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It's hard to draw hard conclusions from a miniscule sample size, particularly when the sample (one game) happens to be about as bad as one team can look over 48 minutes of NBA action.
So let's tread carefully with the Timberwolves, 109-80 Game 1 losers Sunday in Denver but a team that has shown a certain resilience and level of unpredictability all season.
In determining a theme of being out of their depth — in more ways than one — in Sunday's game, it is instructive to dig deeper to determine what is (Christian Ponder voice) "easily correctable" and what might be a more fundamental problem that could make this a brief series.
Patrick Reusse and I talked about some of these things on Monday's Daily Delivery podcast, but here are five takeaways from the game:
1. It was evident the Wolves were tired, which is both a poor excuse for poor play and a byproduct of having to work too hard just to be the No. 8 seed. They looked mentally checked out and physically slow after playing essentially three straight playoff-caliber games after months of important ones.
This should be improved in Game 2, when the Wolves have two days off in the same city and will have a chance to mentally and physically reset.
2. The lack of depth really showed up. Part of the reason the Wolves were physically taxed going into the game is that they've been playing high-leverage games short-handed. Against OK teams like New Orleans, the Lakers and Thunder, they more or less survived.
But against the West's best team, they wilted. In in a key stretch of the second quarter Sunday, for instance, Chris Finch gave an extended shift to Jaylen Nowell and watched the Denver lead swell from five to 11. Nowell is a capable player, but his defense is suspect and he's been limited by injuries. But Finch can't play a seven-player rotation forever.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns disappeared, and not for the first time in a big postseason game. He missed 10 of his first 12 shots, and his defense on Nikola Jokic looked like it was the preseason.
If Towns, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert — that trio had a net rating of minus-75.7 in their nine forgettable minutes together Sunday — don't improve collectively and individually, this series will be over in five games or fewer.
4. That said, the Wolves also missed some shots they normally make. It's a make-or-miss league, and if there is one thing that should improve significantly in Game 2 it's the simple matter of making more shots.
5. However ... Denver just looks like a tough matchup, regardless of the Wolves' health, fatigue or shot-making. Jokic is an MVP whose game has constantly expanded while Towns' has not. The Nuggets have a mix of size, athleticism, shooting and balance. They're the No. 1 seed for a reason, and they seem particularly wired to punish inconsistent teams.
Game 2 will tell us if this is a series or not.
And if it's not, it should tell us a lot about the offseason ahead.
