Anthony Edwards, still recovering from a bruised and hyperextended left knee, has combined for just 30 points in Games 1 and 2.
Thirty-eight points normally is enough to win an entire playoff series and clearly overkill for any single game. Consider, a year ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Golden State in the Western Conference semifinals by a total of 36 points over five games.
Back in the NBA’s second round again this spring, the Wolves got blown off the court at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center in Game 2 Wednesday by 38, 133-95.
That makes the teams’ respective goals heading into Game 3 on Friday (9:30 ET, Prime Video), ostensibly simple. The Spurs want to replicate their performance as much as possible when both participants in a dynamic series are doing their best to be moving targets. Minnesota, by contrast, wants to make their guests at Target Center wish they’d held some of that bloated margin in reserve as emergency points they’ll need going forward.
Here are three things to watch for at 1-1, with the Spurs eager to grab back home-court advantage even as the Wolves try to assert some:
1. Edwards to flash his All-Star form
Ask any Wolves fan what their team needs to find an extra gear in Game 3 and they’ll say “More Ant” – and they won’t be talking about Memphis’ point guard. Anthony Edwards understandably has had a muted impact so far, owing to his ahead-of-schedule return from a bruised and hyperextended left knee (while not fully recovered from a sore right knee).
That reality doesn’t cut him any slack with the Spurs, who have limited Edwards while on the court to a combined 30 points in Games 1 and 2. Coming off the bench both nights, Edwards chastised himself after giving up a pair of crucial rebounds late in the opener, then had turnovers while posting a personal playoff worst minus-23 in his 24 minutes Wednesday.
Edwards still drew the defensive respect from San Antonio of being double-teamed, but he dealt with the traps less effectively than usual. His 13 shot attempts in each game tied for third-fewest in his 48 playoff performances, and he has scored 30 points or more – in single games, not two – 16 times.
Through their runs to the conference finals in 2024 and ’25, Edwards’ talent and the stress it puts on opponents has been Minnesota’s superpower. Its record when he has scored 20+ in a playoff game: 19-14. And when he hasn’t: 6-9.
He probably should be back in the starting lineup, his minutes need to ramp up and forget about letting the game “come to him,” as some coaches will advise. For the Wolves’ good, Edwards need to seize it by the neck.
2. Less tipoff, more starting block
Expect both teams to aim for quick, explosive starts. San Antonio did that in Game 2, rocking the Wolves in the first quarter with aggressive offense from point guard De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama. Minnesota knows that an early pounce is the surest way to maximize the series’ shift to Minneapolis and, frankly, the extended happy hour of an 8:30 local time tipoff.
“Whenever we’re able to start games off pretty well, we’re usually on the front foot,” Fox said, after he and Wembanyama flexed repeated pick-and-rolls that got both Spurs going. “When we’re the aggressors, we’re able to win most of those games.”
Wolves forward Julius Randle saw the flip side of the Spurs’ fast start. “They out-hustled us, out-physicaled us, out-executed, played better defensively, more energy.”
Bringing immediate intensity guarantees nothing over 48 minutes, but not bringing it almost assures the less frenetic team of an uphill night.
3. A little Denver dislike from McDaniels
Jaden McDaniels is Minnesota’s best and most versatile perimeter, with plenty of San Antonio weapons in need of holstering if his team hopes to prevail. The lanky, normally laconic wing added to his impact in the first round by aggravating Denver with some “bad defenders” jibe after Game 2 and his late layup at the end of Game 4.
If McDaniels isn’t going to pop off or irritate the Spurs in similar fashion, he at least needs to clamp down on one or more of San Antonio’s scoring threats. The biggest obstacle so far? Foul trouble. He got whistled for five in the opener and had a quick three in Game 2, sending him to the bench. In his absence, the Spurs’ lead ballooned from eight points to 24.
“Jaden was a bright spot for us,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “(The fouls) certainly derailed his night, and we were never able to really benefit from a very good Jaden, which is important to us.”
That explained how McDaniels emerged from the 38-point drubbing with a mere minus-6 in his 19:35 minutes. But he has been and should be averaging double that, a disruptor picking up in the backcourt and certainly before San Antonio gets downhill into Rudy Gobert.
Against this foe, however, McDaniels might want to let his game do his talking. Wembanyama was asked before Game 1 about that sort of extracurricular, and he sounded as if he almost welcomed it.
“Talking is not something that bothers me,” the elongated one said. “Yeah, it’s exciting. It makes the game even better. I always appreciate people helping me push through my limits.”
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
