The No. 6 Phoenix Suns (0-1) will look to bounce back from Saturday’s 120-95 Game 1 loss to the No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves (1-0) in Game 2 tonight at Target Center.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Grayson Allen (right ankle sprain) is questionable for Phoenix, while Kyle Anderson (right hip pointer) is questionable for Minnesota. Both suffered their injuries during Saturday’s game.
There wasn’t much the Suns did right in Game 1, but some positives were the play of Kevin Durant (31 points, seven rebounds), Bradley Beal (15 points, six assists) and Royce O’Neale (14 points and four rebounds). The Suns also were in the game until later in the third quarter, but were unable to respond to a huge outburst by Anthony Edwards, who finished with 18 points in the third quarter alone and a game-high 33 overall.
Tyler Metcalf (@tmetcalf11 on X/Twitter), a contributor for SB Nation’s Canis Hoopus site covering the Timberwolves and one of the founders of No Ceilings NBA covering the NBA Draft year-round, shared some insight with Burn City Sports on the Timberwolves’ Game 1 performance.
“(Edwards) stayed aggressive,” Metcalf said. “He still had 6 turnovers, 4 in the first half, but he didn’t get in his head about it like he did in their previous games. He kept attacking, trusting his teammates, and making the the simple play, trusting that the ball would get back to him. If he keeps up that mindset, which he’s had throughout his career in the playoffs, there shouldn’t be any reason he can’t have similar performances.”
Phoenix only had 16 assists to 15 turnovers in Game 1. Minnesota outrebounded the Suns 52-28, won the second-chance points 20-6 and bench points 41-18.
The Timberwolves shot 44-for-88 (50%) and 12-for-32 (37.5%) from deep compared to 33-for-75 (44%) on field goals for Phoenix and 9-for-28 (32.1%) from 3.
“(The Timberwolves have to) continue to execute defensively and dominate the boards,” Metcalf said. “Their rebounding advantage was outlandish in Game 1 and was the first time they really imposed themselves in this matchup. If they are able to stay disciplined defensively and execute their one-on-one assignments, it allows the rest of the team to crash the boards.”
The Suns dominated this matchup in the regular season, sweeping the season series 3-0 over the Timberwolves this year and never led by less than double digits in the second half of any of these three games.
The Timberwolves responded about as well as they could in Game 1, but also find themselves in a bit of a predicament in terms of what adjustments they can make after playing so well. This is exactly what Phoenix appeared to find itself in entering Game 1.
“I don’t think there’ll be much (adjustments),” Metcalf said. “They played essentially a perfect game from start to finish. What’ll be interesting is how they adjust in game once Booker starts to find his rhythm along with Durant or if Durant goes scorched-earth mode.”
10 Keys to Game 2 for the Suns
- Guarding Anthony Edwards
- No stagnant offense
- Adjusting to physicality
- Rebounding
- Get Devin Booker going
- Forcing turnovers and getting out in transition
- Need at least 2 players outside of the Big 3 to step up
- Making open shots
- No big momentum swings for Wolves
- Shoot more 3s
Potential Rotation Adjustments for Suns
These are some potential lineup changes the Suns could make (assuming Grayson Allen is good to go):
- Start Royce O’Neale over Allen
- Get Bol Bol in the rotation (expand rotation from 8 to 9 players)
- Play Thaddeus Young over Drew Eubanks
- Play Bol Bol or Josh Okogie over Eric Gordon
I’m not saying these will happen at all, but they are some things to watch as we could see some experimenting with different lineups, especially after a poor performance from Eric Gordon, who ended the regular season struggling, in Game 1. Allen’s health determines a lot with this, as we would probably see O’Neale start in his place if he is unable to go and Bol Bol added to the bench rotation.
Game 2 Information
Start Time: 4:30 p.m. MST
Location: Target Center
TV Channel: AZ Family/3TV, TNT
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream: Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) April 23, 2024
Full Series Schedule/Results
- Game 1: Wolves 120 – Suns 95
- Game 2: Suns at Wolves, today, 4:30 p.m. on AZ Family/3TV, TNT
- Game 3: Wolves at Suns, Friday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. on AZ Family/3TV, ESPN
- Game 4: Wolves at Suns, Sunday, April 28, 6:30 p.m., on AZ Family/3TV, TNT
- Game 5*: Suns at Wolves, Tuesday, April 30, TBD, on TBD
- Game 6*: Wolves at Suns, Thursday, May 2, TBD, on TBD
- Game 7* Suns at Wolves, Saturday, May 4, TBD, on TNT
*if necessary
Previous Results from the Regular-Season Series
- Suns 133 – Timberwolves 115 on Nov. 15 in Phoenix
- Suns 97 – Timberwolves 87 on April 5 in Phoenix
- Suns 125 – Timberwolves 106 on April 14 in Minnesota
Game 2 Betting Odds
Line: MIN -3.5
O/U: 213.5
Injury Report
Phoenix Suns: Grayson Allen (right ankle sprain) QUESTIONABLE | Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) OUT
Minnesota Timberwolves: Kyle Anderson (right hip pointer) QUESTIONABLE
Starters (Projected)
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkić
Minnesota Timberwolves: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl Anthony-Towns, Rudy Gobert
Game 2 Prediction
Suns 110 – Timberwolves 102
It might not be a must-win game depending on how close it is, but the Suns have to show that they can continue their regular-season success against the Timberwolves in a hostile environment in Game 2. As mentioned before, the Suns have a lot of obvious adjustments to make, while the Timberwolves hardly have any, so they will have to figure it out on the fly. During the regular season, Phoenix proved to do really well when adjustments were needed after a bad loss, so that’s what I predict will happen tonight.
Devin Booker should look for his shot early to get rolling, while the Suns have to key in on Anthony Edwards all game and not allow him to get any rhythm at all. There are plenty of other areas for the Suns to improve as mentioned in the keys to the game, but doing these two things will open everything else on both sides of the ball for the Suns.
Injury Report
Suns reveal injury status of Grayson Allen for Game 2 vs. Timberwolves
Some other Game 2 Preview Stories
How the Suns look to find success in slowing down Anthony Edwards in Game 2
Devin Booker compares Game 1 loss to Timberwolves to last year’s first-round series vs. Clippers
Suns legend Al McCoy fed up with Suns ‘crying’ about physicality in playoffs
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
