Are Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves now the favorites? Plus, recapping Cavs-Magic Game 7

By / / Sports / 7 minutes of reading


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Unfortunately, the Orlando Magic seem to have run out of their team name.

Wolves Are Howling

The coronation of Ant

Anthony Edwards is here to take your shit. There may be something you can do about it now, but you’ll be helpless pretty soon. By then, you’ll complain about superstar calls, league favoritism and echo chambers – all the whiny stuff people throw out when someone is simply better than everybody else. And, while the Wolves stole Game 1 of their semifinals series against the defending champion Nuggets with a 106-99 victory, I’m not sure anybody knows what to think about this series right now.

I had five different group chats making wild declarative statements throughout the game. Let’s go take by take:

  • “The Nuggets can’t deal with the size of the Wolves.”
  • “Minnesota showing they’re too green to keep this going against Denver.”
  • “Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t tough enough for this series.”
  • “The Nuggets have no answer for KAT.”
  • “I’m not sure Aaron Gordon can be effective in this series.”
  • “The Nuggets really can’t deal with the size of the Wolves.”
  • “Minnesota figured out how to neutralize Jokić.”

OK, everybody, let’s calm down here just a little bit.

The one declarative statement everybody seemed to agree on? Ant is that guy. On Saturday, he scored 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting. He was not irrationally hot from 3-point range nor living at the free-throw line; the 22-year-old was just handing out buckets to every Nuggets defender unfortunate enough to have the assignment. Ant’s current ascension is reminding everybody of Michael Jordan’s rise.

The Wolves have been great all season and deserve to relish the territory they’ve experienced only once before (2004, when Minnesota advanced out of the first round and reached the Western Conference finals). But the brakes, they must be pumped, because we have to remember the Wolves are facing the defending champion Nuggets with Nikola Jokić, who is likely to win his third MVP in four years when it’s announced this week. So, let’s see if those declarative statements hold water.

Can Denver deal with Minnesota’s size? In a word, yes, but it’s not easy. The Nuggets need to wear the Wolves’ bigs out by running as much as possible on missed shots and live turnovers. But also, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. have good size to them.

Is Minnesota mature enough to keep Denver at bay? The Wolves were up big, let the lead go and showed poise in controlling the final couple minutes with the result up in the air. But once again, the Wolves can’t turn the ball over. In Game 1, they allowed 26 points off 14 turnovers.

Is Towns tough enough for this series? Towns was fine in the first half, but he was killer in the third quarter by scoring 11 of his 20 points in that period. The Wolves need him to stay out of foul trouble and be the threat on the floor Denver is afraid to help from.

Do the Nuggets have an answer for KAT? This is where the Nuggets have to match physicality and confuse the Wolves’ defense with movement. Minnesota was physical and took Denver out of its flow. The Wolves can get it back by pressuring Towns with the point of attack and get him into foul trouble. Then, attack Towns’ dribble when he puts it on the floor.

Can Gordon be effective in this series? He has to be, and yes, he can. His defense must be better. He can’t let Towns and Reid torch him. On offense, he has to find an alternative location to the dunker’s spot.

Did the Wolves really neutralize Jokić? Not at all. They forced some turnovers, and Jokić didn’t have the assists you’d expect, but he was still excellent. Jokić joked he needs to clone himself, but in reality, he can get the Wolves into foul trouble. That will change how they defend.

Time to overreact and change my prediction? I said I wanted to pick Wolves in six but was too cowardly to do it, so I picked the Nuggets in six. Guess what? We’re changing to Wolves in six! There’s no way this comes back to bite us!

The Latest From Shams

Mavs without Kleber as playoffs continue

Mavericks big man Maxi Kleber suffered a full dislocation of the AC joint in his right shoulder Friday night and will be out for a significant period of time, if not the entire postseason, league sources tell me. The Mavs said Sunday that Kleber will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

Kleber injured the shoulder in Game 6 against the Clippers following a hard fall after a collision with Amir Coffey, who was called for a blocking foul on the play. Kleber had seen action in all six of Dallas’ playoff games and made 10 of 18 3-pointers in nearly 20 minutes per game. The Mavs start their second-round series with OKC on Tuesday.

Darius Morris, who played for the Lakers, 76ers, Clippers, Grizzlies and Nets from 2011-2015, passed away late last week. He was 33.

Game 7

Cavs outlasted Magic, so … now what?

The young Orlando Magic learned two big lessons during their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. First, the Magic can play with anybody. They rallied extremely well after the first two games, put real pressure on the Cavs and looked like they were going to pull off the Game 7 upset. Second, you need shooters on the roster. The Magic didn’t have any, which cost them a big lead and ultimately ended their season.

On Sunday, Cleveland held Orlando to 25.6 percent overall shooting and 20 percent from deep in the second half. As great as Paolo Banchero (21 years old) was in the series, he came up short as Donovan Mitchell went nuts in the second half (24 of his 39 points). Here are three questions I’m left with from this series:

  1. Can the 47-win Magic win 50-plus games next season by sticking together? I might even wonder about 55-plus wins if they actually add a lead guard and some outside shooting.
  2. For the Cavs, how concerning was this win? They should have finished this series long before it reached seven games, but they did look resilient in the second half of this game. The Cavs need to maintain that urgency.
  3. Do the Cavs have a chance in the next round? I wouldn’t book flights to Cleveland for the conference finals. How’s that?

Let’s Preview

What you need to know about Knicks–Pacers

The semifinals series between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers tips off tonight with Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. Let’s preview, make predictions with our hearts and our brains and then measure our confidence levels in those predictions.

(2) New York Knicks 👖 versus (6) Indiana Pacers 🚗

Story of the series: Remember the ‘90s! We used to have Reggie Miller and Rik Smits battling Patrick Ewing and John Starks. We had the Davis bodyguards battling Charles Oakley. We’ll get a very different version of basketball this time around, but it should be fun!

How did the season series go? Indiana won the regular-season series 2-1, but these teams didn’t play after Feb. 10.

Best player in the series: Jalen Brunson. We can debate if he’s good enough to be the top guy on a title contender all day, but the East’s No. 2 seed is fueled by this guy. As good as Tyrese Haliburton can be, Brunson is an assassin out there.

Newest playoff arrival: Josh Hart. He was good last postseason, but he’s hitting 43 percent of his 3-pointers and rebounding like Dennis Rodman (12.3 per game ranks fourth in 2024 playoffs).

Key matchup for the Knicks: OG Anunoby guarding Pascal Siakam. The Knicks would love to throw OG on Haliburton as much as possible, but keeping Siakam from going off will be key.

Key matchup for the Pacers: Pacers backcourt defending the Knicks backcourt. The Pacers aren’t a defensive-minded team, but they need their guards to stay in front of Brunson and keep Hart and Donte DiVincenzo from killing them.

What’s your heart telling you? Knicks in six. | What’s your brain telling you? Knicks in five. | Prediction confidence: 8/10

Bounce Passes

You have to watch this Nike spot for the Victor Wembanyama campaign.

Are the Clippers really going to run this back?

Will we be seeing LeBron James’ podcast co-host, JJ Redick, as the next Lakers coach?

Screen Game (All times Eastern)

  • The Big One: Wolves-Nuggets (10 p.m. TNT). Dare I say … this is a must-win game for the defending champs?
  • A Fun One: Pacers-Knicks (7:30 p.m. TNT). Brunson-Haliburton will be a fun show. Bring back Smits! Full schedule here.

(Top photo: Garrett Ellwood / Getty Images )





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About The Author

Avatar of Fannie Hogan
Fannie Hogan is a writer and editor who covers lifestyle, books, sports, education, and tech. She's always loved to write—from the time she was a little girl writing stories about talking animals to the day she got her first job as an editor at a lifestyle magazine. Her hobbies include long walks on the beach, running, and taking breaks from work to read a good book.

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