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MILWAUKEE – To say that it has been a whole week for the Minnesota Timberwolves would be a euphemism. The saga Jimmy Butler took what has often been a young and quiet team and spread a lot of his dirty laundry so that the whole nation can feel it.
And this was happening even before Friday night, when the Wolves lost 143-121 in their pre-season finale to Milwaukee, a tidal wave that resulted in an even more serious stink in the water. approach of the regular season.
The Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo's triple double in just 25 minutes, retained 25 points at 3 points in the night and scored 84 points at half-time. With this poor defensive exit, Minnesota concluded its preseason with a final defensive finish, yielding 112.8 points for 100 possessions, 3.5 points lower than the pelicans in New Orleans.
"We no longer have time to be here to say:" Ah, that's good, that's the pre-season. "This dynamic we We are on the wave, the wave we're riding on, it's not good, it's not good at all, "said Wolves' center, Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 2 shots out of 9 with eight points.
The cities said the nature of the loss bothered him the most.
"I really do not know," he said to the question of why the club had not managed to hold a solid 48-minute pre-season series. "But if you find out, let me know, you can be beaten, everyone in this league – I do not care if you're the Golden State Warriors my rookie year, the 95-96 Bulls – you I'm going to lose some games, but you can not embarrass yourself, it's simply unacceptable. "
Although head coach Tom Thibodeau understated the absence of Butler, who had stayed for the prep work in Minneapolis, the team (1-4 in pre-season) missed his absence this month. Some players were unbalanced during the offensive on Friday, including Towns early in the game and Andrew Wiggins absent from the team while waiting for his first child. Jeff Teague and Derrick Rose were perhaps too aggressive, finishing a combined total of 9 out of 30 and recording a combined total of under-52 in the game.
Thibodeau and the players insisted on the need for a constant effort, regardless of the cloud hovering over the team, which solves Butler's situation.
"Jimmy has nothing to do with the difficulties we have playing here, he's going to decide soon, or they'll be up soon," Rose said. "It's our job to go out and make sure the pressure and intensity are present throughout the match."
This intensity was sometimes lacking, Antetokounmpo sneaking into the aisle and into the basket, apparently at will. The star striker repeatedly hit the corner shooters – the fundamental principle of Mike Budenholzer's offense – for open fire, when Minnesota failed to slow him down.
"I only have love for [Antetokounmpo] and his talent, but we let him carve us too much, "Towns said.
And although the Timberwolves have a lot of work to do, to know how to respond to Butler's trade request or to repair the gaping holes in their defense, they do not have a lot of time to get together and put on the same page.
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