Do you want to escape? We grant your wish, heading to the great forests of the northern United States to take stock of the Wolves season. We thought they were almost doomed to watch the Playoffs on television, but that was without counting on an Anthony Edwards with already well-formed canines. Spring basketball was offered to the Wolves at the end of an encouraging season. Come on, put on some warm clothes and let’s go!
What TrashTalk predicted
After a well-stamped season – and therefore necessarily full of twists and turns – the Wolves returned this year with the aim of going to the Playoffs. We are in Minneapolis and therefore in one of the most recognized circuses in the NBA. Nothing is going to go like clockwork, and you can add to that the fact that the Wolves play in the Western Conference, aka the stormiest sea on planet basketball. Short, we find ourselves at the beginning of spring with a record of 32 victories for 50 defeats according to Alex and Bastien direct from the most comfortable beanbags in France, including overseas departments and territories. « Eleventh is the place of the idiot.
What really happened
Subway, work, sleep. Such is the classic routine of the inhabitants of Paris. Victory, defeat, defeat, defeat. Here we have been on the Wolves lifestyle for a good decade, 2018 being the exception that proves the rule. Oh how strange, it is exactly on this pattern that the season of Wolves begins. Come on, we’re bad language: there have been three wins in four games, enough to give hope to fans of the franchise when the first snowflakes fall in Minneapolis. We still talked about defeats, we’re getting there. What could be better than six losses in a row to put a twist on the little hype that had taken hold during the first ten days of competition? In barely three weeks, the Wolves have offered us all the complexity expressed by their basketball. Victory as a boss at the defending champions Bucks, and loss in stride against Orlando at home. You were told WTF, you are served… and it is only November. In this kind of ambient slump, there are still reasons for satisfaction, and to deny it would be dishonest. Anthony Edwards is already hot, very hot. At the bend of a defeat in San Francisco, the sophomore plants 48 points. Hey, wouldn’t we be witnessing the birth of a great player there? Already the leader in scoring on several occasions, Ant Man wants to establish itself as the number one option in attack. You tell us: “Yes but KAT is there”, and you will be told that you are right. The regular will be folded to 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 blocks, it’s still quite honest when you’re a math fan. Only, it’s as always with the giant when it comes to games. Sometimes a very cute cat, sometimes a Bengal tiger. Impossible to count on the guy every night, especially when his team is in trouble. There are evenings at 20 points, and others that are close to the heights, like that of his career record, 60 pawns against Spurs, you read that right. Of course, perfection doesn’t exist and it’s impossible to answer all the time, don’t mess around either. Problem, it is still asked of someone who embodies an NBA franchise to show correct consistency, which Charles Antoine still has trouble assuming, despite the fact that he is dominant under the circle as can be. have been and currently are in the league.
And it is there that the evolution of Anthony Edwards is essential. Able to take the swell when necessary and downright set everything ablaze when the feeling is good, the less solid evenings of KAT and D’Angelo are filled by the downright canon level of play of the most promising of the Wolves. Thanks to this, Minny can finally pass this course and regularly chain victories, which was not a habit in past seasons. Five consecutive successes here, four there… and the balance sheet, which had been tilting on the wrong side since mid-November, is beginning to regain a balance. January 10, 2022 is an important date, because it is after a knockdown inflicted on the Rockets that the Wolves finally have as many victories as defeats. Beyond a simple symbolism of the figures, all this finally seems to show that we could count on Chris Finch’s band for something other than a collective order of Piña Colada near Cancun in mid-April. The resilience of this group is finally visible, a big step forward for basketball in Minnesota. The victories are even more numerous than the defeats from this famous date. There is success against the Nuggets, the Grizzlies… and slowly, those who spent their seasons making fun of the face of the Wolves are no longer laughing. Like the teams that saw qualifying for the Playoffs as a logical thing. Clippers, Pelicans, Lakers, everyone is very annoyed to see Minny win games, because the more time goes by, the more difficult things get. The Blazers dropped the case in the meantime, leaving one more place for the Cub Scouts. Malik Beasley ensures in his role of second knife, Pat ‘Bev’ is there to speak very loudly and put his ‘tiny ten points, it’s a treat and the franchise takes the right turn. Dedication also to Jaden McDaniels, the frequent bomblets from the lair did a lot of good. In short, you capture that all the opponents below in the standings are having a hard time. We necessarily think of San Antonio who suffered the wrath of Anthony Édouard, what does that mean? 49 points net of tax, you can pay by card but we don’t take checks. At the end of April, Wolves are 7th in the West, with 46 wins for 36 losses. This story smells like spring basketball. In recognition for the services rendered and the good job, the management of the franchise extends Chris Finch, the architect of this great season and probably those to come.
Yes, but now you know that for two years, the last two qualifying places for the Playoffs are accessible to the 9th and 10th of each conference via the play-in. Minny is no exception, and it’s the Clippers who stand in their way as eighths of the Wild Wild West. Match at home, room temperature inversely proportional to that of the outside, you have captured that it is boiling. Edwards asserts his leadership status in a decisive match, he is definitely the future of the pack. Victory is assured, towards the postseason. It will be Memphis for the first round of the Playoffs. We’ve all heard of the endless debate about who would win a fight between a tiger and a gorilla, so let’s put that aside temporarily to watch this somewhat more northern duel between Grizzlies and Wolves. And kid, Minneapolis didn’t go far. Finally if, they moved on to a successful series of D’Lo. KAT was lackluster, but with a Toto Douadouard as boss, it could almost have done. We were talking to you about D’Angelo Russell, the man with blood on his hands. The six games are disgusting as desired, while opposite Ja Morant was absent subscribers. There was room, Edwards did everything to carry the ship, but the law of the Playoffs is relentless. Without a confident leader, it is impossible to pretend to want to continue the adventure. In the end, that’s unfortunately not enough, because the young leader of the Grizz’ woke up at the right time to kill the confrontation as a whole. The main thing is there, Minny is back in the Playoffs, but this return is tarnished by a touch of frustrationbecause one would have imagined these Wolves overthrowing the Dolphins of the Conference if they had all responded present in due time.
picture of the season
The official return of Wolves in the Playoffs, four years after their last participation. The match against the Clippers was not easy because the Sailboats had the firm intention of not giving up priority despite their lower position in the regular standings. The Wolves are under pressure, but their collective so dearly acquired at the end of a good season will not tremble. The images are beautiful, we are witnessing a real communion between a conquered public and transcended players. It is obviously a deliverance for the latter, because such an encouraging season without reward at the end would undoubtedly have left a lot of wounds difficult to close. We don’t care at that moment, nobody thinks about it and the only objective is to take full advantage, logical.
He was a hit: Anthony Edwards
Sir Anthony Edwards. We got our franchise player from Wolves. In two seasons, he has established himself as the equal of Karl-Anthony. Say, it pays to be called Anthony in this town. The season is that of a franchise boss and that of the future great: 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists, we call it a scoring machine in the jargon. Points not far from 50 pawns, let’s just remember that the guy at 20 pins, and that when the rest of us had our heads in our psycho and medical exams, the guy was crushing the Clippers to take his band to the Playoffs. By the way, let’s talk about the short spring epic of Ant Man. You take the point average above, and you apply a good hit of dopamine. 25.3 units average over the six games against the Grizzlies. Anthony Edwards is the future of this franchise. Without it, it is not imaginable to go anywhere. We will have to get everyone in Minnesota to accept things, but he has proven that he has the shoulders, and more.
Disappointment of the season: D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Russell, it’s your turn to appear. His regular very correct – without being brilliant – was hampered by an average address: 18.1 points at 41% shooting including 34% from afar, 3.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists from October to April. We were waiting for D’Loading at the turn in the Playoffs, he is still loading at the moment: 12 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists, it’s schlingue strong. Six games, nothing to remember, it’s strong. Where is the star point guard from Brooklyn who put ice in the glass of his opponents whenever the situation called for it? We don’t know, and neither does Minny. You will tell us that it cooled the room of Minnesota and you are right, the concern is in which direction? Watch out for moves this summer to surround Anthony Edwards. Even if Dilo is the safe friend of Karl-Anthony Towns, there is no doubt that the latter will press the button of the ejection seat if necessary. The search for performance takes precedence, and that is rather logical.
The following ?
The next step for Wolves is first to settle down. Take a vacation, enjoy the season they’ve just had, beating the odds – ours at the top of the list – to make their way into April. You have to enjoy, take a vacation and reset your mind. Of course, we will have to do our part and not take this qualification for the Playoffs as a given for the coming season. Once the holidays finished, back to the gym to work hard, and come back with the same intentions next season. On the management side, however, the season is far from over. We were talking about it just above, D’Angelo Russell’s dirty end to the season could cost him dearly at the time of the troop review. Not excluded that it is exchanged if an offer is posed on the table. This is the only hot issue, and once settled, the Minneapolis franchise will be able to go into submarine mode to temporize and return light-headed but determined next fall.
The Wolves have surprised many people, and shown the basketball world that they will have to be counted on to be in the battle for the Playoffs next year. Anthony Edwards is a prince looking like a king, Karl-Anthony Towns must be in heaven. The wolves have their fangs out, all that remains is to sharpen them to… bite into the NBA and mark their territory.
Source : ESPN
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