The first match of the Western Conference Finals: The Wolves, who chose to attack, collapsed unexpectedly!

The first match of the Western Conference Finals: Timberwolves 88-114 Thunder

Although the Timberwolves relied on Randall's unreasonable three-pointers to lead, it was still quite terrifying to lose 18 points in the first half of the game, which is enough to see that the rhythm of this game has actually been under the control of the Thunder.

Wolves head coach Fincher chose to believe that the lineup that had a successful effect in the previous few rounds of the series was hit by the Thunder's large number of assisting defense and interference with the ball holder. Once the team's offense was not smooth, the nightmare of dragging down the Wolves' defense began. The Thunder gradually woke up from the sluggish peripheral feel and finally successfully won the first victory in the series.

At the beginning of the game, the Timberwolves used the Thunder to let Homgren defend McDaniels's match-choice, and constantly used screens and piled up bottom lines to clear out McDaniels's single-handed space. The effect was directly achieved at the start of 8-0.

But when Gobert got the disadvantage of two fouls within 90 seconds of the first game, Finch could not keep the best franchise guard on the court, and was forced to choose to use the small ball lineup that performed well in the first two series, hoping to use the periphery threat to liberate the players' breakthrough space.

Even in the middle of the third quarter, after seeing the Thunder replace the four-foul Holmgren, Finch still insists on replacing Gobert, hoping to regain the Wolves' sluggish offense.

But in the Timberwolves, except Conley, the team lacks players who can hold the ball and control the rhythm of the game. If they are asked to wait for opportunities, they are still a little helpless.

The Thunder's best-in-class pushing rhythm after making mistakes and the rapid pounce and defense of internal and external switching can just be valued at this time. This led to the Timberwolves constantly worrying about losing points due to mistakes when looking for the best opportunity, and instead being forced to choose many fast-paced peripheral moves, but it is difficult to convert into direct scores.

Edwards and Randall shouldered the responsibility of holding the ball and organizing the ball, but it was difficult to both create opportunities for the opportunity to play; Walker and Divinchen Sabor were not good at playing ball and attacking; Reed faced the penalty area to shrink defense, and it was difficult to find a chance to end with a soft touch. When McDaniels, who is the most critical in mid-range pickup, is difficult to stay on the court due to foul trouble, the single functionality of other 3Ds is still difficult to make breakthroughs in the face of the Thunder's oppression, and can only repeatedly make some desperate peripheral projections.

The small ball lineup was not punished in the first two rounds of the series. Faced with the situation where Homgren and Alexander gradually returned to their offensive state in the second half, they kept finding the breakout through simple pick-and-roll cooperation, and even the Thunder's character puzzles were able to complete the peripheral shooting more confidently.

Back and back, Finch chose a small ball lineup to fight against the offensive strategy in this game, but he still did not play the role he should have in the face of the Thunder's tight defense line.

The Thunder effectively slowed down the offensive pace of the three-time MVP by enabling Jerin, who was stable in the lower set to serve as Jokic's defensive counterattack. In this game, Dagnott used Kenridge Williams, who had few chances to perform.

As the best tool to limit Randall, the thick body and the forward's horizontal lateral movement speed and confrontation make it difficult for Randall to execute the left end that he is best at, resulting in a significant restriction on the offensive end. In addition, Kenway can also provide projecting support on the offensive end, which instantly widened the Timberwolves' score difference to double digits.

Of course, if you watch the Timberwolves' game this season, their characteristics are still very obvious. This is a team that relies on offense to drive defense. When their offense is limited and chaotic, the ball holder will choose a large number of monotonous and easy-to-defend shots, and the return speed and focus without the ball will also decrease, and he will fall into a vicious cycle of losing more and more.

On the Western Conference Finals stage, such performance is obviously not suitable. However, it can still be seen that after the Timberwolves struggled in the second half, the double core began to indulge in singles, or pursued one-on-one single-point pass selection. As a result, they kept falling into the Thunder encirclement while holding the ball in the back frame and made mistakes, or directly let the opponent get the conversion score.

vs. Thunder, compared with the mode of defending first and then driving the offensive feel, the Timberwolves do have some room for improvement in patience.

As for the follow-up observations of this round of series, both Wolves' core members mentioned the issue of reducing the time for the star to hold the ball after the game, but to achieve this goal, how to effectively increase Conley's playing time is a key choice. As the best high-level dealer in the team, the 37-year-old veteran is limited in physical fitness, but the Timberwolves needs his tandem contribution in this round of the series.

Another point, although the penalty scale has caused quite a controversy, it must be said that this is still a series with defense-based theme. Wolves coach Finch needs to give Gobert enough trust and design more offensive tactics around him as the core, which can not only effectively reduce the opponent's double-team on the ball holder, but also reduce the offensive turnover rate and improve the quality of shooting ending. In the first game of the

series, losing the away game will not be completely desperate. I believe that the Timberwolves can get back their form as soon as possible and don’t let our expectations for this round of the Western Conference Finals.