On April 30, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. The Grizzlies reversed the Timberwolves 114-106 away with a total score of 4-2 and eliminated their opponents and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals. In the semifinals, the Grizzlies will meet the Warriors on a narrow road.
On the Timberwolves side, Towns fell into weakness again, scoring only 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
So far in the series, Towns’ performance has been extremely ups and downs. As a leading star, such performance is somewhat disappointing, but on the other hand, the quality of Towns is also closely related to whether the Wolves can win.
A statistic shows that in the first five games of the series, in the two games the Wolves won, Towns averaged 31 points on just 17.5 shots per game. However, Towns’ scoring average slipped to 17 on a night the Wolves lost.
Knowing the importance of his role, Towns quickly asked for the ball in the low post after the opening game. Facing Tillman’s defense, he made a gorgeous maneuver and hit a very difficult fallback jumper with a high arc.
Towns’s difficult goal this time, of course, shows a winning attitude and determination. But then, he did not continue this momentum and quickly disappeared from the offensive end.
In the second half of this section, Towns made another jumper. In the first quarter, he only scored 4 points. On the contrary, Edwards next to him completely took over the offense, hitting the giant star in a row in a single quarter, leaving Towns only a supporting role.
In the second quarter, Towns completed another dunk in an offense, and then he made foul free throws and continued to score. However, in this quarter, Towns gradually weakened in the confrontation. During this period, he was blocked by the Grizzlies twice and scored only 9 points in the half.
In the second half, the Timberwolves’ offensive became more and more fierce. Although Towns was not the only main offensive player, he could continue to score points. During this period, his hook shot and scored 2+1 was quite exciting.
Towns didn’t complain too much about his role on the team. Once he didn’t feel good, he could also inject more energy into the defensive end, making up for the weakness of his attack with rebounding and rim protection. This extremely devoted attitude has given the Timberwolves an advantage for a long time.
At the end of the quarter, Towns moved too much on a defense and got a flagrant foul, but soon, he redeemed himself on the defensive end. He blocked Morant once and interfered with Morant’s shot once.
However, this defense has also become Towns’s final highlight of this round of the series, and even this season. As a star, Towns has had many bright nights this season, but in some tough battles, his weakness and his ups and downs are also unacceptable.
With the season out, Towns needs to reflect on his play this summer. It is true that the Wolves have achieved some success this season, but they are still far from a truly strong team, and this gap is what Towns and the rest of the players need to work hard to make up. (Poirot)Return to Sohu, see more
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