polar opposite of how he usually plays. &lt;/p&gt;
  33. &lt;h5 id="T6NtbU"&gt;(Editor’s Note: If you are reading this on Apple News, please &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/e/23914414"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; so you can view embedded videos important to the analysis, and enjoy the best overall reading experience.)&lt;/h5&gt;
  34. &lt;div id="YPOQGb"&gt;
  35. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F90%2F39fdcc25-5919-cd1a-e92f-dd979a01f725_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  36. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  37. &lt;/div&gt;
  38. &lt;p id="XpR4y5"&gt;This possession begins with Edwards and Rudy Gobert running a pick-and-roll on the right wing with Reid spaced out to the right corner. The gravity Gobert has on the roll forces Justin Holiday to tag Gobert as the low man which leaves Naz open in the right corner. Edwards makes the proper read and swings the ball over to the former undrafted prospect forcing a hard close out from Holiday. &lt;/p&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="Xo8ZgD"&gt;Naz pump fakes the long-range attempt and Holiday leaves his feet. Reid attacks and gets to the rim, but he forces up an awkward layup with his off hand that falls off the cylinder. &lt;/p&gt;
  40. &lt;p id="Yf0NyE"&gt;It’s not pulling the trigger on the 3-pointer or the ugly attempt at the rim that were the problem on this possession. It was the fact that Reid &lt;em&gt;rarely&lt;/em&gt; is reactive to a defense. Typically, when Naz gets the ball he is either hoisting up 3-point attempts with no hesitation or is attacking the open gaps in the defense. He doesn’t do this with reckless abandonment to the detriment of himself and the team; he does it with instilled confidence. &lt;/p&gt;
  41. &lt;p id="T7ARBv"&gt;This possession was the total opposite of that. Reid doesn’t often use ball fakes on the perimeter to attack off the dribble. This action shows that he either wasn’t confident in the shot or that he was pressing, attempting to do too much and complicating the game. &lt;/p&gt;
  42. &lt;p id="tU5FH2"&gt;Shying away from contact on a layup attempt is also a stark contrast from what he regularly does. When he attacks and gets in the heart of the defense or plays through his post touches he uses his large and agile frame to bully smaller and slower defenders to get to spots that result in high percentage looks. &lt;/p&gt;
  43. &lt;div id="cTCzfG"&gt;
  44. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F265%2Ff4c99c7b-9d17-0e0d-1e8f-709c74d286fd_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  45. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  46. &lt;/div&gt;
  47. &lt;p id="I3Fte6"&gt;This possession is an example of what I am referring to. Instead of using a ball fake here,  Reid is decisive and penetrates right away. Similar to the other possession, it’s not one decision that is alarming. Rather, it’s Naz opting to do things he regularly doesn’t do. NBA defenses have not gotten the memo that Reid is a proficient shooter from beyond the arc. It’s shocking that he didn’t shoot this trey considering how much space he has when he first catches the pass. Reid’s bread and butter from beyond the arc is catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts. Edwards set the table perfectly and delivered a pass to Naz’s shooter’s pocket.&lt;/p&gt;
  48. &lt;p id="bFxHot"&gt;The Nuggets do not have a defender capable of containing Naz, so he can get to whatever he wants to on the offensive end. Reid needs to play within himself and do what he has normally done throughout his career to increase the odds of the Wolves moving onto the Western Conference Finals. &lt;/p&gt;
  49. &lt;p id="0r5OzC"&gt;Dating back to the first-round playoff matchup between these two teams last year, there was a lot of chatter that if the Wolves had Reid coming off the bench, the series could have played out differently, and there’s validity to it. His fourth quarter showing in Game 1 of this series was critical to Minnesota winning the game, and proved that the discourse of him swaying the series is true. &lt;/p&gt;
  50.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  51.        &lt;img alt="2024 NBA Playoffs - Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0pa4zf2iW6mg_hQypSqPNZtVBNs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25436130/2150963020.jpg"&gt;
  52.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Justin Tafoya/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  53.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  54. &lt;h3 id="nBQvAc"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Reid’s Decisive Dominance In the Fourth Quarter&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  55. &lt;p id="ycEOt3"&gt;Naz absolutely went off in the fourth quarter and ate the Nuggets alive with a flurry of buckets. Entering the fourth quarter of Game 1, Reid’s playoff career-high in points was 13. He broke that in one quarter on Saturday, scoring a team-high 14 points in the period and was a +5 in the nine minutes he played. He went 6/7 overall from the floor and connected on both of his 3-point attempts. His play in this quarter propelled the Wolves jumping out to a 1-0 series lead. Without Reid’s impact, Minnesota is likely facing a deficit to begin the series. &lt;/p&gt;
  56. &lt;p id="WmNWWT"&gt;Besides the actual scoring punch, Reid played a style of basketball more representative of the campaign that earned him the Sixth Man of the Year award. He looked like the Naz Reid that Timberwolves fans have come to know and love.&lt;/p&gt;
  57. &lt;p id="FIViRs"&gt;Here are three consecutive shots from Naz to begin his fourth quarter. The first one is Reid operating out of the post with his back to the basket. Big Jelly uses three powerful dribbles to pin Holiday on his heels and hit a smooth spin move over his right shoulder that is too tough to contest. &lt;/p&gt;
  58. &lt;div id="KFrJra"&gt;
  59. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F476%2F3d234b5a-f57c-a729-72e1-0d10d424b93d_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  60. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  61. &lt;/div&gt;
  62. &lt;p id="LcHXJK"&gt;This second possession begins with Naz faking a dribble hand off to Conley and it catches the Nuggets defense off-guard. Jamal Murray is now tasked with defending Reid on the perimeter in isolation. This is essentially impossible for Murray because he doesn’t have the size or strength to contain Naz on the drive.&lt;/p&gt;
  63. &lt;p id="tEuu1r"&gt;Two different bumps from the big man create all the separation he needs as he’s able to rise up and find the bottom of the net on another layup with zero contest from the defense. &lt;/p&gt;
  64. &lt;div id="lYG5eh"&gt;
  65. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F490%2F50fb4a9c-00dd-29ea-9a7d-2f407889c6d6_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  66. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  67. &lt;/div&gt;
  68. &lt;p id="57o2Xb"&gt;This third possession against Aaron Gordon shows a similar pattern of Reid playing with confidence and believing nobody can stop him. Gordon is no slouch, he is 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds. Naz uses his crafty handle to get Gordon leaning east-to-west and goes into his body on the shot attempt. Even though it doesn’t convert into a bucket, the confidence to attack a slow footed Gordon and attempt to go through him and not shy away from contact like he did in the first half is important. &lt;/p&gt;
  69. &lt;div id="CZmqEk"&gt;
  70. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F507%2F91905141-16ee-600b-c141-468598af406e_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  71. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  72. &lt;/div&gt;
  73. &lt;p id="Clhy4c"&gt;This is the conviction that Reid needs to play with. Playing into his strengths of being stronger and more agile than most defenders he’ll see attempting to check him will pay dividends for himself, and in turn, the Wolves, especially if he’s going to consistently run against Denver’s bench unit. &lt;/p&gt;
  74. &lt;div id="BTNba7"&gt;
  75. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F554%2F6f39f70c-cdbf-31b2-3753-914eb0f47e13_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  76. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  77. &lt;/div&gt;
  78. &lt;p id="xziKPZ"&gt;This 3-pointer is that bread and butter I referenced earlier, and this quick trigger is what makes Reid such a lethal shooter. His ability to knock down these shots at a high percentage helps, sure, but having one of the ultimate green lights and taking advantage of it is going to be critical in this series, especially if there’s a game in which one of Edwards or Towns struggles to score. &lt;/p&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="STJsK2"&gt;Compared to the first 3-point attempt embedded earlier, Reid just shoots the ball right away. He is on the opposite wing but he is the same distance from beyond the arc and the closeout from Aaron Gordon is slow and the Nuggets forward never really gets a hand up. Naz is oozing confidence in this attempt. He doesn’t wait to see what the defense does and doesn’t let Gordon dictate what he’s going to do. He sets the tone and does what he wants.&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;p id="nGPuCB"&gt;The offensive plan for Reid is super simple, and it will kill the limited bench that Denver possesses. Put up shots from outside off catch-and-shoot opportunities, expose smaller, slower defenders through a crafty handle, and play through contact at the rim. &lt;/p&gt;
  81. &lt;p id="UrgcCw"&gt;It makes sense for a young player participating in only the third playoff series of his career to think he has to do more in a higher stakes environment. If Naz Reid trusts that everything that made him so great all season can make him great in the the playoffs, too, the Wolves may be dancing into the next round convincingly.  &lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;p id="KutJB8"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="Hp7fwn"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;p id="qpXbxj"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  85.  
  86. </content>
  87.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/6/24150373/naz-reid-sixth-man-of-the-year-minnesota-timberwolves-denver-nuggets-game-1-nba-playoffs"/>
  88.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/6/24150373/naz-reid-sixth-man-of-the-year-minnesota-timberwolves-denver-nuggets-game-1-nba-playoffs</id>
  89.    <author>
  90.      <name>Will Tzavaras</name>
  91.    </author>
  92.  </entry>
  93.  <entry>
  94.    <published>2024-05-06T13:05:20-05:00</published>
  95.    <updated>2024-05-06T13:05:20-05:00</updated>
  96.    <title>Playoff Game Preview #6: Wolves at Nuggets</title>
  97.    <content type="html">  
  98.  
  99.    &lt;figure&gt;
  100.      &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game One" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jCAp9wonuPTo57TZ442QYHLDLvs=/0x0:4221x2814/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73330544/2151519237.0.jpg" /&gt;
  101.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  102.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  103.  
  104.  &lt;p&gt;Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves have established early control against Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. With the pressure tilting towards the defending champs, can Minnesota continue to suffocate the Denver offense?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="jLCRAG"&gt;To be the best, you have to beat the best. On Saturday night, the Denver Nuggets and &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com"&gt;Minnesota Timberwolves&lt;/a&gt; raised their gloves and sized each other up as the opening bell sounded off round one of the best-of-seven brawl. It's a heavy-weight fight, with Minnesota landing the first blow, going up 18-4, only to be met with a devastating counter as Denver answered with a 21-3 run. &lt;/p&gt;
  105. &lt;p id="mI4uPq"&gt;The two colossal titans of the NBA met each other toe to toe as each tried to assert their dominance. Minnesota’s feverish tenacity defensively continually forced Denver to earn every inch. As the fourth quarter progressed, the Nuggets fatigue became their downfall. Unable to keep Anthony Edwards at bay, the awe-inspiring superstar erupted for 43 on 58.6% shooting. Naz Reid obliterated all resistance in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points in the quarter as the Timberwolves took command of the game.&lt;/p&gt;
  106. &lt;div id="AnNVZE"&gt;
  107. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  108. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;OH MY, NAZ REID.     &lt;a href="https://t.co/oYvcFxseYR"&gt;pic.twitter.com/oYvcFxseYR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1786925723380232196?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  109. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  110. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  111.  
  112. &lt;/div&gt;
  113. &lt;p id="oCKop4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Timberwolves: 106&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;p id="1XpWv8"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Denver: 99&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="VuHBhW"&gt;The Timberwolves have a 1-0 series lead.&lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;aside id="JvrcPG"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Wolves 106, Nuggets 99: Edwards’ Playoff Career-High 43 Points Wins Game 1","url":"https://www.canishoopus.com/timberwolves-scores-results/2024/5/4/24148926/wolves-vs-nuggets-final-score-recap-game-1-playoffs-anthony-edwards-naz-reid-career-high-jokic"}]}'&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/aside&gt;&lt;p id="Hp8Ta7"&gt;Before the playoffs began, pundits expressed doubt in the 56-26 Wolves. Dropping the final regular season game to &lt;a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com"&gt;Phoenix Suns&lt;/a&gt;, most experts across the basketball media channels neglect to award their stamp of approval for Minnesota. Drawing the very team that had beaten them a few days prior, few thought the talented Suns would make short work of the immature Timberwolves whose best defender couldn’t stay on the court in the playoffs. &lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;div class="c-float-right"&gt;&lt;div id="5jIzoZ"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="aside:12299189"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  118. &lt;p id="t0bmxu"&gt;Talk about a miss.&lt;/p&gt;
  119. &lt;p id="a1Kg6H"&gt;The Timberwolves' dismantling of the Suns radiated the Edwards’ glow to basketball fans across the world. Instead of acknowledging how dangerous of a threat the entire Wolves basketball team roster had become, the narrative was fixated on the team who’d been incinerated. In an abrupt change of heart, Phoenix was no longer the quality of opponent they once were thought to be. It left a hungry pack of Wolves only one option to capture the full attention of the NBA, to beat the Nuggets in Denver.&lt;/p&gt;
  120. &lt;p id="EgilW1"&gt;So get your head on a swivel NBA, this Timberwolves team has mortalized Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. It’s a statement win to steal a game in Denver, but the job is not done. That now makes five consecutive focused, business-like mentality approach from this Timberwolves squad. The growth in maturity from Edwards, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Jaden McDaniels has shot the Timberwolves' baseline into the stratosphere. Always seemingly within striking distance thanks to their consistently destructive defense, the Timberwolves' wealth of depth and selfless offense has continued to deliver a flawless playoff record.&lt;/p&gt;
  121. &lt;p id="pud3Nz"&gt;This is an incredibly rewarding win over the Nuggets, so celebrate it. Now, it's time to turn the page and lock in for Game 2. The Timberwolves need to continue their persistent energy and poise. This team’s maturity will continue to be tested, and their focus must never wane from the challenge at hand. Let’s dive into how the Timberwolves can land a body blow and go up 2-0 in the series.&lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="6bXivZ"&gt;
  123. &lt;h2 id="wC9Cyh"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game Info&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  124. &lt;ul&gt;
  125. &lt;li id="9ZWOL8"&gt;
  126. &lt;strong&gt;Who:&lt;/strong&gt; #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (5-0) vs. #2 Denver Nuggets (4-2)&lt;/li&gt;
  127. &lt;li id="lrgfQH"&gt;
  128. &lt;strong&gt;When:&lt;/strong&gt; Monday, May 6th at 9:00 PM CT&lt;/li&gt;
  129. &lt;li id="F5qibU"&gt;
  130. &lt;strong&gt;Where:&lt;/strong&gt; Ball Arena — Denver, CO&lt;/li&gt;
  131. &lt;li id="GFNgyA"&gt;
  132. &lt;strong&gt;National TV:&lt;/strong&gt; TNT (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford and Allie LaForce)&lt;/li&gt;
  133. &lt;li id="aDNwee"&gt;
  134. &lt;strong&gt;Radio:&lt;/strong&gt; KFAN FM 100.3, Wolves App&lt;/li&gt;
  135. &lt;li id="H9ONkZ"&gt;
  136. &lt;strong&gt;Line:&lt;/strong&gt; Wolves +5.5 | &lt;strong&gt;Total:&lt;/strong&gt; 206 (courtesy of &lt;a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/teams/basketball/nba/minnesota-timberwolves"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DraftKings Sportsbook&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt;
  137. &lt;li id="N8IAt5"&gt;
  138. &lt;strong&gt;Jerseys:&lt;/strong&gt; Wolves (Association), Nuggets (Statement)&lt;/li&gt;
  139. &lt;/ul&gt;
  140. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Wr0Rsi"&gt;
  141. &lt;h2 id="SsQL0B"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Injury Report&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  142. &lt;p id="1SMxzg"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Updated as of Monday, May 4 at 1:00 PM CT&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  143. &lt;h3 id="kNS2i0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  144. &lt;p id="sHPmmE"&gt;QUESTIONABLE&lt;/p&gt;
  145. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li id="2Zj1QO"&gt;Rudy Gobert (personal reasons)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  146. &lt;div id="dUbGUS"&gt;
  147. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  148. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Gobert's partner is expecting their first child and she is due this month.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;“I would do anything I can to be there,” Gobert told &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NBASarah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@NBASarah&lt;/a&gt; in March. “I don’t think there’s any debate to have. Coach Finch and every guy in this locker room, that’s what I love about them, we have a… &lt;a href="https://t.co/X08k39IpZ1"&gt;https://t.co/X08k39IpZ1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Jack Borman (@jrborman13) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jrborman13/status/1787536308530827445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 6, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  149. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  150. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  151.  
  152. &lt;/div&gt;
  153. &lt;div id="mxbhGQ"&gt;
  154. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  155. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Asking around a bit about Rudy Gobert, and there seems to be optimism that Gobert will be able to get back by game time tonight. The later tip helps (8pm MT).&lt;/p&gt;— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DaneMooreNBA/status/1787561700520038850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 6, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  156. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  157. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  158.  
  159. &lt;/div&gt;
  160. &lt;h3 id="3hRiF5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Denver&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  161. &lt;p id="RHEkpW"&gt;QUESTIONABLE&lt;/p&gt;
  162. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li id="IzWLpN"&gt;Jamal Murray (left calf strain)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  163. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="t1cNY8"&gt;
  164. &lt;h2 id="fG0X7y"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to Watch For&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  165.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  166.        &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qut8T2FX8fFhwa1LU9Va3dqKIG4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434856/usa_today_23191439.jpg"&gt;
  167.      &lt;cite&gt;Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/cite&gt;
  168.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  169. &lt;h3 id="p85aSk"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How will the Jokić and the Nuggets Respond?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  170. &lt;p id="Y1V2i3"&gt;The Nuggets are the gold standard of team play and the ability to generate high-quality shots. The Timberwolves are an incredibly challenging team to decipher on the defensive end. Harboring a fleet of defenders with exceptional length and size, the Wolves can rotate multiple defenders on opposing stars to keep them from settling in on a matchup. Between Jokić and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets possess boundless levels of basketball IQ. The two will continue to probe Minnesota’s defenses and test for weak spots. Lethal sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. stalks the perimeter. With a knack for timing, the lengthy wing doesn’t need much space to get a quality shot off.&lt;/p&gt;
  171. &lt;p id="QT3cJy"&gt;Jokić worked to his limit in Game 1 and the Nuggets need to find a way to get more offense outside of their two-time MVP. Denver is at their best when the ball is flowing and finding multiple players in a quality position to attack, shoot, or pass. The Timberwolves successfully stalled promising attacks with their ability to stay in position to maximize their length, forcing the Nuggets into stickier actions and late shot-clock situations.&lt;/p&gt;
  172. &lt;h5 id="8G1eRb"&gt;(Editor’s Note: If you are reading this on Apple News, please &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/e/23913847"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; so you can view embedded videos important to the analysis, and enjoy the best overall reading experience.)&lt;/h5&gt;
  173. &lt;div id="Fq9ijH"&gt;
  174. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F516%2F5afd65b3-5b46-4fd8-d0dd-880678bafae7_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  175. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  176. &lt;/div&gt;
  177. &lt;p id="QWEBKH"&gt;Denver’s starting five were all a collective negative on the box score. Murray has struggled to impact the game to his typical standard. The Nuggets star, best known for his knack for making tough shots in key moments, has been working through a nagging left calf strain. Going 6-14 from the field and a lowly -22 for the game, Murray clearly lacked his normal explosion and as a result struggled to navigate the Timberwolves’ defense. His health is paramount to the Nuggets ‘ aspirations of defending their crown. Murray’s ability to probe and warp a defense creates open shots or attacking opportunities for his teammates. His struggles reverberate through the lineup and disrupt the Nuggets' offensive flow. &lt;/p&gt;
  178. &lt;p id="QYZ22W"&gt;Expect Denver to show Minnesota a few new offensive sets. If they can find some weaker spots in the Timberwolves defense, the entire floor should open up more. &lt;/p&gt;
  179.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  180.        &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lxdixoB6tEZbj23tT51rpxto8Q4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434864/usa_today_23189889.jpg"&gt;
  181.      &lt;cite&gt;Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/cite&gt;
  182.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  183. &lt;h3 id="i9uJyU"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Is Edwards approaching Jokić’s level?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  184. &lt;p id="NH80U6"&gt;Since Edwards arrived in Minnesota, he has continued to ascend to the heights of greatness. Along the way, he’s dragged this Timberwolves franchise right out of the mud and up onto a pedestal. Pulverizing the Suns in the first round with &lt;a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/anthony-edwards-vs-suns-in-playoffs"&gt;31 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists&lt;/a&gt;, marquee influencers in the basketball world began to sign the rising phenom’s praises. Some go as far as comparing Edwards to the legendary Michael Jordan.&lt;/p&gt;
  185. &lt;div id="GDRSjj"&gt;
  186. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  187. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Is it real? You damn right! This MJ comparison ain’t a punchline, fly by night, none of that… &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The next on that that throne is none other than Anthony Edwards aka AntMan! &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BelieveThat?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#BelieveThat&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/VEX34EP64C"&gt;pic.twitter.com/VEX34EP64C&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/KendrickPerkins/status/1786524413350883382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 3, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  188. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  189. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  190.  
  191. &lt;/div&gt;
  192. &lt;p id="AeHcd7"&gt;Some would say this was all getting to be a bit much, and the Edwards hype train was reaching too far. It becomes hard to deny the idea when Ant continues to deliver breathtaking performances. Edwards’ blistering game 1 performance overwhelmed the defending champions. In a game featuring the best player in the world in Jokić, it was Edwards who commanded the spotlight and was clearly the strongest force on the floor. The thought that Edwards could match Jokić was a prospect hopeful in nature but in game one Edwards sparked hope that he indeed continues to rise to the moment.&lt;/p&gt;
  193. &lt;p id="jzvNlL"&gt;It goes beyond the 43 points scored in Game 1. As Edwards emerges as one of the premier shotmakers in the NBA, his defense equally continues to level up.&lt;/p&gt;
  194. &lt;div id="ChW81A"&gt;
  195. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2024%2F05%2F04%2F0042300231%2F340%2Fafe8aba4-44d1-2373-c2a7-5dd2cdd4041a_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  196. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  197. &lt;/div&gt;
  198. &lt;p id="MUF41n"&gt;Edwards is playing confident, tenacious, and mature basketball. Taking what the game gives him and punishing opportunistic matchups while playing soul-crushing defends, Edwards sets the tone for his team. Ant is forcing his way into the conversation of being one of the best basketball players in the world, and it’s a development that could propel the Wolves into beating the defending champion Nuggets. &lt;/p&gt;
  199. &lt;div id="kNLi34"&gt;
  200. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  201. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Michael Malone today on Anthony Edwards' 43 points in Game 1: "He's going to get his."&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"If you allow Conley and Towns and Naz Reid to have the impact they had in the 2nd half, that's going to make it really problematic."&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"I'm worried more about the other guys." &lt;a href="https://t.co/bBlaOAJKKc"&gt;pic.twitter.com/bBlaOAJKKc&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/HarrisonWind/status/1787221118257877209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  202. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  203. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  204.  
  205. &lt;/div&gt;
  206. &lt;p id="3x32tC"&gt;Now, the 22-year-old superstar needs to continue to play smart basketball. Denver does not have a bevy of options to throw at him defensively so continue to stay aggressive and attack. Expect Edwards to be in attack mode early and often. If Denver counters by moving Gordon off Towns and up on Ant, then it’s up to Towns to capitalize on his favorable matchup. Punish that decision, and make Denver be forced to live with Edwards. &lt;/p&gt;
  207. &lt;h3 id="X9LfqB"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keys to Victory&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  208. &lt;ul&gt;
  209. &lt;li id="OH5CMl"&gt;KAT staying out of foul trouble&lt;/li&gt;
  210. &lt;li id="4irIjs"&gt;Continued pressure on Murray&lt;/li&gt;
  211. &lt;li id="epEzdS"&gt;Force Denver’s starters into heavy minutes&lt;/li&gt;
  212. &lt;li id="yJxqMo"&gt;Force Jokić to be a scorer&lt;/li&gt;
  213. &lt;/ul&gt;
  214. &lt;p id="R0ZhxZ"&gt;Towns has struggled with foul trouble in four of five playoff games this year. When on the court, KAT has positively impacted the game with reliable defense and efficient, under-control offense. His 11 third-quarter points stabilized the game for the Wolves as the defense continued to wear down the Nuggets. The defense needs to stay locked in. Ensure Murray doesn’t get anything easy, and contest every shot. Murray is clearly less than 100% healthy, so persistent pressure and rotating defensive bodies should keep Murray from settling into the game.&lt;/p&gt;
  215. &lt;p id="MspkN0"&gt;The Timberwolves did a fantastic job forcing Denver to work on both offense and defense. Minnesota’s defense routinely disrupted Denver’s primary actions and forced them into tough shots or secondary actions. The Wolves out-rebounded the Nuggets &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-den-0042300231/box-score"&gt;42-34, while the bench scored 23 to Denver’s 15.&lt;/a&gt; The physicality was palpable, and the Wolves were prepared to answer. Most importantly, the Timberwolves need to continue to force Jokić to be a scorer and take away passing lanes. Denver is at their best when the soon-to-be three-time MVP can pull the strings, so ensure there are no strings to pull.&lt;/p&gt;
  216. &lt;p id="O7grPs"&gt;The Timberwolves have landed the first blow. If we didn’t before, we have their full attention now. Expect desperation from Denver to hit back and capture a game before heading to Minneapolis. On the contrary, the Timberwolves have an opportunity to establish a commanding 2-0 lead on the defending champions before heading home to play in from of the roaring Target Center. We know what this team is capable of, it’s up to them to continue to find consistency every night, with or without Rudy Gobert. &lt;/p&gt;
  217. &lt;p id="gyVio0"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  218.  
  219. </content>
  220.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/6/24149806/wolves-vs-nuggets-game-2-preview-starting-time-tv-schedule-injury-report-odds-anthony-edwards-jokic"/>
  221.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/6/24149806/wolves-vs-nuggets-game-2-preview-starting-time-tv-schedule-injury-report-odds-anthony-edwards-jokic</id>
  222.    <author>
  223.      <name>Tim_Garrison</name>
  224.    </author>
  225.  </entry>
  226.  <entry>
  227.    <published>2024-05-06T09:35:44-05:00</published>
  228.    <updated>2024-05-06T09:35:44-05:00</updated>
  229.    <title>What We’ve Learned, What We’re Watching For During Lynx Preseason</title>
  230.    <content type="html">  
  231.  
  232.    &lt;figure&gt;
  233.      &lt;img alt="Chicago Sky v Minnesota Lynx" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rGoWlhjNKzY1_INK92zSxDMFnoQ=/0x0:4496x2997/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73329891/2150774726.0.jpg" /&gt;
  234.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  235.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  236.  
  237.  &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;As preseason and training camp rolls along and as the regular season nears, let’s look at a few things we’ve learned so far and what we’re still watching before the real games begin for the Minnesota Lynx.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="CBtrRX"&gt;The start of May means we have officially entered the &lt;a href="https://www.swishappeal.com"&gt;WNBA&lt;/a&gt; season with the regular-season opener set for May 14 throughout the league.&lt;/p&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="GGojN3"&gt;Before that takes place, teams commenced at the end of April for training camp, beginning a two-week stretch of practices and preseason games that will be used to narrow down final rosters in preparation for the 2024 campaign.&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;p id="ohYtTJ"&gt;For the Minnesota Lynx, they feel like they are in a better position this year than they were at this time last preseason, looking to build off a year where they returned to the postseason with the insertion of some new faces on the squad this summer after an active offseason.&lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  241. &lt;p id="g6M8vp"&gt;“The expectation is to build on last season, where I think a lot of people were unsure what to expect from the Minnesota Lynx. Frankly, the expectations weren’t high from people externally. (Last season), we figured things out, we learned our identity, we learned that we have a foundation and we know we have an MVP candidate in Napheesa Collier,” Lynx Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations Cheryl Reeve said during the team’s Media Day. &lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;p id="wWUt1m"&gt;“We felt like we had a vision and direction. Now, what does this season look like? What are the expectations? It’s that we build on that. We do have high expectations and we feel like the additions we made in free agency, via trade and the draft, we feel a little deeper.&lt;/p&gt;
  243. &lt;p id="AFVaBh"&gt;“You should expect us to be better defensively, you should expect us to be better at three-point shooting, you should expect us to be able to play with better pace,” Reeve continued. “That’s the feel that we have. … We are going to continue to surprise people.”&lt;/p&gt;
  244. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  245. &lt;p id="ecoBFH"&gt;As the regular season approaches, Minnesota is halfway through a two-game preseason slate. The Lynx took down the Chicago Sky last Friday in the preseason opener, wrapping up the pair of games with a battle against the Washington Mystics on May 8 in the nation’s capital.&lt;/p&gt;
  246. &lt;aside id="uMc2rS"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Lynx 92, Sky 81: Collier, Williams Shine in Preseason Opening Win","url":"https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/4/24148510/lynx-vs-sky-final-score-recap-wnba-napheesa-collier-courtney-williams-kamilla-cardoso-injury"}]}'&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/aside&gt;&lt;p id="MYzagx"&gt;As preseason and training camp rolls along and as the regular season nears, let’s look at a few things we’ve learned so far and what we’re still watching before the real games begin.&lt;/p&gt;
  247. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="JYZM9X"&gt;
  248. &lt;h2 id="KKG0yr"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What We’ve Learned&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  249.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  250.        &lt;img alt="Chicago Sky v Minnesota Lynx" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ktGX86EfCfRy8z-tUIDeNz1kb_8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434917/2150777326.jpg"&gt;
  251.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  252.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  253. &lt;h3 id="sigdQB"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New-Look Guard Group&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  254. &lt;p id="oR7z36"&gt;Entering the offseason, the Lynx once again had a gap at the point guard position, a spot the team has been trying to solidify really since Lindsay Whalen retired in 2018.&lt;/p&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="iOuAZK"&gt;Minnesota made a big step in doing just that with the additions of Courtney Williams via free agency and Natisha Hiedeman via trade. That duo will be exciting to watch together this season, mainly with how they lead this team on and off the court while providing a steady presence as floor generals.&lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  257. &lt;p id="UlOBjy"&gt;“We were really targeting players that could shore up some of our weaknesses from last season. Everybody knows the point guard position has been a bit of a challenge,” Reeve &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BallySportsNOR/status/1763003112908890239"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;said this offseason on Bally Sports North&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. “We really feel like Courtney’s emergence as a point guard in our league, most of her career she was an off-guard. Last season, she played point guard and had one of her best seasons of her career. She’s a really productive player on both ends of the floor.”&lt;/p&gt;
  258. &lt;p id="6Vr0fJ"&gt;“We tried to sign (Hiedeman) in last year’s free agency. She was a restricted free agent, so it was a little more challenging, but we ended up trading for her,” Reeve said. “We feel good about our guard spot.”&lt;/p&gt;
  259. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  260. &lt;p id="yKfo94"&gt;In the preseason opener, one thing was apparent when it specifically comes to Williams — she will be a key to this team in 2024 and has already taken over as a leader and veteran voice on the team. Along with that, she also has the ability to take over games and impact things on the court, like we saw in her preseason debut at Target Center.&lt;/p&gt;
  261. &lt;p id="rLzZss"&gt;Off the court, her voice is powerful. Not in a loud or harsh way, but as it pertains to hyping up her teammates and being a valuable veteran presence. We have already seen that plenty during timeouts and within team huddles. On the court, Williams can boost her new team in the pick-and-roll game, can push the pace and has shot well from three the last few years, all while coming off a career year at point guard in Chicago in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
  262. &lt;p id="yxpkhi"&gt;Williams will have a breakout year in Minnesota in 2024, you can count on that.&lt;/p&gt;
  263. &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p id="YNYgdk"&gt;“You walk into the gym in the offseason when she was running up and down, and I just noticed (her leadership). I just thought ‘this is really, really good for us’,” Reeve said. “She just knows what should be happening, she’s a vet. It’s a voice that you want. The stuff that she is saying I know is the right thing. .... She’s just a really smart basketball player. I’m glad she’s ours.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  264. &lt;p id="bQx9Ob"&gt;Hiedeman will pair nicely alongside Williams at the point, providing playoff experience, strong playmaking ability and strength from three, all aspects that will be valuable for the Lynx. Reeve noted after the preseason opener that Hiedeman will be a key player coming off the bench in providing Minnesota with a spark on the second unit.&lt;/p&gt;
  265. &lt;p id="TJUU5S"&gt;“She’ll be running the second group, she’s going to be really valuable there,” Reeve said.&lt;/p&gt;
  266. &lt;p id="faKGZL"&gt;We haven’t seen the Lynx bring in this type of talent at point guard since the dynasty era, and it will be really intriguing to see the difference they will make on this team throughout the summer. &lt;/p&gt;
  267.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  268.        &lt;img alt="Chicago Sky v Minnesota Lynx" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TCBtJXya6nIX91L0KP4PNF4Ix1E=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434916/2150770140.jpg"&gt;
  269.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  270.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  271. &lt;h3 id="ArNouA"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mix of Rotations&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  272. &lt;p id="sGvJDu"&gt;With the insertion of a few new players on the team, notably players who will play larger roles such as Williams, Hiedeman and Alanna Smith, we could see a good mix up in the rotations throughout the preseason and again in the regular season.&lt;/p&gt;
  273. &lt;p id="4BK6wU"&gt;Williams and Hiedeman add valuable experience and leadership to the existing guards on the Lynx roster that includes Kayla McBride, Diamond Miller and others. But those two offseason additions will allow Minnesota to mix things up based on who they are playing each night. We could see Williams and Hiedeman on the floor together a decent amount, giving the Lynx a pair of guards that can be interchangeable with initiating the offense. We will also see one of them on the court leading the offense at a time, with Williams handling more of the starting duties and Hiedeman coming off the bench to spark the second unit. Regardless, those two players will give the Lynx much-needed depth at that point guard position for the first time since the dynasty era, and allows them to mix things up a bit.&lt;/p&gt;
  274. &lt;p id="V9rZij"&gt;When it comes to Smith, it will be really interesting to see who Reeve decides to surround her with when she’s on the court. It will likely be a similar situation to the guards in that Smith could be mixed in with a few different lineups. If Minnesota is playing a bigger team, we could see the Lynx roll Smith out with a larger lineup that includes Napheesa Collier and Dorka Juhász. If they are playing a smaller team, maybe Smith is running the center spot while the Lynx try a smaller lineup that can push the pace.&lt;/p&gt;
  275. &lt;p id="gkvePb"&gt;We saw Reeve experiment a little bit in the preseason opener with the lineups, but with players such as McBride and Juhász absent for that game, it’s something we could see played with and tested a bit more in the preseason finale and as the regular season gets underway. Regardless, Minnesota has a good amount of depth that gives it many options for which five it wants on the court throughout the game.&lt;/p&gt;
  276. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="QO5CNq"&gt;
  277. &lt;h2 id="NQlwiE"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What We’re Watching For&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  278.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  279.        &lt;img alt="Seattle Storm v Minnesota Lynx" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CrS82ogQ1umqBlfQL7p77FItDlI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434915/1259142628.jpg"&gt;
  280.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by David Berding/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  281.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  282. &lt;h3 id="BzafFK"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Emphasis on More 3-Pointers?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  283. &lt;p id="ES08q6"&gt;There’s no denying the fact that the Lynx were below average beyond the arc in 2023, something the team and its coaching staff will be the first to admit was disappointing a year ago.&lt;/p&gt;
  284. &lt;p id="1vIvcX"&gt;Last season, Minnesota ranked 11th in the league in 3-point percentage (32.5%), finishing ahead of only the Dallas Wings’ league-worst mark of 31.7%. The Lynx finished eighth in three-point attempts (20.7) but converted on just 6.8 of those attempts per game.&lt;/p&gt;
  285. &lt;p id="tVR4ik"&gt;This offseason, that was an area of focus for Minnesota to try and improve, both with the existing players already on the roster as well as the additions brought onto the team. And in 2024, Reeve has the goal of being near the top of the league in the deep-ball game to add an aspect to the Lynx offense that will match the talents of other high-powered offenses in the WNBA.&lt;/p&gt;
  286. &lt;p id="14WYO9"&gt;“I want to be in the top-four,” Reeve said of her goals for where the Lynx will finish in 3-point performance. “We just feel like our advantage will maybe be a little more of that, as opposed to the interior presence. And that just gives (Collier) more room to work and do what she likes to do in the paint.”&lt;/p&gt;
  287. &lt;p id="WsbHVz"&gt;In the preseason opener against Chicago, Minnesota did end up taking 22 shots from deep, connecting on seven of those. Although that is a bit an improvement, Reeve even noted post-game that she would still like to see that number increase. It is fair to note, though, that Kayla McBride — the team’s highest volume and best 3-point shooter — did not play (rest). &lt;/p&gt;
  288. &lt;p id="nDWxaU"&gt;When it comes to players that were already on the roster, Bridget Carleton, McBride, Collier and others will contribute to the Lynx’s improvement from long range. But the additions of talented 3-point shooters in Williams, Hiedeman and Alissa Pili should boost both Minnesota’s volume and efficiency from deep.&lt;/p&gt;
  289. &lt;p id="wDkkfB"&gt;In the preseason and as the regular season gets underway, it will be interesting to watch how the Lynx offense operates and if we see them throw up some more shots from deep with a mix of new and returning players taking the floor together.&lt;/p&gt;
  290.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  291.        &lt;img alt="Chicago Sky v Minnesota Lynx" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ApgYYcofADX86B_mLo9_IXOvZis=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434901/2150768233.jpg"&gt;
  292.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  293.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  294. &lt;h3 id="GduxDu"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rookies Taking the Court&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  295. &lt;p id="ExLQjL"&gt;On the eve of the 2024 WNBA Draft, Minnesota moved back one spot — from the seventh pick to the eighth pick — while selecting a player it had its eyes on all along: &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/4/15/24131519/wnba-draft-2024-minnesota-lynx-select-alissa-pili-utah-cheryl-reeve-clare-duwelius"&gt;forward Alissa Pili.&lt;/a&gt; The Lynx later selected guard Kiki Jefferson out of Louisville with the No. 31 pick.&lt;/p&gt;
  296. &lt;p id="0tKKP3"&gt;Pili is an intriguing player, providing an offensive skillset that you don’t often see out of a post player. She not only provides Minnesota with some depth in the post, but she can stretch the floor, shoot well from 3 and is a solid distributor to open up opportunities for her teammates, all of which are traits that will benefit the Lynx at points in the 2024 campaign.&lt;/p&gt;
  297. &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p id="PdZgCj"&gt;“I’m super excited to come in and learn. I think that’s the fun part about it,” Pili said after being drafted. “There’s so much more to learn, I’m really looking forward to that. I bring versatility to the game of basketball. That’s mostly what they’ll be seeing from me. ... I’m a competitor and someone who brings a unique style of play and is fun to watch.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  298. &lt;p id="LhisEn"&gt;In the preseason opener, she struggled a bit from the field, connecting on only one of her seven shot attempts, while posting two points and one rebound over 13 minutes. Those numbers will increase throughout the year, but she will have some adjustments to make as she continues to improve her game during her rookie campaign.&lt;/p&gt;
  299. &lt;p id="eDiKOY"&gt;What will be interesting to watch the rest of the preseason and at the early stages of the regular season is how Pili’s game translates to the WNBA and how fast she is able to acclimate to a quicker game on a new team. The other thing about Pili’s game that will be worth monitoring is how she performs on the defensive end of the floor. That was an area Reeve noted in her post-draft availability that Pili might need the most work on as she enters her pro career.&lt;/p&gt;
  300. &lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p id="LJVfcJ"&gt;“The thing you can’t teach is offense. It takes talent, instincts. We’re hopeful she’s someone that can be taught to defensively be able to exist on the court with great players in a way you’d have confidence having her on the court,” Reeve said after the draft about Pili. “We feel like we can teach the defense. The offense will come naturally to her. That’s something we can’t teach.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  301. &lt;p id="c2XYCJ"&gt;Pili will provide a boost to the Lynx offensively and she will have her ups and downs throughout the year, but keep an eye on how she is able to translate her game to the WNBA and how steep the learning curve might be defensively as the postseason unfolds and the regular season begins.&lt;/p&gt;
  302.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  303.        &lt;img alt="2024 Minnesota Lynx Media Day" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cdp-kKMwCMX0zzUv6i-42TUHzEk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25434899/2150941883.jpg"&gt;
  304.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  305.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  306. &lt;h3 id="QlSZzN"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Familiar Faces&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  307. &lt;p id="juhgoW"&gt;Though it’s yet to be seen which players will fill out the final regular-season roster, a few players who will be fighting for final roster spots in the preseason and to round out training camp are some names Lynx fans are already familiar with.&lt;/p&gt;
  308. &lt;p id="6tV6E9"&gt;Notably, some names who Lynx fans remember included Cecilia Zandalasini — who has yet to report to the Lynx while playing overseas in Italy — and former Virginia Tech stars Taylor Soule and Kayana Traylor. Those three players in particular will get serious looks by Minnesota to add them to the roster when the regular season begins.&lt;/p&gt;
  309. &lt;p id="sngYqY"&gt;In the preseason opener, Soule had a strong performance over 13 minutes off the bench, ending with six points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal while connecting on both of her shot attempts from the field. Traylor appeared in 17 minutes on the second unit, ending with six points while connecting on a pair of shots.&lt;/p&gt;
  310. &lt;p id="xm7kW0"&gt;We could start to see these players get some extra playing time — once they all do arrive with the team — in the preseason finale to see if they can showcase why they should make the final roster. It will be especially interesting to see the play (when she does report from overseas) of Zandalasini, who last played for Minnesota in the WNBA in 2018, as well as continuing to watch Soule, who nearly made the final roster for the Lynx in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;p id="Q9G8XL"&gt;The rest of the preseason, it will be worth watching to see just how much the new faces — some of which are familiar faces — enter the rotation and if their time on the court increases as Reeve and her coaching staff figure out the final names to fill the roster with.&lt;/p&gt;
  312. &lt;p id="B0xRI8"&gt;Regardless of what happens throughout the rest of training camp and the preseason, it’s good to have the WNBA and Lynx basketball back. Enjoy the rest of the preseason and we will see you during the regular season starting May 14.&lt;/p&gt;
  313.  
  314. </content>
  315.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/6/24149855/minnesota-lynx-wnba-preseason-napheeesa-collier-courtney-williams-alissa-pili-cheryl-reeve"/>
  316.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/6/24149855/minnesota-lynx-wnba-preseason-napheeesa-collier-courtney-williams-alissa-pili-cheryl-reeve</id>
  317.    <author>
  318.      <name>Mitchell Hansen</name>
  319.    </author>
  320.  </entry>
  321.  <entry>
  322.    <published>2024-05-05T15:40:11-05:00</published>
  323.    <updated>2024-05-05T15:40:11-05:00</updated>
  324.    <title>Film Room: The Action That Unlocked the Timberwolves’ Game 1 Offense</title>
  325.    <content type="html">  
  326.  
  327.    &lt;figure&gt;
  328.      &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game One" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GngHqkT2bOtbBjdO3KX10qBH_T8=/0x0:4943x3295/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73328743/2151519430.0.jpg" /&gt;
  329.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  330.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  331.  
  332.  &lt;p&gt;When Anthony Edwards scores 43 in a playoff game, Wolves fans should feel pretty good. But the scheme to launch him and others into space against the Nuggets was the tipping point.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="3bfKnO"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com"&gt;Minnesota Timberwolves&lt;/a&gt; stole — &lt;em&gt;no, ripped &lt;/em&gt;— Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals from the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. Anthony Edwards scored 43 points on highly efficient shooting in clutch time to lead the way, but the second-half contributions of the supporting cast kept Minnesota within striking distance until that point.&lt;/p&gt;
  333. &lt;p id="YbFxBx"&gt;Not only did shots just start falling for guys like Mike Conley, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid once the third quarter clock started running; the frequency and variability at which the Minnesota coaching staff put their ball-handlers and screeners into advantageous positions helped the Wolves employ sustainable offensive process pretty much all game.&lt;/p&gt;
  334. &lt;p id="xOE2se"&gt;Let’s dive into the offensive concept that unlocked the Game 1 offense: &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Horns Chest&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  335. &lt;h3 id="8iunm2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What is Horns Chest?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  336. &lt;p id="RFnspd"&gt;The “Horns” terminology involves two screeners for the ball-handler at the top of the key, creating a horn image. The ball-handler can choose to use either screen — which usually come from the 4-man and 5-man — and attack off of it.&lt;/p&gt;
  337. &lt;p id="WQL37G"&gt;Whichever player set the screen is not going to roll to the basket; instead, he’ll use a flare screen from the other screener who hasn’t been used yet and cut to the opposite slot at the 3-point line.&lt;/p&gt;
  338. &lt;p id="tsENor"&gt;This could be to get the initial screener an open shot from deep, an angle to attack against a switch, or simply to clear space for the ball-handler.&lt;/p&gt;
  339. &lt;p id="HBik2e"&gt;You can see JJ Redick draw it up and talk more in-depth about Horns Chest in Episode 2 of the &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2XVtWfancQ&amp;amp;list=PLp2G5GXjpIZ9833syzfb9m5Z8SJfkjpP7&amp;amp;index=1"&gt;Mind The Game&lt;/a&gt; podcast with LeBron James.&lt;/p&gt;
  340. &lt;h3 id="fr7PIF"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How The Timberwolves Used Horns Chest in Game 1&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  341. &lt;p id="PoxTsE"&gt;The first instance of the concept Saturday was with unique personnel: Jaden McDaniels as the screener to receive the flare.&lt;/p&gt;
  342. &lt;h5 id="rxrV36"&gt;(Editor’s Note: If you are reading this on Apple News, please &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/e/23913573"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; so you can view embedded videos important to the analysis, and enjoy the best overall reading experience.)&lt;/h5&gt;
  343. &lt;div id="yLub3G"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/o/tolnjf?autoplay=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  344. &lt;p id="ibstY3"&gt;Usually that’s Towns using the Rudy Gobert flare screen to get into a scoring opportunity; the Wolves don’t draw up plays like this to get McDaniels going. But it’s less about the basics of the action than aligning the floor to give Edwards the advantage.&lt;/p&gt;
  345. &lt;p id="Vl7tIZ"&gt;McDaniels getting involved in the screen allows for two things to happen: &lt;/p&gt;
  346. &lt;p id="0xsstS"&gt;1) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope gets switched off of Edwards for Michael Porter Jr. (a significant upgrade in matchup for Edwards), and...&lt;/p&gt;
  347. &lt;p id="D8iYLi"&gt;2) Caldwell-Pope is now in the help position at the “nail” — free throw line area — when Edwards attacks the Gobert high ball screen. Ant’s not afraid of a 6-foot-5 KCP at that spot.&lt;/p&gt;
  348. &lt;p id="GB1UkF"&gt;It’s all Ant from there. Gobert’s screen gives Edwards the paint touch he needs in the middle of the floor to collapse the defense. He makes a great corner skip pass to Reid, who can’t finish the layup when he drives, but nevertheless it’s incredible process that hinted at more to come later in the game.&lt;/p&gt;
  349. &lt;div id="ooDlH9"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/o/5adorg?autoplay=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  350. &lt;p id="lq25RO"&gt;At the end of the first half the Wolves go back to Horns Chest with Gobert and Towns. They again force a switch that gets Caldwell-Pope in the nail help position, now guarding Towns. Aaron Gordon is on Edwards, which on paper isn't the worst thing in the world for Denver. But paper is not the hardwood.&lt;/p&gt;
  351. &lt;p id="C5v98g"&gt;Nikola Jokić plays a half-hearted hedge defense against Ant’s pick-and-roll, which opens up an easy pocket pass to Gobert in the middle of the floor. You can’t say enough about how Rudy has fared as this short roll passer this season; it may not be fluid every time, but it’s pretty effective. He gets Caldwell-Pope to stunt to the corner and leave Towns by himself for an above-the-break triple.&lt;/p&gt;
  352. &lt;p id="9hqlqm"&gt;When you put the right players in the right spots and your 22-year-old budding star is making all the right reads, it’s difficult to doubt the sustainability of a Timberwolves offense that was middle-of-the-pack all season, but is &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;amp;dir=A&amp;amp;sort=OFF_RATING"&gt;first in the playoffs&lt;/a&gt; (121.6 offensive rating).&lt;/p&gt;
  353. &lt;div id="PAuB5d"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/o/ys3ns5?autoplay=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  354. &lt;p id="ZVhBoQ"&gt;We all know the first half was an Edwards show. Nobody else could score for Minnesota. So right away in the third quarter the Wolves fused the Horns Chest action with their patented empty-side pick-and-roll that Conley and Gobert run to perfection.&lt;/p&gt;
  355. &lt;p id="fPnUpN"&gt;This is an awesome opening set design for Conley to get a different, unpredictable catch leading into the Horns alignment. Mike gets off the ball and cuts back to the opposite wing where Gobert is waiting and Towns can follow him into a ball screen. You don’t see the Horns Chest look initiated on the wing very often.&lt;/p&gt;
  356. &lt;p id="98RuNf"&gt;Once again, Gordon switches off of Towns and leaves Jamal Murray, with a bad wheel, out to dry on the wing against KAT. It’s an easy throw back to Towns, who has zero resistance from Murray and lets the triple fly. That was the definition of getting a specific guy going as soon as possible — Towns scored 11 points in the third quarter on flawless shooting.&lt;/p&gt;
  357. &lt;div id="kuYH6N"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/o/87msmt?autoplay=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  358. &lt;p id="KmfisB"&gt;Just 90 seconds later the Wolves went back to the same look on the other side of the floor. At this point it’s predictable that the Nuggets will switch anything close to a screen outside of Jokić, so removing Gordon from the Towns matchup is fairly easy. Now KCP has to deal with Towns on the wing.&lt;/p&gt;
  359. &lt;p id="0ZiKcv"&gt;It’s important to note the difference in the catch here for KAT. This is not a post-up from 18 feet out. This is an off-the-catch, squared-up action that Caldwell-Pope has to close out to. Towns has the advantage in size and strength to bully his way through and over a smaller defender with no help to be wary of.&lt;/p&gt;
  360. &lt;div id="cKSzjc"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://streamable.com/o/aawbs1?autoplay=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  361. &lt;p id="wFQNxa"&gt;Now it’s the fourth quarter, and time to assert Edwards again. &lt;/p&gt;
  362. &lt;p id="H8W183"&gt;(I think it’s funny how both the &lt;a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com"&gt;Phoenix Suns&lt;/a&gt; and Nuggets didn’t find any kind of halfway decent matchup for Ant until the fourth quarter in Josh Okogie and Christian Braun, respectively. Not that those guys are shutting down Edwards, but coaches still seem reluctant to try unorthodox matchups even when the situation is dire.)&lt;/p&gt;
  363. &lt;p id="uOGpHq"&gt;Conley ghosts this Horns Chest and just sets up shop in the slot with Murray guarding him. Ant manipulates some masterful screening from Gobert and sees no nail help from Murray, so it’s just him against Braun and a dropping Jokić. That’s eating time for the two-time All-Star. Aided by a beautiful “Gortat” seal by Gobert on his roll into the paint, Ant snakes through the defense for an easy lay-in. The amount of open lanes Edwards saw throughout the game, balanced with his incredible midrange success in the clutch, makes Wolves fans and national pundits alike drool at what could be possible for this team.&lt;/p&gt;
  364. &lt;p id="3sVwej"&gt;How will Denver respond in Game 2? Will they blitz Edwards earlier and more often to get the ball out of his hands? With the cross-court reads he’s been making, it’s hard to justify that being anything more than a marginally profitable option for the Nuggets. That’s how dangerous the Wolves are when they design advantages — and already possess one in human form.&lt;/p&gt;
  365.  
  366. </content>
  367.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/5/24149532/wolves-vs-nuggets-playoffs-anthony-edwards-rudy-gobert-karl-anthony-towns-mike-conley-film-room"/>
  368.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/5/24149532/wolves-vs-nuggets-playoffs-anthony-edwards-rudy-gobert-karl-anthony-towns-mike-conley-film-room</id>
  369.    <author>
  370.      <name>Jared Martinson</name>
  371.    </author>
  372.  </entry>
  373.  <entry>
  374.    <published>2024-05-04T21:35:53-05:00</published>
  375.    <updated>2024-05-04T21:35:53-05:00</updated>
  376.    <title>Wolves 106, Nuggets 99: Edwards’ Playoff Career-High 43 Points Wins Game 1</title>
  377.    <content type="html">  
  378.  
  379.    &lt;figure&gt;
  380.      &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game One" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ry-u-98D1-yfoEM7FhfTT1onUI0=/0x0:5671x3781/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73327794/2151492739.0.jpg" /&gt;
  381.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  382.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  383.  
  384.  &lt;p&gt;The Timberwolves got a playoff career-high 43 points from Anthony Edwards and 14 fourth quarter points from Naz Reid to steal Game 1 in Denver. Nikola Jokić had 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in the loss.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="bMgone"&gt;For the first time in 20 years, the &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com"&gt;Minnesota Timberwolves&lt;/a&gt; are playing in the second round of the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba-playoffs"&gt;NBA playoffs&lt;/a&gt;, this time against a familiar opponent, Northwest Division rival and defending champion Denver Nuggets.&lt;/p&gt;
  385. &lt;p id="mrkgV7"&gt;This is the second straight postseason in which the two teams have met, with the Nuggets winning last year’s series in five games. The Timberwolves were without Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid for the entirety of the series along with losing Kyle Anderson to an eye injury in Game 4.&lt;/p&gt;
  386. &lt;p id="Uhh9Ii"&gt;This year’s series is likely to be much more competitive with the Timberwolves completely healthy and the Nuggets’ bench thinner after the offseason departures of trusted veterans Bruce Brown and Jeff Green.&lt;/p&gt;
  387. &lt;p id="ZABNjT"&gt;This series promises to be a heavyweight fight between two teams with aspirations of winning the championship. It’s the kind of series every NBA fan dreams of and one Timberwolves fans have been waiting a long time to see.&lt;/p&gt;
  388. &lt;p id="XIh97R"&gt;After tearing his patellar tendon at the end of the series with the &lt;a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com"&gt;Phoenix Suns&lt;/a&gt;, Wolves Head Coach Chris Finch was able to make the trip to Denver and was sitting in the second row behind the bench.&lt;/p&gt;
  389. &lt;div id="IcLBQC"&gt;
  390. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  391. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Chris Finch confirms that he will be on the bench for tonight’s Game 1. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;He’ll be in 2nd row w/ no seat in front of him, next to TV broadcast table which will help provide some protection.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Asst. Micah Nori will be on the sidelines, run huddles &amp;amp; interact w/ the officials.&lt;/p&gt;— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesRadio/status/1786872419262574856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  392. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  393. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  394.  
  395. &lt;/div&gt;
  396. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="q9QxPH"&gt;
  397. &lt;p id="K67F2f"&gt;The Timberwolves would pick up right where they left off at the end of the Suns series, going on an 18-4 run to start the game including 13 points from Anthony Edwards.&lt;/p&gt;
  398. &lt;div id="Q2bRdJ"&gt;
  399. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  400. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;TOO EASY.  ‍  &lt;a href="https://t.co/2oUjn8wLqE"&gt;pic.twitter.com/2oUjn8wLqE&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1786899173113024703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  401. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  402. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  403.  
  404. &lt;/div&gt;
  405. &lt;p id="Hdu0N8"&gt;The Wolves offense was consistently able to get good looks of offense against the Denver defense, leading to the big lead. The Nuggets would immediately respond with a run of their own. Spurred on by missed layups and turnovers by the Wolves.&lt;/p&gt;
  406. &lt;p id="9QSyYc"&gt;Denver would finish the quarter on a 21-7 run, taking a two-point lead into the first quarter break.&lt;/p&gt;
  407. &lt;p id="PDokZt"&gt;One of the main keys to this series would be the minutes with Nikola Jokić on the bench for the Nuggets. With Denver’s short bench, they have struggled in the minutes with Jokić off the floor to start this season.&lt;/p&gt;
  408. &lt;p id="T8gzqq"&gt;To start the second quarter, with Jokić on the bench, the Nuggets won those minutes by two points. If that continues throughout the series, the Timberwolves will have a hard time winning games.&lt;/p&gt;
  409. &lt;p id="zlb2Wj"&gt;Throughout the first half, the Timberwolves offense would struggle to score the ball when it wasn’t Ant or Karl-Anthony Towns taking the shot. Aside from Edwards and Towns, the Timberwolves finished the first half shooting 3-20 from the field including 0-8 from beyond the arc.&lt;/p&gt;
  410. &lt;p id="22c4ep"&gt;Minnesota would finish the first half with only 40 points, trailing the Nuggets by four heading into halftime. &lt;/p&gt;
  411. &lt;p id="ks1Sv0"&gt;Edwards would lead the Wolves with 25 points with Jokić leading the way for Denver. Notably, Jamal Murray would go scoreless in the first half, missing all five of his shots. It was the first time in his playoff career he went scoreless in a half. &lt;/p&gt;
  412. &lt;p id="3ebbP5"&gt;Similar to the non-Jokić minutes, the Timberwolves bench will likely need to outperform the Nuggets’ bench to find success in this series. In this first half, the Nuggets bench outscored the Wolves bench 9-4.&lt;/p&gt;
  413. &lt;p id="08dALZ"&gt;Like he did in Games 3 and 4 on the road against the Suns, KAT would come out of the halftime locker room scorching hot, making his first five shots including a 3-pointer to start the half and this emphatic dunk coming off a block by Edwards.&lt;/p&gt;
  414. &lt;div id="wZQiES"&gt;
  415. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  416. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Anthony Edwards incredible block, Karl-Anthony Towns transition poster dunk&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Great two-way sequence, wow &lt;a href="https://t.co/tpDYkhyE3y"&gt;pic.twitter.com/tpDYkhyE3y&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1786915341794168838?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  417. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  418. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  419.  
  420. &lt;/div&gt;
  421. &lt;p id="erq1Dd"&gt;In the third quarter, turnovers would begin to mount up for the Wolves. They would finish the third frame with 12 total turnovers in the game, four in each quarter. Denver was able to score 20 points off those 12 giveaways, all of which were huge points given how difficult it is to score against the Timberwolves half-court defense — especially from downtown.&lt;/p&gt;
  422. &lt;p id="aVkKTe"&gt;Minnesota would finally settle into the game, getting the ball back to Edwards, who continued to put the ball into the basket in a variety of ways in the mid-range and at the rim.  The Wolves made a nice adjustment to get Rudy Gobert off the floor so Kyle Anderson would only be out there with one other big, which helped open up the floor for Edwards and spurred a 7-0 run.&lt;/p&gt;
  423. &lt;div id="XtdZk4"&gt;
  424. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  425. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I keep coming back to how pivotal of a micro-adjustment this was.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Wolves went from down 67-64 late third and zero spacing to quickly getting Ant space to work.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Resulted in an Ant mid-range J, open NAW corner 3 (AST by Ant), and an Ant layup at the rim. I love Slow-Mo at the 5 &lt;a href="https://t.co/nGByUXZ6uh"&gt;https://t.co/nGByUXZ6uh&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Jack Borman (@jrborman13) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jrborman13/status/1786942623166410918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  426. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  427. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  428.  
  429. &lt;/div&gt;
  430. &lt;div id="FROA9c"&gt;
  431. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  432. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Anthony Edwards post-up fake + layup over Reggie Jackson &lt;a href="https://t.co/gocJJHd3mD"&gt;pic.twitter.com/gocJJHd3mD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1786920681784869122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  433. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  434. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  435.  
  436. &lt;/div&gt;
  437. &lt;p id="s2NSGV"&gt;The Timberwolves would take a 73-71 lead heading into the final quarter of Game 1.&lt;/p&gt;
  438. &lt;p id="dhjTum"&gt;Jokić would again sit to start the fourth quarter, giving the Timberwolves a chance to stretch their lead leading into the final stretch of the game. The Wolves would fail to take advantage, again losing the non-Jokić minutes, this time by three points.&lt;/p&gt;
  439. &lt;p id="HrytkM"&gt;With Jokić back on the floor, Ant would continue his spectacular shot-making, including this scintillating shot over Aaron Gordon.&lt;/p&gt;
  440. &lt;div id="y283PT"&gt;
  441. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  442. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Anthony Edwards nasty crossover + midrange jumper, wow &lt;a href="https://t.co/zqLf9hBvuZ"&gt;pic.twitter.com/zqLf9hBvuZ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1786924298814583181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  443. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  444. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  445.  
  446. &lt;/div&gt;
  447. &lt;p id="FIa9Dk"&gt;For the second time this postseason for the Timberwolves, the game would come down to crunch-time with the Timberwolves leading 91-88 with 4:32 left in the game. Denver has shown to be the best late-game playoff team in the NBA, so the Timberwolves would need to play nearly perfectly to walk away with this one.&lt;/p&gt;
  448. &lt;p id="yY9rVP"&gt;The Timberwolves would do just that, scoring 15 points over the final four and a half minutes of the game to cap off a 106-99 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Minnesota shot 71% from the floor in the second half, their best in a half in franchise postseason history.&lt;/p&gt;
  449. &lt;p id="ijeofV"&gt;Anthony Edwards would finish with an incredible 43 points — a new playoff career-high — on 17-29 shooting including 3-7 from deep, 6-6 from the line, seven rebounds, and three assists. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting, headlined by 11 points on 5/5 from the floor in the third quarter. Naz Reid scored 16, 14 of which in the fourth quarter, to give him a new playoff career-high (previously 13) as well.&lt;/p&gt;
  450. &lt;p id="54g16u"&gt;Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets with 32 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Jamal Murray scored 17 points after finishing the first half without a single point. Michael Porter Jr. provided 20 huge points on 4/7 from beyond the arc, leading the Nuggets’ 13/31 (41.9%) night from 3. &lt;/p&gt;
  451. &lt;p id="Gb2g12"&gt;Despite Denver scoring 26 points off 14 Minnesota turnovers and the Wolves getting just five combined points from McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker on 2/13 FG (15%), the Wolves found a way just like they have all playoffs long.&lt;/p&gt;
  452. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="THrDaS"&gt;
  453. &lt;h2 id="ekXump"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Key Takeaways&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  454.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  455.        &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game One" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kluMjlvY8rccb50YqXgNZKyNVxg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433795/2151487342.jpg"&gt;
  456.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  457.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  458. &lt;h3 id="MpS2eU"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Anthony Edwards’ Monster Playoffs Continue&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  459. &lt;p id="r7hVyW"&gt;After closing out the Phoenix Suns last Sunday with a 40-point performance, Anthony Edwards decided to one-up himself scoring 43 points and completely dominating a Nuggets team that seemed to have no answer for him on defense.&lt;/p&gt;
  460. &lt;p id="NbWmE3"&gt;This has become a pattern for Edwards as each time he needs to hit another level, he does it and that was no different tonight. He made 3-pointers early, guarded Jamal Murray for stretches, made the mid-range shots the defense gave him, and then closed the game out by getting to the rim.&lt;/p&gt;
  461. &lt;div id="4wmQ1Q"&gt;
  462. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  463. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;NO HESITATION. &lt;a href="https://t.co/VDIDD7niNT"&gt;pic.twitter.com/VDIDD7niNT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1786930409365713350?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  464. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  465. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  466.  
  467. &lt;/div&gt;
  468. &lt;p id="MtguXG"&gt;Ant has catapulted himself from “up-and-coming star” to “I’m here right now” in seemingly the blink of an eye. While Jokić will be a deserving recipient of his third MVP award this year, Edwards was the best player on the floor tonight and it wasn’t particularly close.&lt;/p&gt;
  469. &lt;p id="aVvQUS"&gt;With many of the Wolves role players playing poorly in the first half, Ant was able to keep the Wolves in it going into the second half. Once those role players started to hit shots, all it took was one last punch from Edwards to seal the victory.&lt;/p&gt;
  470. &lt;div id="j6XE3l"&gt;
  471. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  472. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Players that have scored 35+ in 3 straight playoff games at age 22 or younger:&lt;br&gt;1. Lew Alcindor&lt;br&gt;2. Kobe Bryant&lt;br&gt;3. LeBron James&lt;br&gt;4. Anthony Edwards   &lt;a href="https://t.co/YS5jD45uZa"&gt;pic.twitter.com/YS5jD45uZa&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/kirkgoldsberry/status/1786929725266407500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  473. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  474. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  475.  
  476. &lt;/div&gt;
  477.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  478.        &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets - Game One" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qk_jHKrFTUG1PdK3AWu3IQgnNqk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433807/2151481998.jpg"&gt;
  479.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  480.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  481. &lt;h3 id="NzAFQm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Non-Jokić Minutes&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  482. &lt;p id="nk6q6P"&gt;All year, the Nuggets have been vulnerable when Jokić is on the bench. They have been a negative in those minutes all year as they do not have much bench depth behind their starters.&lt;/p&gt;
  483. &lt;p id="sblITJ"&gt;The Timberwolves in their four regular-season matchups with the Nuggets failed to capitalize on those minutes, getting outscored by Denver with Jokić on the bench.&lt;/p&gt;
  484. &lt;aside id="opdsJC"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How the Non-Jokić Minutes Could Swing the Series for the Timberwolves","url":"https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/2/24146328/nikola-jokic-denver-nuggets-bench-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-playoffs-western-conference-semifinals"}]}'&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/aside&gt;&lt;p id="6EJdkr"&gt;That was again the case tonight as the Timberwolves lost the minutes with Jokić on the bench by a total of five points. With the Wolves winning the game by seven, the Joker finished the game with a +/- of -12, his lowest in a playoff game since the Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets in Game 4 of last year’s first-round series.&lt;/p&gt;
  485.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  486.        &lt;img alt="2024 NBA Playoffs - Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rjb-8-RbfviI8b0h6_UZe-H3sk0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433809/2150963020.jpg"&gt;
  487.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Justin Tafoya/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  488.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  489. &lt;h3 id="eBarWD"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Naz Reid&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  490. &lt;p id="7RMFJl"&gt;After struggling greatly through the first four and a half quarters of these Playoffs, Reid exploded with 14 fourth-quarter points. He would finish the game with 16 total, all of which came in the second half.&lt;/p&gt;
  491. &lt;p id="RXDNlt"&gt;The 14 fourth-quarter points were more than any single game Reid had in the series against Phoenix and the 16 points is a playoff career-high.&lt;/p&gt;
  492. &lt;div id="yhbGN6"&gt;
  493. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  494. &lt;p lang="de" dir="ltr"&gt;Naz Reid monster putback dunk &lt;a href="https://t.co/mdoX1GA7Z5"&gt;pic.twitter.com/mdoX1GA7Z5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1786925668690801115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 5, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  495. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  496. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  497.  
  498. &lt;/div&gt;
  499. &lt;p id="R6dMit"&gt;The run of scoring from Reid was greatly needed as Towns picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, sending him to the bench. With Reid’s flurry of buckets, the Wolves lead ballooned from two points to six, setting up Edwards to take it the rest of the way.&lt;/p&gt;
  500. &lt;p id="OIt2Oa"&gt;After missing last postseason with a broken wrist, Reid became a clear X-factor with the playoff rematch set against Denver. Through three quarters of this one, it was looking like Naz was going to have another lost night on the court, but he was able to keep his composure and have the best quarter of basketball in his life.&lt;/p&gt;
  501. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="RFviqv"&gt;
  502. &lt;h2 id="SfkYCY"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rotation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  503.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  504.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EzCLPox9YUOQKL57kZSxPKxDUIM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433853/Screenshot_2024_05_04_at_9.19.07_PM.png"&gt;
  505.      &lt;cite&gt;https://www.pbpstats.com/live/nba/0042300231/game-flow&lt;/cite&gt;
  506.      &lt;figcaption&gt;from PBP Stats&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  507.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  508. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="qdWCik"&gt;
  509. &lt;h2 id="GvJV6u"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Up Next&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  510. &lt;p id="kDrkNZ"&gt;The series resumes on Monday night for Game 2 in Denver at 9:00 PM CT with the Timberwolves looking to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Fans can again watch the game on TNT or listen on the iHeartRadio app.&lt;/p&gt;
  511. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="AruUxb"&gt;
  512. &lt;h2 id="a7pBZV"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Highlights&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  513. &lt;div id="T1l61B"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qmQybtSUcyI?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  514. &lt;div id="62MOIg"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y_EbaSvRh_U?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  515.  
  516. </content>
  517.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/timberwolves-scores-results/2024/5/4/24148926/wolves-vs-nuggets-final-score-recap-game-1-playoffs-anthony-edwards-naz-reid-career-high-jokic"/>
  518.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/timberwolves-scores-results/2024/5/4/24148926/wolves-vs-nuggets-final-score-recap-game-1-playoffs-anthony-edwards-naz-reid-career-high-jokic</id>
  519.    <author>
  520.      <name>Ryan Eichten</name>
  521.    </author>
  522.  </entry>
  523.  <entry>
  524.    <published>2024-05-04T14:16:12-05:00</published>
  525.    <updated>2024-05-04T14:16:12-05:00</updated>
  526.    <title>Denver Primer: The Wolves’ Offense Has the Structure We All Want, and it’s Amazing</title>
  527.    <content type="html">  
  528.  
  529.    &lt;figure&gt;
  530.      &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Phoenix Suns - Game Three" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xHvSYbH-i_whkUt8LVMQxV4epHU=/0x0:4113x2742/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73327391/2150373684.0.jpg" /&gt;
  531.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  532.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  533.  
  534.  &lt;p&gt;The Wolves offense had more snap to it in round one due to patience and more intentional action; the result was self-explanatory, and Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns profited.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="MH8qNE"&gt;A cool, composed, and not yet injured Head Coach Chris Finch took the stand after game 3 in the desert after another throttling of the &lt;a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/"&gt;Phoenix Suns&lt;/a&gt;. It was yet another high-octane offensive performance in which the &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com"&gt;Minnesota Timberwolves&lt;/a&gt;, looking unlike their regular season selves, put up 126 points and executed near-flawlessly on offense when the game called for it.&lt;/p&gt;
  535. &lt;p id="KBEUwZ"&gt;As a product of the display, Finch was asked to ponder the outward look of a more structured offense.&lt;/p&gt;
  536. &lt;p id="fjarRa"&gt;“We are play calling a little bit more than we had for the regular season,” he said. “But I really think conceptually we understand what we’re trying to do.”&lt;/p&gt;
  537. &lt;p id="DqFjow"&gt;It’s something fans had question marks around, and at points were pounding the table for as they saw the Wolves slip at the turn of the new year offensively. The virus of “your turn, my turn” basketball and a lack of organization in the clutch cause the Wolves to slip from the best clutch team in the NBA to dead last in offensive rating in clutch time (92.5); a part of the stat table that found them in woeful company.&lt;/p&gt;
  538.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  539.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/v53xv3-Y0rQ5KZaQZen9sLPHljI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433340/Screen_Shot_2024_05_04_at_12.28.16_PM.png"&gt;
  540.      &lt;cite&gt;NBA&lt;/cite&gt;
  541.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Clutch Time offensive rating, from the date period of January 7 through April 1.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  542.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  543. &lt;p id="YBSdYw"&gt;As fast as things went south at the beginning of the year, or perhaps even faster, it seemed as is a completely different team entered the postseason offensively. In addition to more structure, it boiled down to the two top horses in Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, more willing to get off the ball and not press when it felt like the game needed a bucket. They trusted to run the play and concepts and have further belief that when the ball got to the right person, they would end up making the shot.&lt;/p&gt;
  544. &lt;p id="7DeeFI"&gt;Edwards is currently averaging 6.3 assists in the playoffs to his season average of 5.1, and Towns’ patience has paid dividends in reducing the number of turnovers he commits. Over the last three seasons’ postseason first-round series, Towns’ turnover totals are as follows:&lt;/p&gt;
  545. &lt;p id="8MOldr"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2022&lt;/strong&gt; (vs. Memphis): 27 TOs, 21.3%&lt;/p&gt;
  546. &lt;p id="sqU7I2"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2023&lt;/strong&gt; (vs. Denver): 18 TOs, 18.1%&lt;/p&gt;
  547. &lt;p id="PV2Bal"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2024&lt;/strong&gt; (vs. Phoenix): 7 TOs, 11.1%&lt;/p&gt;
  548. &lt;p id="CGH0L0"&gt;I don’t have a math degree, but I see a positive correlation. You may ask, what’s been the overall benefit of Towns and Edwards practicing patience and getting off the ball quicker? The best offensive rating in the NBA during the postseason would be a good place to start.&lt;/p&gt;
  549.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  550.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dMG17tSMoHoR-N5f_1FY-CrWobw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433380/Screen_Shot_2024_05_04_at_1.09.19_PM.png"&gt;
  551.      &lt;cite&gt;NBA&lt;/cite&gt;
  552.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Postseason Offensive Rating&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  553.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  554. &lt;p id="TjpOw5"&gt;Good half-court action off of an often called horns set...&lt;/p&gt;
  555. &lt;div id="2YIQtX"&gt;
  556. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  557. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Karl-Anthony Towns deep off-screen 3 &lt;a href="https://t.co/JRNfw7D3bE"&gt;pic.twitter.com/JRNfw7D3bE&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1784777412053524699?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 29, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  558. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  559. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  560.  
  561. &lt;/div&gt;
  562. &lt;p id="GGoWeh"&gt;Or running motion and getting downhill to the basket off of a screen to make a heavy-minute wing work a little bit harder. This could be something they try on an iffy defender in Michael Porter Jr...&lt;/p&gt;
  563. &lt;div id="J5h3nD"&gt;
  564. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  565. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Naz Reid off-screen driving layup &lt;a href="https://t.co/Bhzb987kEY"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Bhzb987kEY&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/WolvesClips/status/1784060087146774894?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  566. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  567. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  568.  
  569. &lt;/div&gt;
  570. &lt;p id="PAMHyP"&gt;How the Denver Nuggets decide to defend the Wolves will be markedly different than how Phoenix did, both in personnel and level of effectiveness.&lt;/p&gt;
  571. &lt;p id="1xCm0d"&gt;I could see a Porter Jr. bothering Towns when he’s away from the basket and having enough length to give him pause about pulling a high volume of threes (not as effective if Towns decides to post up at a higher volume). I could also see an initial wall-up with Aaron Gordon pestering Edwards out of the gate in an effort to be physical with him.&lt;/p&gt;
  572. &lt;p id="QMFhhh"&gt;But the good news is those things only work if regression to the February Wolves happens.&lt;/p&gt;
  573. &lt;p id="CyS9pW"&gt;If the same level of intentionality goes down as it did when the brooms were broken out almost a week ago?&lt;/p&gt;
  574. &lt;p id="BHt6Aa"&gt;Game on.&lt;/p&gt;
  575. &lt;p id="lmIgSC"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  576.  
  577. </content>
  578.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/4/24148876/timberwolves-nuggets-nba-playoffs-chris-finch-anthony-edwards-karl-anthony-towns-offense"/>
  579.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/4/24148876/timberwolves-nuggets-nba-playoffs-chris-finch-anthony-edwards-karl-anthony-towns-offense</id>
  580.    <author>
  581.      <name>Andrew Carlson</name>
  582.    </author>
  583.  </entry>
  584.  <entry>
  585.    <published>2024-05-04T12:19:41-05:00</published>
  586.    <updated>2024-05-04T12:19:41-05:00</updated>
  587.    <title>Reacts Results: Wolves Fans Are Confident  Minnesota Can Beat Denver</title>
  588.    <content type="html">  
  589.  
  590.    &lt;figure&gt;
  591.      &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WovGOoQEEkVubb90J6Ea54dJKg8=/0x0:4833x3222/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73327258/2115809795.0.jpg" /&gt;
  592.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  593.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  594.  
  595.  &lt;p&gt;The Timberwolves are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. How confident are Wolves fans in Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Co.’s ability to win an NBA Championship?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="22BYyu"&gt;The Minnesota Timberwolves gave their fans a taste of playoff euphoria for the first time in two decades, dominating the Phoenix Suns 4-0 in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Not only was it the first series win since Kevin Garnett wore trees around the waist back in 2004, it was the first sweep in the franchise’s 35-year history. &lt;/p&gt;
  596. &lt;p id="Qld0eL"&gt;Fresh off the win, earlier this week we asked fans three questions in the latest edition of Reacts. &lt;/p&gt;
  597. &lt;h3 id="4PLxAY"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1) What was your favorite part of the Wolves’ sweep over the Suns?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  598. &lt;ul&gt;
  599. &lt;li id="9TYJYO"&gt;Anthony Edwards’ rise, finally getting the recognition he deserves&lt;/li&gt;
  600. &lt;li id="QI32nV"&gt;Revival of “They got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels” clip&lt;/li&gt;
  601. &lt;li id="69QwUp"&gt;Karl-Anthony Towns winning a playoff series&lt;/li&gt;
  602. &lt;li id="GOEY4X"&gt;Wolves proving everybody wrong&lt;/li&gt;
  603. &lt;/ul&gt;
  604.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  605.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QfOu3iBmt_Vnnb18pJ7GiX3BsQE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433294/Minnesota_1_50124.png"&gt;
  606.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  607. &lt;p id="sqSF9s"&gt;Fans kept an impressively petty number of receipts in the days leading up to Round 1, and it had to feel good for them to press send when they unloaded the bookmarks folder last weekend after the Game 4 win. Seeing national media members and NBA fans at-large eat crow about the Timberwolves’ playoff viability was tremendous content. While Wolves fans have believed in this team all season long and didn’t need a proof of concept in the playoffs as much as national media members did, it surely had to be reassuring to see a historically elite defense translate to postseason. &lt;/p&gt;
  608. &lt;p id="MGjzks"&gt;Beyond that, to see Edwards take a leap on the floor as a playoff Apex predator, and then have media members, fans, and everyone in between all over social media crown him as a future face of the league and seriously compare him to Michael Jordan was something that will stick with me for a long time. 30% of fans felt similarly. Ant was incredible in Round 1, but he hopes that is just the beginning.&lt;/p&gt;
  609. &lt;h3 id="5Jj5ri"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2) What is your prediction for the Western Conference Semifinals?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  610. &lt;ul&gt;
  611. &lt;li id="nIxilU"&gt;Wolves in 4/5&lt;/li&gt;
  612. &lt;li id="DlObBA"&gt;Wolves in 6/7&lt;/li&gt;
  613. &lt;li id="LShFE1"&gt;Nuggets in 4/5&lt;/li&gt;
  614. &lt;li id="Vhpbiy"&gt;Nuggets in 6/7&lt;/li&gt;
  615. &lt;/ul&gt;
  616.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  617.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yXhvqHDu0kAN97EmE31eNZiFyL8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433295/Minnesota_2_50124.png"&gt;
  618.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  619. &lt;p id="QRUSAH"&gt;The manner in which the Wolves demolished the Suns unquestionably inspired confidence in this fanbase. Not only did the Timberwolves’ defense shine in slowing down a high octane Suns offense, but &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;amp;dir=A&amp;amp;sort=OFF_RATING"&gt;Minnesota held the highest offensive rating (123.2) — by nearly four points — of any team in Round 1&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  620. &lt;p id="T8aeXp"&gt;Edwards was an impressive engine, averaging 31.0 points on 51.2/43.8/83.9 shooting splits, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.8 stocks per game. But Towns added 19.3 points on 53.1/52.9/88.9 shooting splits, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per contest while registering the highest assist-to-turnover ratio (1.43) and 3-point rate (34.7% of his total shots) of his playoff career. Add in a combined 31.6 points per game from Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and the &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/traditional?SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;amp;StarterBench=Bench&amp;amp;dir=A&amp;amp;sort=PTS"&gt;third-most bench points of any team in Round 1&lt;/a&gt; (27.0), and you’re cooking with some serious gas on that end of the floor. &lt;/p&gt;
  621. &lt;p id="wztIOI"&gt;The offense — fueled by Edwards’ ascension to megastardom and Towns following a successful blueprint — to me is why fans are so optimistic about the Wolves’ chances of knocking off the defending champion Nuggets in Round 2. We’ll see what happens.&lt;/p&gt;
  622. &lt;p id="fJ9o1i"&gt;And finally...&lt;/p&gt;
  623. &lt;h3 id="4aZLBt"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3) After the sweep of the Suns, what is your confidence level in the Wolves’ ability to win the NBA Finals?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  624. &lt;ul&gt;
  625. &lt;li id="aPYceC"&gt;0-3&lt;/li&gt;
  626. &lt;li id="rtHR5X"&gt;4-6&lt;/li&gt;
  627. &lt;li id="r3Tkqn"&gt;7-8&lt;/li&gt;
  628. &lt;li id="yN8UxF"&gt;9-10&lt;/li&gt;
  629. &lt;/ul&gt;
  630.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  631.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9Y-BdnJ9J4SVuM_gDeYpz_Jbxns=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25433296/Minnesota_3_50124.png"&gt;
  632.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  633. &lt;p id="IU0WiV"&gt;What I love about Timberwolves fans is their collective basketball intelligence. They &lt;em&gt;respect &lt;/em&gt;the Nuggets. They understand how difficult of a task it will be to knock off the Nuggets, one of the greatest clutch time teams we’ve seen in quite some time. Denver tests your discipline for 48 minutes, and two-time MVP Nikola Jokić will destroy you when you lose focus, even for a split second. Fans get that. But they also recognize that the Wolves have everything they need to win a title.&lt;/p&gt;
  634. &lt;p id="M75MHA"&gt;That middle ground — respecting the Nuggets but maintaining a confidence in the Timberwolves that is based in reality — reflected by the 7-8 entry collecting a leading share (46%) of the vote. The 4-6 crowd probably skews more towards “I’ll truly believe the Wolves can win a title if they beat the Nuggets, which is unlikely,” while the 9-10 legion likely leans more in the opposite direction of, “Let’s see the Nuggets stop score against this elite defense &lt;em&gt;and &lt;/em&gt;find a way to stop Anthony Edwards.”&lt;/p&gt;
  635. &lt;p id="dhLLCO"&gt;Time will tell which group ends up being correct. We’re about to find out.&lt;/p&gt;
  636. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="6EG74A"&gt;
  637. &lt;p id="NeKyx4"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Check out &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/featured?wpcid=163864&amp;amp;wpcn=SBNation&amp;amp;wpcrid=Reacts&amp;amp;wpscn=Social&amp;amp;wpsrc=Vox&amp;amp;category=live-in-game"&gt;&lt;em&gt;DraftKings Sportsbook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  638.  
  639. </content>
  640.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/4/24148897/minnesota-timberwolves-survey-denver-nuggets-phoenix-suns-nba-playoffs-anthony-edwards-towns-gobert"/>
  641.    <id>https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/4/24148897/minnesota-timberwolves-survey-denver-nuggets-phoenix-suns-nba-playoffs-anthony-edwards-towns-gobert</id>
  642.    <author>
  643.      <name>Jack Borman</name>
  644.    </author>
  645.  </entry>
  646.  <entry>
  647.    <published>2024-05-04T11:16:14-05:00</published>
  648.    <updated>2024-05-04T11:16:14-05:00</updated>
  649.    <title>Playoff Game Preview #5: Wolves at Nuggets</title>
  650.    <content type="html">  
  651.  
  652.    &lt;figure&gt;
  653.      &lt;img alt="Minnesota Timberwolves v Denver Nuggets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kQe-yUNTer0lHaZUcYsD6-ZlsS0=/0x0:5010x3340/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73327169/2148222963.0.jpg" /&gt;
  654.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  655.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  656.  
  657.  &lt;p&gt;Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves look to win their fifth straight playoff game as they go a Mile High to take on two-time MVP Nikola Jokić and the defending champion Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="EWHEF4"&gt;It’s time, &lt;a href="https://www.canishoopus.com"&gt;Minnesota Timberwolves&lt;/a&gt; fans... The second round is upon us for the first time in 20 years. &lt;/p&gt;
  658. &lt;p id="65b7Bd"&gt;Across the sports landscape, winning a playoff series is but a ho-hum achievement. For Wolves Nation, this has been two decades in the making. An entire generation of Minnesota sports fans have grown up while the Timberwolves have floundered around in the cellar of the NBA. As the incompetence on 1st Ave. continued to mount, the Timberwolves were left in a perpetual free fall with zero hope in sight. To make matters worse? As the rest of the NBA world thrived under the stewardship of the LeBron James and the &lt;a href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com"&gt;Golden State Warriors&lt;/a&gt;’ dynastic run, the Timberwolves were thrown into the corner and forcefully given a dunce cap as the rest of the NBA routinely placed the Wolves as the butt of all their jokes.&lt;/p&gt;
  659. &lt;div class="c-float-right"&gt;&lt;div id="oqyEQD"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="aside:12299189"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  660. &lt;p id="MvrZSz"&gt;No longer. These Timberwolves have made a joke out of the &lt;a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com"&gt;Phoenix Suns&lt;/a&gt;, cooling down the Suns’ radiating offense on their way to sweeping them right out of the 2024 &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba-playoffs"&gt;NBA playoffs&lt;/a&gt;. The Wolves will now square off against the very team that punted them right out of the 2023 NBA playoffs in five games. The Denver Nuggets are a force that have taken the NBA landscape by storm. Serbian big man Nikola Jokić has cast an inescapable shadow over the 29 NBA franchises. The pathway to winning an NBA Championship will inevitably lead you into the belly of the beast. The Timberwolves have been presented with an opportunity to slay the dragon who desperately seeks to defend their treasure. &lt;/p&gt;
  661. &lt;aside id="gZhgfW"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Series Preview Guide: #3 Timberwolves vs. #2 Nuggets","url":"https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/2/24146867/timberwolves-vs-nuggets-preview-odds-nba-playoffs-western-conference-anthony-edwards-nikola-jokic"}]}'&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/aside&gt;&lt;p id="x2ov8p"&gt;Fortunately Wolves Nation, the Timberwolves have their own fire-breathing basketball savant. Anthony Edwards has quickly ascended to the forefront of the NBA. Unafraid of the moment, the 22-year-old superstar is knocking on the door of greatness.&lt;/p&gt;
  662. &lt;div id="B5Ppjk"&gt;
  663. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  664. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards has generated more than 100 million video views across NBA social and digital platforms since the start of the NBA Playoffs, second among all players (trailing LeBron James with 130M video views).  Edwards finished the regular season as the 7th…&lt;/p&gt;— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NBAPR/status/1785353403440279853?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 30, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  665. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  666. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  667.  
  668. &lt;/div&gt;
  669. &lt;p id="LLTBC0"&gt;As bright as Edward’s star shines, he does not walk into this battle alone. These Timberwolves are a monster of their own. With enough length to warp themselves around the Earth's circumference, this team is capable of utter disruption to NBA offense. This is a true clash of two titans that NBA fanbases far and wide will bear witness to. &lt;/p&gt;
  670. &lt;p id="NblgYi"&gt;Remember to enjoy this Wolves fans. &lt;/p&gt;
  671. &lt;p id="4kxyrH"&gt;Let’s dive into the matchup and what to expect as these two titans prepare themselves for battle Saturday night.&lt;/p&gt;
  672. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Gxas5g"&gt;
  673. &lt;h2 id="jLCRAG"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game Info&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  674. &lt;ul&gt;
  675. &lt;li id="9ZWOL8"&gt;
  676. &lt;strong&gt;Who:&lt;/strong&gt; #3 Minnesota Timberwolves (4-0) vs. #2 Denver Nuggets (4-1)&lt;/li&gt;
  677. &lt;li id="lrgfQH"&gt;
  678. &lt;strong&gt;When:&lt;/strong&gt; Saturday, May 4th at 6:00 PM CT&lt;/li&gt;
  679. &lt;li id="F5qibU"&gt;
  680. &lt;strong&gt;Where:&lt;/strong&gt; Ball Arena — Denver, CO&lt;/li&gt;
  681. &lt;li id="GFNgyA"&gt;
  682. &lt;strong&gt;National TV:&lt;/strong&gt; TNT (Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Jamal Crawford and Allie LaForce)&lt;/li&gt;
  683. &lt;li id="aDNwee"&gt;
  684. &lt;strong&gt;Radio:&lt;/strong&gt; KFAN FM 100.3, Wolves App&lt;/li&gt;
  685. &lt;li id="H9ONkZ"&gt;
  686. &lt;strong&gt;Line:&lt;/strong&gt; Wolves +4.5 | &lt;strong&gt;Total:&lt;/strong&gt; 208.5 (courtesy of &lt;a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/teams/basketball/nba/minnesota-timberwolves"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DraftKings Sportsbook&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/li&gt;
  687. &lt;li id="N8IAt5"&gt;
  688. &lt;strong&gt;Jerseys:&lt;/strong&gt; Wolves (Association), Nuggets (Statement)&lt;/li&gt;
  689. &lt;/ul&gt;
  690. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="Wr0Rsi"&gt;
  691. &lt;h2 id="SsQL0B"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Injury Report&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  692. &lt;p id="1SMxzg"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Updated as of Saturday, May 4 at 11:00 AM CT&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  693. &lt;h3 id="kNS2i0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Minnesota&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  694. &lt;p id="Zyou2b"&gt;Fully Healthy&lt;/p&gt;
  695. &lt;h3 id="3hRiF5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Denver&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  696. &lt;p id="RHEkpW"&gt;Questionable&lt;/p&gt;
  697. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li id="sHPmmE"&gt;Jamal Murray (calf)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  698. &lt;p id="JjENmb"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/03/jamal-murray-nuggets-injury-status-timberwolves-series/"&gt;Murray has been in and out of practices this week leading up to the Round 2 clash&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  699. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="t1cNY8"&gt;
  700. &lt;h2 id="fG0X7y"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What to Watch For&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  701.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  702.        &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LUvVoCTym4SBic6fDqf7oU2oxBE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25432706/usa_today_23074881.jpg"&gt;
  703.      &lt;cite&gt;Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/cite&gt;
  704.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  705. &lt;h3 id="4MX4GS"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chris Finch’s Capacity to Coach&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  706. &lt;p id="gwb9dV"&gt;In the closing minutes of Game 4, Mike Conley raced Suns guard Devin Booker up the court. With Conley a step ahead, Booker bumped Conley sending him out of control into the sideline where he abruptly collided with Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch. The beloved coach took the brunt of the collision and ultimately suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee; he underwent surgery on Wednesday and traveled to Denver on Friday morning before meeting the team for practice at Ball Arena that afternoon. While the Wolves promptly dispatched the Suns in the waning minutes, losing Finch to injury has thrust lead assistant Micah Nori into a pivotal role in leading this team with Finch’s ability to patrol the sidelines in doubt.&lt;/p&gt;
  707. &lt;div id="B65Zws"&gt;
  708. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  709. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Micah Nori says Finch’s surgery went well. Team still looking at options for him for Game 1, including joining them on the bench by moving some seats around or having him watch from a suite and joint them pregame and at halftime&lt;/p&gt;— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JonKrawczynski/status/1785713534636064895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 1, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  710. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  711. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  712.  
  713. &lt;/div&gt;
  714. &lt;p id="e5Kq8v"&gt;After years of turnover and instability, Finch has established a culture of accountability, confidence, and optimism in a team without a talent shortage but little know-how. With his status in doubt, Nori will be asked to lead the Wolves into Denver and put his imprint onto the game plan and rotation. &lt;a href="https://www.cleveland19.com/2024/03/09/timberwolves-coach-chris-finch-not-feeling-well-sits-out-minnesotas-visit-cleveland/"&gt;This isn’t the first time Nori has filled in for Finch, who sat out a March 8th game in Cleveland with illness.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  715. &lt;p id="RQhECF"&gt;This team features veteran talent capable of holding to their standard on both sides of the ball. Center Rudy Gobert already commands the defense, as he calls out coverages and constantly communicates with his teammates to effectively rotate defensively. On offense, Mike Conley is an elite organizer, pulling the strings of his teammates. Both players know what needs to be done, and look for their leadership among Nori to keep this team focused and firing on all cylinders.&lt;/p&gt;
  716.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  717.        &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HAgj7q5_K0Lpk40XuyboSeKfkhE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25432713/usa_today_23141175.jpg"&gt;
  718.      &lt;cite&gt;Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/cite&gt;
  719.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  720. &lt;h3 id="OWJhSU"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How Will Denver Guard Anthony Edwards?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  721. &lt;p id="cc3Crm"&gt;The Timberwolves have long established themselves as a premier defensive powerhouse this season. Clocking in with a defensive rating of &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense?dir=A&amp;amp;sort=DEF_RATING"&gt;108.4, the Timberwolves are far and away the top defensive team in the league and a commanding 2.2 points ahead of the second-in-line&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://www.celticsblog.com"&gt;Boston Celtics&lt;/a&gt;. We know this team will show up and play defense, but how will they keep pace with the high-powered Denver offense? It’s an important question that begins and ends with how the Nuggets attempt to contain Edwards.&lt;/p&gt;
  722. &lt;p id="QV4UFX"&gt;In last year’s playoff matchup, Edwards ran rampant against the Nuggets, averaging &lt;a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/edwaran01.html"&gt;31.6 points per game on 54.8 eFG%.&lt;/a&gt; Denver threw all they could at the flamethrower that is Edwards to no avail.&lt;/p&gt;
  723. &lt;div id="wOgKhE"&gt;
  724. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  725. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Anthony Edwards' totals in Round 1 vs. Denver last year when defended by...&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Caldwell-Pope: 37p | 52% FG&lt;br&gt;Jokić: 32p | 43.3% FG&lt;br&gt;Gordon: 28p | 47.6% FG&lt;br&gt;Murray: 25p | 44% FG&lt;br&gt;Brown: 21p | 50% FG&lt;br&gt;Green: 21p | 63.6% FG&lt;br&gt;Porter Jr.: 12p | 50% FG&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Who's stopping him this year?&lt;/p&gt;— Charlie Walton (@CharlieWaltonMN) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/CharlieWaltonMN/status/1786468615958458791?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 3, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  726. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  727. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  728.  
  729. &lt;/div&gt;
  730. &lt;p id="RmGZgU"&gt;Aaron Gordon is an elite defender with the capability of playing physically while possessing enough athleticism to stick with the uber-athletic Ant. That said, if you pull Gordon up to guard Edwards, the Nuggets leave Karl Anthony-Towns in a favorable matchup where he can settle into the game. This leaves Denver in a position where they are going to have to pick their poison. Do you utilize Gordon to try and take Towns out of the game while letting Ant get his, or do you sell out on Ant and leave Towns room to operate?&lt;/p&gt;
  731. &lt;p id="rPnUDm"&gt;When you hear people say Minnesota is a tough matchup for Denver, this is why. They do not have a clean way to match up with the Timberwolves offensive weapons. Their usual perimeter stopper Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, struggles to slow down bigger wings who can play with force and physicality, as you can see in the clip from last year’s playoffs below:&lt;/p&gt;
  732. &lt;h5 id="mvkbPQ"&gt;(Editor’s Note: If you are reading this on Apple News, please &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/e/23911735"&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; so you can view embedded videos important to the analysis, and enjoy the best overall reading experience.)&lt;/h5&gt;
  733. &lt;div id="OGqg1L"&gt;
  734. &lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvideos.nba.com%2Fnba%2Fpbp%2Fmedia%2F2023%2F04%2F21%2F0042200143%2F365%2F193c0c7c-0066-6eef-7f82-9120aaee85f1_1280x720.mp4&amp;amp;key=9ef4a209439e42bc59783ba959d50197" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media *;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  735. &lt;script async="" src="https://cdn.iframe.ly/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  736. &lt;/div&gt;
  737. &lt;p id="w91Eqa"&gt;I expect the Nuggets to throw several different bodies and looks at Edwards, but who matches up with him in game one will be a point of interest. &lt;/p&gt;
  738.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  739.        &lt;img alt="NBA: Playoffs-Minnesota Timberwolves at Phoenix Suns" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zEizHJOCCpYsKQ7pMVxXXjlYE2w=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25427897/usa_today_23140789.jpg"&gt;
  740.      &lt;cite&gt;Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/cite&gt;
  741.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  742. &lt;h3 id="KFrQHR"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Can the Timberwolves’ Bench Keep Cooking?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  743. &lt;p id="HkSoaZ"&gt;A staple during round 1 was the enormous contribution from the Wolves bench, outscoring the Suns' bench 27 - 21.5 in points per game in Round 1. Nickeil Alexander-Walker played a crucial role in holding the Timberwolves defensive standard. Of the five best three-man lineup pairings from the first round, you can find&lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612750/lineups-traditional?GroupQuantity=3&amp;amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;amp;dir=D&amp;amp;sort=PLUS_MINUS"&gt; Alexander-Walker in three of them:&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  744. &lt;ul&gt;
  745. &lt;li id="1djj4K"&gt;Rudy Gobert, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Anthony Edwards - +14&lt;/li&gt;
  746. &lt;li id="S3BCAW"&gt;Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Nickeil Alexander-Walker - +10.5&lt;/li&gt;
  747. &lt;li id="mBTF0s"&gt;Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid, and Anthony Edwads - +9.5&lt;/li&gt;
  748. &lt;/ul&gt;
  749. &lt;p id="Gdda61"&gt;I talked quite substantially in the last second on how the Nuggets will try and guard us, but NAW will play a crucial role in how we guard the Denver. Jamal Murray has quickly become the epitome of the saying “Playoff Riser”. See last year’s difference:&lt;/p&gt;
  750. &lt;ul&gt;
  751. &lt;li id="Fi96HN"&gt;
  752. &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627750?SeasonType=Regular+Season"&gt;2022-23 Regular season&lt;/a&gt; - 20 PPG | 6.2 AST | 4 REB | 45.4 FG%&lt;/li&gt;
  753. &lt;li id="4r7duv"&gt;
  754. &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627750?SeasonType=Playoffs"&gt;2022-23 Playoffs&lt;/a&gt; - 26.1 PPG | 7.1 AST | 5.7 REB | 47.3 FG%&lt;/li&gt;
  755. &lt;/ul&gt;
  756. &lt;p id="6mOAD3"&gt;Alexander-Walker was perhaps the best defensive matchup Murray saw on Denver’s pathway to a title. In 40 minutes guarding Murray, NAW held the elite shotmaker to &lt;a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1627750?SeasonType=Regular+Season"&gt;36% from the floor and 13/36 overall.&lt;/a&gt; Look for Nickeil to play a crucial role in disrupting the flow of the Denver offense. &lt;/p&gt;
  757. &lt;p id="USAGDe"&gt;You can’t talk about the Timberwolves bench without bringing up the newly minted sixth man of the year Naz Reid. &lt;a href="https://www.the-sun.com/sport/11022043/naz-reid-towel-minnesota-timberwolves-wrestlemania-wwe-nba/"&gt;I expect the towels to be out in full force&lt;/a&gt; throughout the series. Naz will be crucial in punishing the weak Denver bench unit while Jokić sits. Like the series before, the depth of this Wolves squad plays into the ability to wear teams down with fresh legs and constant effort on both ends of the court. &lt;/p&gt;
  758. &lt;h3 id="Dmag6F"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Keys to Victory&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  759. &lt;p id="2PLmY8"&gt;The Timberwolves have a legitimate shot to win this series. You read that right, but one more time so you believe it: the Wolves CAN beat the Nuggets. Denver does not have the same level of bench as last year, and there are vulnerabilities for Minnesota to exploit. I have four keys to securing a Game 1 victory:&lt;/p&gt;
  760. &lt;ul&gt;
  761. &lt;li id="wa75v3"&gt;Disrupt Denver’s offensive flow&lt;/li&gt;
  762. &lt;li id="R16wZV"&gt;Force Jokić to be a scorer&lt;/li&gt;
  763. &lt;li id="OeVAsg"&gt;Obliterate Denver in the non-Jokić minutes&lt;/li&gt;
  764. &lt;li id="U7dfIV"&gt;Find secondary scoring outside of Edwards&lt;/li&gt;
  765. &lt;/ul&gt;
  766. &lt;aside id="sl3lf5"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Keys to Round 2: What Will it Take for the Timberwolves to Dethrone the Nuggets?","url":"https://www.canishoopus.com/2024/5/3/24147655/minnesota-timberwolves-denver-nuggets-nba-playoffs-western-conference-nikola-jokic-anthony-edwards"}]}'&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/aside&gt;&lt;p id="itxiF9"&gt;The Wolves will need to lean into their length. By clogging passing lanes, you force Jokić into scoring the basketball and take away tilted floor situations that lead to open shots from sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. On offense, getting Towns percolating within the flow next to Edwards is option number one. That said, if Denver sells out on taking Towns out of the game with Gordon and doubles, then we need the veteran big man to continue making smart reads as a passer and open up tilted floor looks for Jaden McDaniels or open shots for Conley and Alexander-Walker.&lt;/p&gt;
  767. &lt;p id="l1q2Ma"&gt;Above all else, remember to soak this up. Win or lose, this is going to be a battle. These are two of the premier teams in the NBA currently and remember to appreciate the Wolves being in this position. We are here to win, but these moments have been so fleeting over the last 20 years, remember to appreciate what we have while we have it.&lt;/p&gt;
  768. &lt;p id="IBjEOm"&gt;With that said, go kill everything in front of you Edwards.&lt;/p&gt;
  769. &lt;div id="BAC2IX"&gt;
  770. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  771. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Anthony Edwards : “I just want to kill everything in front of me man, thats the main thing pretty much, that’s all there is to it.”  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ant man adding to his growing personality. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Link: &lt;a href="https://t.co/EYZpA1govw"&gt;https://t.co/EYZpA1govw&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/UOVbfsBrrj"&gt;pic.twitter.com/UOVbfsBrrj&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TWDTV1/status/1784100348463906819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 27, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  772. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  773. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  774.  
  775. &lt;/div&gt;
  776.  
  777. </content>
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  780.    <author>
  781.      <name>Tim_Garrison</name>
  782.    </author>
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