Obviously, losing both Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo to injury in Game 4 was both heartbreaking and an extremely tough break for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even after finding a way to fight through adversity, win the game, and go up 3-1 in the series, advancing to the next round wasn’t a sure thing.
The series is now 3-2 after the Nuggets' 125-113 victory on Monday. There are some positives that Minnesota can take from that loss, though, including the 3-point shooting they displayed sans Ant-Man and Donte. It is something they should lean more into for Game 6.
Most accurate 3-point shooting game of the series on Monday
449. That is the number of 3-pointers that Edwards and DiVincenzo connected on during the regular season this year. How would the Wolves fare in their first playoff game without their two top 3-point marksmen?
Game 5 was certainly promising in that aspect. Minnesota finished the night shooting 12-for-28 from beyond the arc, good for 42.9 percent. That’s actually the best percentage they have shot in any game this series after they connected on just 33.9 percent in Games 1-4.
While that is a good sign that they can find a way to still make an impact from long range without their starting backcourt, the Timberwolves shot them with less frequency as the game went on. Over the first 12 minutes, they started on fire, making seven of their 12 3-point tries, ending with Bones Hyland making one from multiple feet behind the line with five seconds left.
The Wolves attempted 36.8 3-pointers in the regular season, so it would make sense to increase their 3-point volume.
That means over the last three quarters, they only attempted 16 3s. That number (along with attempts at the rim) likely needs to increase if the Timberwolves want to put an end to the series on Thursday on their home court.Â
With the way Ayo Dosunmu has shot the 3-ball all year long and particularly in this series, there’s room for him to attempt more than the 4.4 he has averaged over the first five outings.
Jaden McDaniels obviously hasn’t been short of confidence against Denver, but he can’t lose faith in a 3-point shot that hasn’t come around yet in the playoffs, as it did in the regular season. Notably, he netted 41.2 percent of his 3s in the regular season, but has hit just 1-for-14 of his 3s in the playoffs.
Chris Finch has mostly been pushing all of the right buttons in this series. He knows his team needs to find ways to generate more offense without one of the game’s best scorers.
I fully expect him to make the proper adjustments before Game 6 to ensure that they are able to get more 3-pointers up.
Add us as a preferred source on Google