“We’ve got to be more aggressive, take what the defense gives us, but also impose our game on them,” said Anthony Edwards after the Game 1 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. This, along with the advice to himself to shoot more, was one advice the star player was looking to put out to not repeat what the Timberwolves did in Game 1. After all, you certainly need to make a statement after effortlessly defeating the Lakers and Timberwolves, but then losing in Game 1 to OKC by a 114-88 score, aka a 26-point margin. Unfortunately, Anthony Edwards and Co. failed to deliver for the second consecutive game! Furthermore, judging from what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, Edwards has to be cautious for the next matchup, too.

In the aftermath of Game 2, the 2025 MVP participated in a Q&A session. During the same, when asked what will be the key to defeating the Timberwolves in Game 3, Shai said, “Yeah, we gotta do a better job on Ant. We gonna have a bunch of energy in the building. At home, some very good crowd over there, they’re gonna be into the game. We got to bring the fight early if we want to give us a chance”.

Wow, from the looks of it, Shai wants to continue putting Anthony Edwards on that ‘tough luck’ train.

Going into the playoff series, it was expected that the Oklahoma City Thunder squad would provide tough competition to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards and co were also expected not to back down. After all, the latter were the same squad that had lost only 1 game against the Los Angeles Lakers and 1 against the Golden State Warriors, to earn a spot in the Conference Finals.

Unfortunately, we saw what happened in Game 1 of the ongoing series. The Timberwolves fared slightly better in Game 2, but still lost by a 118-103 score. OKC once again limited Anthony Edwards’ scoring. While the star player did record 32 points, he shot only 12-26 (46.2%) field goals, 1-9 (11.1%) 3-pointers, and 7-10 (70.0%) free throws. Even with 9 rebounds and 6 assists, his efforts could have been better, as seen from the -22 plus/minus rating Edwards had recorded under his name by the end of the game.

After Anthony Edwards’ request for the players to be more “aggressive”, Naz Reid, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jaden McDaniels had made a dent by scoring in the double-digits too. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the pressure to do well has now only increased on the Timberwolves squad.

Things will be better for Anthony Edwards and co in Game 3. After all, that matchup, along with the one after that, will be played at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, OKC and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continue to prove as tough competition. They continue to prove themselves as someone for whom separate plans need to be created to give them an edge. From what Chris Finch recently revealed, he has no new plans to drop the Thunder squad down on their knees.

Chris Finch reiterates the same ‘physicality’ and ‘watch tape’ belief highlighted by Anthony Edwards

During the post-game presser, Chris Finch was asked the same question that was on the minds of Timberwolves fans: What’s next? The team had home-court advantage now going into Game 3, which was a much-needed help. However, the Thunder offense, their ability to limit Anthony Edwards’ scoring, and the 34.5 points Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged in the last 2 games show that the team needs more than just a simple home-turf advantage. If there is a plan, however, then Chris Finch is not accepting it, or is simply not willing to share it with the media.

“Every minute in the series is a chance to find something, um, you know. So, uh, we’re going to go back home. This is a, you know, good team at home. So we’re going to go home and, um, you know, fight for game three. I mean, heads up, and look at the tape, and get ready for game three,” said Chris Finch. On top of that, he also added that “we got to square these drives, and we got to play with more physicality”.

This would have been a fine response, except for the fact that ‘physicality’ and ‘watch tape’ were the two things even Anthony Edwards emphasized before Game 2. The 23-year-old had asked for his players to take what the defense gave them, but also impose their own game on the OKC squad. On top of that, before Game 2, NBA insider Marc Spears discussed Edwards and revealed that “After that loss in Game 1, he and assistant coach Chris Hines at a nearby hotel watched game film till 3 a.m. He’s definitely or probably mentally prepared for this next game”. Edwards might have been mentally prepared, but not by enough.

At the end of the day, the head coach and the star player know best how to run the team. The only thing that can be said to them right now, however, is that time is running out. If they wish to make a dent in the ongoing series, they have to do it soon.