The Minnesota Timberwolves fell short in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, losing 114-88. Two of the biggest problems for the Timberwolves were turnovers and shooting. Both have been problems for Minnesota at various points throughout the season. Let's dive into how it could cost them against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Careless turnovers and bad decisions
Turnovers were perhaps the biggest issue for the Timberwolves. They committed 17 turnovers and notched just 18 assists. Julius Randle had five turnovers, Anthony Edwards had four, while Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels had three. This season, they averaged 14.5 turnovers, which is slightly above the league average. In the playoffs, this number has increased to 15.2 turnovers.
Decision-making has been a problem for Minnesota, as they don't have a natural point guard outside of Mike Conley, who has shown signs of decline this season. Taking care of the ball is especially difficult against OKC's elite defensive pressure.
However, if the Timberwolves win this series, it will be crucial to cut back on turnovers. Additionally, while many of the turnovers were due to the Thunder's elite defense, plenty of them were because of bad decisions from the Timberwolves. These turnovers included dribbling into the defense and making ill-advised passes. Ultimately, the Timberwolves need to make more intentional decisions and move the ball better to fight back in this series.
Poor shooting and shot selction
Another key problem for the Timberwolves in Game 1 was their poor 3-point shooting. Minnesota shot just 15-51 from 3, which translates to 29.4 percent. The Timberwolves were one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the regular season, ranking top five in both 3-point makes and percentage. However, they rank just 12th in 3-point percentage and eighth in 3-point makes in the playoffs.
Randle was the only one hitting his 3s, he shot 5-6 from beyond the arc. However, all of those 3s came in the first half; in the second half, the Thunder made it a priority to take away his deep ball. Reid shot 0-7 from 3, Donte DiVincenzo shot 3-12, and Edwards was 3-8. The Timberwolves' bench shot just 5-29 from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot an abysmal 8-30 on wide-open 3s. The lack of shooting from key players certainly contributed to this blowout loss.
While most of their 3-pointers were open or wide open, when you are shooting so poorly, you must find other ways to generate offense. That's easier said than done against OKC's elite defense, especially with how they were packing the paint. Regardless, attacking the paint with better ball movement could lead to easier looks at the rim and more free throws. Overall, in Game 2, the Timberwolves must either hit open shots or cut back on their 3-point attempts if they aren't falling.