If you thought the Western Conference Finals were going to be a clean sweep, you might want to grab some popcorn, because Game 3 in Minnesota is already giving us EVERYTHING! The Timberwolves, down a desperate 0-2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, came out on their home floor breathing absolute fire, looking like a team possessed. But while the Wolves were busy electrifying the Target Center crowd, the Thunder were having what can only be described as a bizarrely rough start, and a key part of that early struggle? It looks like the officials have decided they’re not letting OKC’s defensive ace, Alex Caruso, get away with any of his usual tricks.
Meanwhile, on the OKC side? It was a completely different story. A “really bad start,” as Tony Jones in Minnesota put it. The Thunder looked discombobulated. They were turning the ball over (four turnovers before they even hit four buckets!), leading to easy runouts for Minnesota. They weren’t hitting their open shots. Their offense looked clunky, and their defensive rotations were a step slow. It was just… strange. This is the team that dominated the regular season, the team that looked so poised in Games 1 and 2. But in the opening minutes of Game 3? They looked rattled.
This gets worse because Chris Hine of the Star Tribune dropped a tweet that perfectly summed up what a lot of people were noticing: “Officials so far in this series not letting Alex Caruso get away with all the handsy stuff.” Now, we all know Caruso’s game. He’s an absolute pest in defense—in the best way possible. He’s all over you, super physical, great hands, always looking for that steal or deflection. However, as Caruso was on the floor, brought in early by coach Mark Daigneault for a struggling Lu Dort, who had a couple of turnovers and wasn’t impacting Anthony Edwards, the theme of the referees keeping a close eye on his signature physical defense is persisting. Interestingly, despite the foul scrutiny, Caruso was also an early offensive spark, with a key 3-pointer in the first quarter tying him with Anthony Edwards for scoring at that moment with 12 points.
(This is a developing story…)
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