"Lagged behind a little bit" - Chris Finch dissects Anthony Edwards' passive first half display in T'Wolves' brutal game 4 loss
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards had a slow opening half in their Game 4 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals on Monday in Minneapolis. It was one of the things that the Wolves' coach, Chris Finch, touched on after the game.
The Timberwolves now have their backs against the wall after losing, 128-126, in Game 4 to the Thunder and are now down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
In the postgame press conference, coach Finch spoke about the showing they had, highlighting how they could have performed better in certain facets of the game. About Anthony Edwards' slow start, he said:
“I thought in the second half he was more aggressive. He got downhill, we got him off the ball a little bit more. When he got to the paint, I thought he found people and made the right plays.”
"I think, first half, he lagged behind a little bit too much. We need to get in front so we could get to the floor and screen for him a bit, but second half was much better."
Anthony Edwards finished with 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 1-of-7 from the 3-point line. He had six assists, four rebounds and five turnovers in 40 minutes.
In the opening half, 'Ant-Man' only had four points on 1-of-3 shooting as he saw the Timberwolves trail the Thunder, 65-57, at the break. This was much different from his performance in the first half of Game 3, where he had 20 points, 16 coming in the first quarter. Minnesota went on to win that game, 143-101.
Edwards and the Timberwolves will try to keep their NBA Finals hope alive as they try to stave off elimination in Game 5 on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
Anthony Edwards says Thunder did a good job on him in Game 4
Anthony Edwards admitted that the OKC Thunder did a good job of taking the gaps for him to operate in the Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 4 loss.
He spoke about it with reporters inside their dugout following the game, highlighting how it was reminiscent of what happened earlier in the series, saying:
"Yeah, I think they seem went back like when they were playing me in Games 1 and 2. Just in the gaps, super, super heavy..."
Despite that, he expressed confidence that he and the Timberwolves will be able to bounce back in Game 5 and keep their NBA Finals hopes alive.
In the West finals, Edwards has been averaging 24.5 points, 7.75 rebounds and 5.25 assists and shooting 34-of-69 (49.3%) from the field and 10-of-32 (31.3%) from the 3-point line in four games.