Just after beating the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder a few days ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were completely stopped in their tracks by a shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies team, losing 137-128. There was an apparent decline in their play from how they looked back then, and head coach Chris Finch didn’t hold back on them.

“We struggled with all the movement and the closeout contained in the first half in particular,” Finch told reporters when asked about what the Wolves struggled with. “And then in the second half, it was a lot of fouls.”

Finch isn’t wrong. He pointed to one sequence, when the team made it a four-point game before giving up eight straight free throws to the Grizzlies in the second half. Minnesota failed to keep the momentum on its side whenever it got going and failed to pressure the Grizzlies, who were missing Ja Morant, Santi Aldama, Brandon Clarke, Zach Edey, Scotty Pippen Jr., and John Konchar.

However, Edwards defied his struggles with back spasms to take charge on behalf of the squad. He recorded a respectable 39 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in 40 minutes. They attempted to make a late-quarter run to get past the Grizzlies with nine point advantage when they were 130-121 after a three-point play from Edwards, but that did not come to fruition.

Finch told reporters that “at times” the competitiveness dipped, and when one of them followed up with what could be done to draw more competitiveness out of his players, Finch bluntly said:

“Ask them. It’s on them. They’ve got to come and put the work on it. It can’t be a sometimes thing.”

This isn’t something new. Both Finch and his players have previously expressed their sentiment, but this was a shrug and an invitation for the locker room to take on the responsibility of doing what needed to be done.

What makes this worse is that Anthony Edwards has already talked about these issues.

Anthony Edwards’ Own Words Come Back Into Focus After Tough Grizzlies Loss

After beating the Thunder less than a week ago, Anthony Edwards was interviewed on NBA on Prime, where he spoke candidly about leadership, effort, and the standard he sets on the floor.

“I pick and choose when I want to defend at a super high level, and I think my teammates follow,” Edwards said back then. “I think tonight I came out and decided to defend at a high level and I just got to do that night in, night out, and we all know how hard that is, but I got to take the challenge and be and be willing to do it every night.”

Against Memphis, the lack of things he talked about was hard to ignore. After beating them in their previous game, the Wolves struggled to close out on time, play hard without fouling, and while Edwards wasn’t the only one with lapses, he was the one with all the eyes on him.

That’s what Finch’s frustration highlighted. The coach is asking for something that isn’t bound by X’s and O’s, and with Edwards having already acknowledged it, the entire group feels it when that defensive edge dulls.

The Wolves still have time. They’ve shown us at multiple points in the season that they’re a sneaky team that can play any opponent close. The issue is just consistency.