The headline coming into tonight’s game was that Jimmy Butler would not be playing due to a sprained ankle. So, all the sports books and analysts had the Timberwolves as 7-point favorites against the Miami Heat. We all know that Coach Spo is one of the best in the business and he was going to have his team still playing at a high level. In Jimmy Butler’s absence, we expected to see a lot of Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo tonight with minutes/field goal attempts.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were in a battle from the start in this game and it seemed as though Miami had the answer for every punch that Minnesota threw at them. The Heat presented a different challenge with their zone schemes and it made things a little tougher on the Wolves end when it came to execution the way that they’re accustomed to nightly. Anthony Edwards who has been on a heater as of late wasn’t able to get his offense going the way he wanted tonight. The Miami Heat came out shooting pretty much 50% from the field and were clicking on all cylinders but when Rudy Gobert was in the game he prevented a lot of that. Miami seemed to only attack the paint when Rudy wasn’t in the game or if he was caught on a switch getting him near the 3-point line. Tyler Herro was able to carry the Heat in scoring tonight but was making a lot of tough shots with defenders in his face. Herro was able to get to his spots as he was able to finish with 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Herro took a lot of shots tonight but was able to make the most of the opportunities on switches. Nikola Jović played very well off the bench and was able to slip through the defensive cracks on the last play that sealed the deal for Miami to win. Jović finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist on the night. His play off the bench would prove to be the huge deciding factor in the Heat winning this game late. The Timberwolves did a lot of switching on that last play and Jović was open just enough to get fouled to give Miami the lead for the win.
The Minnesota Timberwolves only had 4 players in double figures tonight which is rare for them. The Wolves always seem to find a way to win the game and also get their scorers in a better position to be successful. Tonight they weren’t able to get the job done but every championship-caliber team like Minnesota needs a wake-up call every now and then. The Wolves got beat in transition tonight as Miami had 26 fastbreak points to Minnesota’s 4 for the night. The Heat were beating them down the court throughout the game and it’s tough to set up a defense if a team is going that fast. Anthony Edwards finished the game with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists but needed a little bit more offensively to propel Minnesota to a win.
People will start to panic over this loss but this is going to be a growing point for this team as they’re still trying to figure things out on the fly. Multiple players have stated that they’re trying to get their rhythm down with the minutes rotation and this is going to take time. Naz Reid was the other bright spot in this game as he was able to make an impact off the bench with 15 points. Rudy Gobert was able to grab 13 boards and he made his presence known in the paint defensively as he also recorded 2 blocks. The Heat were running all night long and they got some easy baskets this will be a tough learning moment for the Timberwolves as they look to bounce back on the road against Portland.
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