Minnesota crumbled again down the stretch Monday in Memphis, as the Grizzlies used an 11-0 run in the final five minutes to flip a deficit to a lead before holding on to edge the Timberwolves in a game largely controlled by Minnesota.
Same old story, same old song and dance for the Wolves.
The Wolves are the third-worst clutch-time team in basketball this season. They’re getting outscored by 17.3 points per possession when the margin is within five points in the game’s final five minutes. They were fourth-worst in the NBA last year in the same category, and second-to-last in that campaign after the calendar passed Christmas.
Minnesota struggled to close contests in the Western Conference finals against Dallas last spring, which led to its ouster.
It’s a problem that continues to plague the Wolves. The light is shining even brighter on the team this season, in a year where it’s far less dominant and possesses a smaller margin for error, as a whole. Thus, more games are being determined in final minutes.
And those situations are developing a theme. Anthony Edwards was a clutch-time hero for the Wolves in the early stages of the campaign. His tough shots carried the Wolves to a few remarkable victories. But that well has largely run dry, as evidenced by the air ball he threw up over multiple Grizzlies defenders at the horn in Memphis.
That play was originally designed for Edwards to catch the ball in the backcourt and gain a head of steam so he could go left and get downhill. But that never materialized. Edwards never tried to gain any steam, instead electing to nonchalantly dribble the ball up the floor with just a few seconds to play. Then he crossed over right and wound up in a sea of traffic. The only decision at that point was to hoist up a near-impossible shot that never had a chance.
“I got it, looked up at the clock, (thought), ‘OK, four seconds.’ I knew they weren’t going to let me go left. So when I tried to go right, (Jaren Jackson Jr.) stepped up,” Edwards told reporters. “So, I just tried to shoot the step back and it didn’t go how I wanted it to go.”
Edwards said the tight games the Wolves are consistently playing are “a chance to show what you’re really made of.”
“It’s time to buckle up and get a win at the end of the game. You gotta have some of those guys on your team,” Edwards said. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t me tonight.”
It rarely has been. Edwards is the player Minnesota almost solely relies on in the game’s deciding moments. But he’s largely struggled in the role.
This season, 32 players have a usage percentage over 30% with nine-plus clutch-time contests played.
Only three of those players have both an effective field goal percentage south of 50% and a sub-one assist-to-turnover ratio — Edwards, Zach LaVine and Jordan Poole.
Two years ago, Edwards was the only player in the NBA who put himself in that statistical bucket.
Last season, Edwards playmaking and decision-making was slightly improved in key spots, though it did take a downward turn post-Christmas, and Minnesota’s play in big-time spots plummeted accordingly.
Asked on media day at the start of training camp how Minnesota could improve in clutch time, Wolves coach Chris Finch noted that, “first and foremost, a lot of it has to do with Anthony’s growth and a continued development there.”
“It’s been a big point of emphasis for him, and it will be, putting him in those situations,” Finch said. “We’ve got to get Ant better, because that’s where the ball is going to be a lot, but we do have other options.”
One of those was Mike Conley, who in the past has been an excellent clutch-time player, but his overall performance has declined this season, for a variety of reasons. The backup plan Minnesota thought it had in its pocket isn’t necessarily a good one, either. Which means Finch and Co. may have to go back to the drawing board and re-think the entire approach to end-of-game situations.
Maybe that will have to include a reliance on rookie Rob Dillingham, whose decision-making does currently look better than that of Edwards.
Whatever the answer may be, the need for change is apparent. Because the current plan — which has largely entailed living and dying with Edwards — has not proven to be a winning formula.
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