Man, that Game 4 loss for the Minnesota Timberwolves? Absolute gut punch. Seriously, they were at home, had a real shot to tie up the Western Conference Finals, and instead, they take a brutal 128-126 L to OKC. Now they’re staring down a gnarly 3-1 series deficit. When your season is on the line like that, every single moment gets magnified, every little interaction gets picked apart.
So here’s the scene: it’s halftime of a massive Game 4. Alan Horton, who’s the radio voice of the Minnesota Timberwolves, tweeted that Patrick Beverley, “pulled Ant aside as they came on the floor for the 2nd half — quick 30-seconds of encouragement.” You can totally picture Pat Bev, intense as ever, trying to light a fire under the Wolves’ young superstar. Classic Bev, right? He’s never shy about sharing his thoughts or trying to get his guys going. Yet, whatever Patrick Beverley tried to spark during that brief 30-second halftime message, it didn’t immediately resonate.
Edwards had a muted first half, and even Wolves head coach Chris Finch acknowledged as much. “First half, I think he lagged behind a little too much. He couldn’t get out in front… But the second half was much better,” Finch said postgame. Whether it was Beverley’s message, the X’s and O’s, or sheer urgency with the season on the line, the spark didn’t come right away. And with Finch smirking off the idea of a pregame speech from Beverley — “No, I’ve had enough Pat Beverley pregame speeches.” — it’s clear the team isn’t leaning too heavily on sideline sentiment to salvage this series.
That said, Finch didn’t dwell altogether on the low point total, but instead focused on other aspects of Ant’s game. “I thought second half was more aggressive, he got down hill, we got him off the ball a little bit more, when he got to the paint, I thought he found people and made the right plays,” he said.
(This is a developing story…)
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