MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For all the strides theMinnesota Timberwolveshave made since they drafted Anthony Edwards first overall five years ago, a once-woebegone franchise now playing deep intothe playoffsas a habit and not a hiccup, a noticeable gap remains between them and anNBAtitle. Reaching the last two Western Conference finals, particularly this spring after asurprise shuffleof the roster right before training camp and the pains of adjustments and injuries throughout the regular season, was a remarkable accomplishment. The last team to appear in two in a row was Golden State in 2018 and 2019. Edwards will turn 24 in about two months, a superstar only beginning his prime years with a handful of mid-20s role players around him. But the five-game defeat delivered in machine-like fashion by Oklahoma City raised fair questions about whether these Timberwolves can cleartwo more hurdlesto win their first championship. "Nobody's going to work harder than me this summer. I'll tell you that much," Edwards said after the 30-point losson Wednesdaythat ended the series in five games. The offseason commitment has never been in question for Edwards, whose set career highs in 2024-25 in points per game (27.6), 3-point shooting percentage (39.5) and free-throw shooting percentage (83.7) while playing in 79 of 82 games. He also led the league in made 3-pointers (320). In five seasons, Edwards has missed a total of nine games. But the Thunder and their NBA-best defense posed a distinct challenge. Edwards shot just 6 for 31 from 3-point range in the four losses and was held under 20 points in three of them. He still found ways to drive to the basket and kick the ball through traffic to teammates in the corner, but the discrepancy in production between his counterpart Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was stark. The NBA MVP outscored Edwards 157-115, with a 116-87 edge in field goal attempts and a 51-32 edge in free throw attempts. "Obviously, he's got to learn to play against that physicality and that type of holding all the time. They made it really hard for him," coach Chris Finch said. "I thought for a lot of the series, he did make the right play, and we preach that to him all the time. Yeah, we need him to be aggressive, for sure. He's got to find some easier buckets. I've got to help him do that." Edwards was also a culprit in the overall dip in effectiveness and intensity on defense, after the Wolves led the league on that end of the court during the 2023-24 season. Even after slipping from first to sixth in defensive rating for 2024-25, they held the Los Angeles Lakers under 100 points in three of five games in the first round and did the same to the Warriors in the second round. But Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder were a different story, albeit with an attack fueled by their steal-happy defense that made Edwards, Julius Randle and Naz Reid in particular pay for dribbling too much in tight coverage. "Fifteen puppets on one string," was how Edwards marveled at the Thunder's execution of their defensive scheme. Though three of their starters — Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert andRandle— this season were 30 or older, the Wolves with their mid-20s core of Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo weren't consistently disciplined and focused enough in following the game plans. "I think for individuals it has to become even more important to them," Conley said on Thursday as players went through exit interviews at team headquarters. "Maybe that means studying the game more. Maybe that means doing more individual coaching, taking coaches on the side and getting some individual stuff there, bringing me aside every now and then even more often, and just using the minds around you to help you grasp certain concepts and certain things about the game." The eight-player rotation Finch was hesitant to extend will certainly change, with Terrence Shannon Jr. clearly ready for more playing time in the backcourt and the Wolves hopeful that Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark are too. Nickeil Alexander-Walker will become an unrestricted free agent, creating one potential opening. Then there's the tricky contract situation in the frontcourt, where Randle and Reid each have an option to exercise for next season they could decide to decline in favor of a longer-term, more lucrative deal. Reid, for his part, said he would likely opt out. The 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year also said he would prefer to be a starter. "But if you want to be in a winning position," Reid said, "sometimes you might have to sacrifice." ___ AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
