The Phoenix Suns didn’t start the playoffs on the right foot. On April 20, the Suns began their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since the Timberwolves are one of the best teams in the league, this was going to be a tough series for the Suns.
就像聲明的那樣 先前, one of the reasons why the Timberwolves have done so well is because of their many individual players working so well together. Sadly, the Suns’ efforts didn’t allow them to steal game one away from the Timberwolves.
By the end of this game, the Suns got demolished 95-120。 There is a plethora of reasons why this game got so out of hand.
安東尼·愛德華茲
As 說, there were quite a few players that the Suns needed to slow down as much as possible. One of them was Anthony Edwards.
As shown within the 常規賽, Edwards was amazing. He averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He shot 46.1% from the field, 35.7% from three, and 83.6% from the line.
Adversely, when he faced the Suns, it was a different story. As 顯示, when Edwards faced the Suns, he was held to 14.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. These aren’t horrible numbers but, for Edwards’s standards, they are subpar.
Whatever they were doing defensively, it was working. They just needed to take that with them to the playoffs.
Towards the start of the game, it looked like that would happen. Due to being aggressive against him both offensively and defensively, the Suns limited Edwards’ scoring and playtime by getting him in foul trouble.
But, by the third quarter, Edwards was unstoppable. It seemed like he could do no wrong offensively. That quarter alone, he had 18 points.
Put simply, the defense wasn’t disciplined, and once Edwards saw a few looks go in, there was nothing the defense could do. Pretty soon, he was hitting shots like these below:
Anthony Edwards finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds, and six assists. With his performance, the Suns’ chances of stealing Game One decreased immensely. But this wasn’t the only issue that lessened their chances.
The Big Three’s Inconsistency
Another aspect of this game that caused the Suns issues were the big three, yet again, being inconsistent. Throughout the regular season, the main issue with the big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal was health.
They never seemed to play with one another because one of them always seemed to be injured. Mainly, that one out of this big three was mainly Beal but, at times, it could be Booker or Durant as well.
Evidently, their sporadic performances could be explained by the fact that they didn’t have much experience playing with one another. Unfortunately, this inconsistency seeped into the playoffs.
In this game, only one of the big three looked like an all-star: Durant. Durant ended the game with 31點.
At times, it seemed like he and Edwards seemed to trade buckets. But the score remained out of reach.
Beal had an okay performance. He ended with 15 points on 60% shooting. It wasn’t a bad performance, but it was mediocre for his standards.
Booker had a horrible performance. He ended with 18 points on 31.3% shooting. Booker was played tight defensively and every shot he seemed to take was heavily contested.
Overall, this big three, once again, didn’t play well with one another, leading to a big loss. They’d have some leeway for these kinds of losses in the regular season, but the playoffs are different.
If they can’t find some sort of consistency, this will be a short series and their season will come to a premature end. Yet, this series isn’t over.
下一步是什麼？
With this loss, the Phoenix Suns are now down 0-1. This means they have a multitude of chances to get themselves together.
If they find a way to contain Edwards and make sure the big three all stay consistent, they’ll have a much better chance of winning. If they don’t manage to beat the Timberwolves at home, they have a chance to defend home court.
Overall, the series isn’t over and, while it may be upsetting, the Phoenix Suns have a chance to dig themselves out of the hole they already find themselves in. That could start with a win in Game 2 on April 23.
敬請期待更多 NBA 內容，包括季中轉會、合同更新以及關於每支球隊的更多內容。
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