A Game 4 win by the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Denver Nuggets should be cause for celebration. The Wolves are now just one win away from disposing of their biggest rival in the opening round.
That certainly is wonderful, but boy, is it hard to be super happy as a Timberwolves fan after seeing what transpired in Game 4. Donte DiVincenzo suffered a torn right Achilles early in the first quarter, which wlil surely sideline him for quite some time. Late in the second quarter, Edwards hyperextended his knee. As of this writing, it is unclear the exact extent of his injury.
Let me say that I am rooting for speedy recoveries for both players.
While it’s an extremely tough break for Minnesota, they still need to focus on the now, which is getting one more win over Denver. With the amount of offense now missing, Terrence Shannon Jr. should have the opportunity to step up.
TSJ can provide offensive spark off bench
As long as Ant-Man and The Big Ragu are out, the Wolves will be missing two players who combined to average 41 points per contest in the regular season. Edwards is clearly their most talented scorer and one of the most talented in the entire league. DiVincenzo connected on 244 3-pointers during the regular season and has made 11 of 23 attempts during the playoffs.
I expect the defense to still mostly be excellent without the two starters. Ayo Dosunmu shouldn’t have a problem sliding into the starting lineup. There will be times, though, where the offense may struggle without them (particularly if they advance and face stouter defenses than Denver).
That is where Terrence Shannon Jr. can play a role. Chris Finch already has experience doing this, inserting him into the playoff rotation in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals last year.
The 25-year-old averaged nearly a point per minute over the last three games of that series. With players sitting out to end the regular season, Shannon received extended time and totaled 82 points in 94 minutes over the last three outings.
After Minnesota scored just 11 points over nearly the first seven minutes of the second quarter, Finch turned to TSJ. He took one shot, a made 3-pointer from the right elbow on a nice pass from Naz Reid that just went over the outstretched arms of Jamal Murray.Â
Unfortunately, about a minute prior to Shannon’s made three, Edwards went down with his injury. With Ayo now likely in the starting lineup as long as Ant and Donte are out, they will need a spark off the bench at times. Shannon is the guy who seems most capable of providing it.
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