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What can you say, man? It's the playoffs. It's the Western Conference Finals and stuff like this happens. That's what you can say.
This stuff happens. And these are things that a team like the Timberwolves with a young and up and coming superstar, like Anthony Edwards. A second team all defensive player like Jay McDaniel's and all star like hard, any towns, a six man of the year like Nas Reed and a defensive player of the year and would go bare. These are things that they have to go to as a unit.
You got to go through this as a unit. Game five was embarrassing. Last time I came before you guys, the world was down to well, I said it ain't over because I really believed it wasn't over, but I did have a hard time believing that they would win both games in Dallas. I did.
I knew it would be tough. They won one gave us hope and then came home. And man, I looked up, they were down 30, 40 points. Tough way to go out and I'm going to get to that in a second, but I don't believe we should allow that game to mask how great this season was for the temple was and the things that they accomplished as individual players as a team.
It's hard to just come up here after that type of game and say it was a successful season, but it literally was a successful season. Just a very tough ending. And these texts I'm going to get to that ending, but then I'm going to get to the bright spot. So let's get to that ending.
Let's talk a bit about the series and then let's go big picture because it is officially the off season for the wolves. The masks have advanced to the finals to play the Boston Celtics. And that's just a reality. It was fun, but that's just a reality, man.
So let's get into these texts. Man, let's get right into what I saw in game five. Got to be honest about it. The wolves seemed satisfied with avoiding a sweep.
Take number one, they seem satisfied with avoiding the sweep. I got coach Finch up here because this is the look he had like it. This the look he had pretty much all series it seemed like frustration, irritation, confusion, maybe wondering what happened to the team that was so great defensively in the regular season and in the first few rounds of the playoffs. Like what's going on, man?
But to go out there, man, it's an elimination game. It's been a long season. You just came out of a seven game series against the defending champions. They made you earn it.
I'm sure it was taxing on the body, taxing on the mind. That's the team everybody had circled because they were the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. So I'm sure to come out of that series with a W to advance. I'm sure it took a lot of them.
And I'm sure going down three also took a lot of them. Now we don't get to why they went down three, but I'm sure it took a lot of them. I'm also sure that avoiding a suite took a lot out of them. I mean, we saw how that game ended freaking Luca.
They're up. Think it was five. Was it six? Think it were, yeah, up six and freaking Luca hits a three pointer gets fouled.
Like what am I watching right now? But I'll say I would have to say I get that. I only get it to a certain extent because I'm not on the floor obviously, but 40 points, man, going down 30, 40 points, man, you could even reason with 20. You can reason with 20.
You can reason with 20. You can reason with 15. You might be able to reason with 25, but 30 40. They were satisfied.
They got, they avoided the complete embarrassment of not getting a game. And then they relaxed. They came home. Maybe thought the crowd was going to help carry them to a win.
It's almost like they didn't expect Luca to come out like a mad man. Like they didn't expect Kyrie and Luca to come out looking to take them out. It's like they didn't expect that almost, which is which was weird to me because it's like Lucas statistically coming off of a playoff a half averages like 32 again 32 34 day Kyrie Irvin is a playoff killer. When he's on, he's on he was on all series and had a rough night.
Even for these guys didn't have the best shoot nights in game four. So you knew right, you knew that they would want to redeem themselves with a trip to the finals on the line. We knew that they want to prioritize where it's looking, been banged up off playoffs. Kyrie Irvin got this like the I forget what's called that black table in the shoulder.
Maybe that maybe got a little issue there, so you know they want they try and get rid of y'all and it seems like the wolves were just not prepared for that type of fight. Not prepared for the type of energy that the Mavs brought to the table and what's frustrating to me again is that game was at the crib. How many games in the playoffs did they drop at the crib? I don't even want to put the number out there.
I forgot. Because I don't want to remember like that. I'm thinking you. Again, last time I was here, they were down too well.
You got to win. I'm like, yo, they're gonna get this to six because they can only lose with so many home games in the row. Like they're gonna get a home game in here and win one. Get this to six and it could get man.
Again, I looked up, they down 40. That's a lack of effort. That's a lack of intensity. That's a lack of penitential detail.
It could be some exhaustion, but they seem satisfied is what I'm saying to my eye and you saw it early, very early in my opinion. They just seem satisfied. Anthony Edwards played well, Conantini Tom's played well, but it was just too little too late from honestly two guys who did not practically show up for half of the series. Anthony Edwards didn't play well game one or game two.
He played well in game three, but Conantini Tom's still was in my end till game four and didn't play well. Like, yeah, man, they seem satisfied. Nobody else showed up to the party with Carlin Tini Tom's and the frustrating part about that is we had a great Jaden game. We had a great nice regain.
We had some good, kindly games. We had games where other guys stepped up, but the two stars they kind of blew them games. Take number two, man. Take number two.
The wolves need another shot creator. This was made apparent to me and glaringly obvious to me in this series. I didn't have this on my mind in the regular season. I didn't have it on my mind in the first round.
It started to creep into my mind in the Denver series. Once I started to see that the nuggets were double teaming Anthony Edwards and it's like they had no answer when the ball left his hands. You know, they did similar things in the Phoenix series, but he moved the ball. Anthony Edwards and guys made shots, but the moment that they could make shots in the Denver series and really in this map series with Anthony Edwards getting the ball out of his hands because he's getting double team, it got ugly and it got ugly quick, quick.
They need another guy that's going to come in and create shots for himself and others. You look at the finals right now. You got Kyrie shot creator. You look at the donches shot creator on the same team.
They're great for themselves. They crave for others. You look at the Celtics. They got a book.
I mean, they got do how did they he can shot create? They got JT can shot create J. Brown can shot create for Zingus. Now he not a guard.
He can also shot create. I guess you can kind of throw in the same bucket with quarantine towns. Let me just stick to the perimeter players, even Derek White at times can shot create. So I just think that the wolves need another guy that can come in and say look at they low enough on and you got worried about me out here to on the perimeter.
Jayden has his moments, but it's not necessarily consistent. And I don't know if I expect him to take that much of a massive leap as a shot creator going into this next season. Now's read is a great player, but as a shot creator, I don't know if he can be that guy that may be take over one offense, allow Anthony Evers to play a little off ball. I don't think he's that guy.
I don't cat is not that guy. Right. So I a I'm calling the cabs. Hey, Donny Vamice, available there is Garland available.
I'm calling him. I'm calling the Hawks. Hey, try young. My personal favorite.
There's John Tae Murray. I think he'd be the perfect piece. Oh my gosh, I think he'd be young athletic can defend can shoot the ball. Very tricky shooter can close.
I think he'd be the perfect piece, but that's a conversation for another time. We get into maybe some more off season talk. You know, Paul George name has been thrown out there a little bit to people, you know, not to the wolves, but just in general in trade conversations, Jimmy Butler's as well. There's a lot of different guys being thrown out there.
I'm just throwing out names right now to so that talk and kind of get a feel for the direction that I'm going in. I prefer a playing guard that will allow Mike Conley to come off the bench next season because he's getting up there in age he was ailing down the stretch of the playoffs. So I prefer a dearest Garland or a Trey young or, you know, a De Johnson Tae Murray, a guy that can run a point. Anybody that can get off the ball and still take over and do their thing while it can kind of, you know, get money off ball, back door, cut, get to his elbow, you know, get to the right wing, left wing, do the little turnaround bank shot, whatever you mean, let him get to his spots, which Anthony every test to take time to learn this off season, which I believe he will his spots on the floor, which will make it easier on a on a young point guard.
That's where you like the ball. Okay, you go there and we don't get you. I mean, I think that's what the wolves need, man. They need they need another shot creator bad because anytime teams load up on and or any time teams double team and he gets the ball out of his hands and he does chaos.
It's chaos. I also think Anthony ever has to do a better job of attacking these double teams, but I've talked about them before. I'm going to do that again right now on to take number three. The maps are simply the better team.
I can't even lead this picture of Luca up on the screen. I can't I can't do it. I could go on a rant for three days about how Lucas is an amazing player, but he's wanted a more frustrating players to watch, but I'm not going to do that. I'd respect for him and him and going to the finals.
Who does to you? It was their time from an experience standpoint. They were the better team. Their best players have been or done that.
Luca Donchus has been to a Western conference finals and taking his lunch already. He lost if I'm not mistaken to the Warriors in five games, right? So he's taking that Western conference lump already. He's dealt with that.
Kyrie Irving, obviously, is a champion and has lost in the finals before. So he's taking his lunch as well. He's 32, right? Like their best players have been through some things.
They got some youthful players, but the guys that they rely on most, they've been there done that. Whereas you can't say the same thing for the Wolves. Quarantining talent has never been to a conference finals. Same thing with Anthony Edwards, Jayden McDaniel's Nasry, like their best players hadn't done it.
My colleague, I believe if I'm not mistaken, is the only one who's been to a conference finals and he don't have the best luck in the conference finals. So there's the experience aspect of things that you could tell they cut the way they, the way they would have been to maneuver the defense and just move things around and play the mental game with the Wolves, man. It showed that experience, the fact that they make sure they had their legs when it matters when it matters, most of where it's Anthony Edwards kind of didn't at times. They were more prepared for this moment because they had been here before.
Anthony Edwards hadn't. Anthony Edwards talked about conditioning after the game and I believe him. He didn't look like he was there at times in this series, conditioning like, like physical, didn't look like he was there at times like he was gas. Whereas looking Kyrie had the most energy.
So you got that going for you on top of the fact, you know, the bigs for the, for the mabs, man, the bigs for the mabs, super athletic, something overlooked. I thought that the Wolves, the mabs or I'm sorry, the Wolves, the bigs will be able to do a better job defensively against those guys. But from PJ to Lively to Gafford, these guys, Ali, I mean, I thought it was the Clippers. I thought it was Clippers, Lobs City.
I thought it was Blake Griffin and the Andrei Jordan with Chris Bower and Point. That's what it felt like at times. Like I didn't anticipate that. I thought we would be able to disrupt that a little bit more cat noise.
They did such a great job on on on on your kids, but I guess y'all really live a better room. So I just expected them to be better with that and then going back to Luca and Kyrie for a second there, Luca averaged 32 points a game in this series. He shot 43% from the tray, 43 over a five game stretch. He shot 43% from three and 47% from the field.
32 points with 10 rebounds. I'm rounding up and eight assists Kyrie, Irving. Let's look at Kyrie. 30 set round up 38% from the tray over a five game stretch, 49% from the field over a five game stretch.
He averaged 27 points a game. If they play like this, this effectively, this efficient, making shots, no matter who's in their face, stepping back from half court, stepping back from the right left hash, shooting from 40 50 feet versus quarter, second quarter, third quarter, quarter. Nobody beat them. They'll be the champs, which is why I say they're the better team.
All of the experience, the bigs and Luca and Kyrie. They play like this again. They're going to be champs. The Celtics are really great.
And this is a take for another day. The Celtics are great, but if the miles play like that, nobody's beating them. So even on the world's best day, to be honest with you, it'd have been tough beating them if they shoot in the ball that's, that's, that's, it was unreal. They both had 36 in game five.
It was unreal. It was tough to watch. Nobody beat those guys, but they playing out well, simply playing. So I ended up walking away from a serious thinking and don't even get me started on Jason kid who coached his butt off.
You got great coaching. You got two players that can take over any point and just dominate a basketball game. You got some decent defenders and some bigs that can just go up and get whatever off the rim blocking shots, alley, oops. Now I was what a better team had to experience.
They had everything they needed. Last but not least, man, we got to get to some positive thoughts, man. Because this is only the beginning. It is.
Like I said, man, what was fans, man? It was a tough ending to the season. I'll be lying if I said after they beat the Nuggets, I didn't think that they like, I thought they would get to the finals, man. I did.
I ain't gonna lie. I'll be straight up with y'all. I thought they was going to get to the finals. I thought they match up really well with Boston.
I personally, man, I overlooked the maths. I did. I came out and said, man, whoever wins this nuggets in, in Wolf's series, and I said it on multiple platforms, they're going to the championship. They will represent the Western Conference.
And I was dead wrong. I got to hold that L, you know, but at the end of the day, you have a superstar in Anthony Edwards and ignored the Twitter trolls and everybody who has something negative to say about. Because at the end of the day, the guys that they're comparing, Ant, two, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, all these different names, huge big names. They all went to a Lumps, man.
They all went to a bumps and bruises. Could you imagine Twitter being around when Michael Jordan was getting swept out of the playoffs by Boston? Could you imagine Twitter being around when Michael Jordan was getting beat year after year against the bad boy Pistons? Could you imagine Twitter being around with Magic Johnson didn't have the greatest games?
Like come on now, all of these players, they go through things. These great players don't win championships until they're 27, 28, Luke is now 25. He's in the finals. And if they do win the championship, it's a while before they go back.
You know what I mean? So like ignore the trolls. You have a superstar in Anthony Edwards who's ascending who will do nothing but get better and use this experience to fuel him going forward. You have a six minute a year in Nazarite who will be better this next year.
He will be even better. He will ascend. I believe in Jayden McDaniel's on both sides of the ball. Like I said, I still think you need a playmaker shot creator, but I believe in Jayden McDaniel's.
I think he will improve. I think this playoffs. I think it gave him a boost. Maybe saw some pretty solid playoff games from him, you know, saying down the stretch.
So I like what I've seen out of Jayden McDaniel's. Chronicling the towns. I know a lot of people are speculating about his future right now, myself included. But if he's on this team this upcoming season, he's still an all star who now just got that experience of going to the Western Conference Finals and now knows what it takes.
Right. You got a great head coach and coach Finch. Like you have a really good team, a team that got you to the final four. Now you just need to do a couple of things, make a couple adjustments to get over that home.
So this is just a start. These guys, most of these guys, the best players, Naz, Jayden and these guys, I mean 25 yet. So I say that to say tough ending to the season, but to get to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years is a huge milestone. It is something I'm not sure any of us expected.
Let's be a honey. Cause I was one. I wasn't sure about running the same team back after what happened last year, but they came into this season and I believe shocked the world by having a great regular season and getting this far. So you got to kind of take this with, you know, a loss to a team that it might just be their time, but the wolves right there, make a couple moves.
I think the wolves for the future will be fine. I think y'all for tuning in this episode was a little longer, man. I had to get all that out, man. But I think y'all for tuning in to this week's episode of four wolves takes.
I want to say on a personal note, I thank y'all. I love y'all. I appreciate y'all support. We started four wolves takes like I want to say mid season and went through the playoffs now.
And I appreciate y'all. I see all the comments. I see all the love. I see all the views.
I artists was appreciative y'all. I mean, I thank y'all for welcoming me in and hopefully I can continue to deliver some great four wolves takes episodes, man. Until next time, y'all it's been a real, it's been a fun season. No reason to hold your head, ignore the trolls, enjoy the finals.
And no, no, just no. The wolves will be there soon. They will be there soon, y'all. I will catch y'all on the next episode of four wolves takes.
Until next time, man. Happy y'all season.