When you see an NBA offense truly humming, it usually involves a lot of ball movement. Put pressure on the opposing defense by zipping the ball around the court until there is an open shot available.
Sometimes, the Minnesota Timberwolves' offense is a wonderful watch. That’s not always the case, though, especially in the first half of Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. After the game, Chris Finch said,
“We gotta go somewhere. We’re kind of dribbling and going nowhere. We’ve got to be able to punch gaps, play downhill, that’s what we like to do.”
That synergy on offense often wasn’t there over the first 24 minutes, and it led to a substantial halftime deficit that the Wolves never came close to overcoming.
Couldn't sustain any offensive momentum in the first half
The numbers from the opening two quarters were absolutely brutal for the Timberwolves. They shot just 14-for-47 from the field (29.8 percent), 2-for-15 from beyond the arc (13.3 percent), and 5-for-9 from the foul line (55.5 percent) to enter halftime with only 35 points and a 24-point deficit.
Four players had multiple turnovers, and Minnesota had four more turnovers (11) than assists (seven) in the first half. That’s a huge difference from Game 1, where they totaled 12 assists and just five turnovers over the first 24 minutes. It was also the lowest-scoring half for the Wolves all season.
San Antonio is an excellent defensive team. Ball movement and patience is paramount against them, and Minnesota didn’t exhibit either of those qualities in the first half.
After a solid offensive performance in his return to the court in Game 1, the offense didn’t flow as well in Game 2 with Anthony Edwards. Again, there wasn’t much ball movement, Ant-Man missed 7 of his 10 shots in the opening half, and he was a minus-23 in 16:35 of first half action. The Spurs did their best to trap him, and he seemed slow at times to move the ball out of the double team.
After the subpar Game 2 performance, you wonder if Chris Finch will make a starting lineup change for Game 3 to try to provide more of a spark. That could be Edwards returning to the starting five after coming off the bench for his first two games back.
It’s just one game. Minnesota did its job in winning one of the first two games in San Antonio. A more fluid showing on the offensive end is necessary to regain the series lead.
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