By Anthony Slater, 2026-05-07 14:46:01
圣安东尼奥——在周三晚上的系列赛第二场（G2）之前，明尼苏达森林狼队超级巨星安东尼·爱德华兹 (Anthony Edwards) 传达了他给队友们的一个警告。
“对于那些在客场偷走首场胜利的球队来说，一种自然的倾向就是在第二场比赛中被对手大胜，”爱德华兹谈到他的信息时说道，“我们不能开局打得太松懈。”
在最终以 133-95 惨败 给重整旗鼓的圣安东尼奥马刺队的比赛中，森林狼队首节仅得 17 分，第二节得 18 分，出现了 22 次失误，半场落后 24 分，一度陷入落后 47 分的深渊。这场失利让这轮西部半决赛带着 1-1 的平局回到了明尼阿波利斯。
“我们开局打得很松懈，”爱德华兹说，“看看发生了什么。我妈妈以前常告诉我，‘头铁就会屁股疼’（意指固执会招致惩罚）。今晚就是这个下场。”
森林狼队主教练克里斯·芬奇 (Chris Finch) 的评价更为严厉，在经历了这场 38 分的惨败后，他告诉球队：“我们简直是被对手打爆了。”
“说‘被打爆’有点夸张，”爱德华兹说，“但我的意思是，看看录像，看看我们能从中吸取什么教训。”
录像会显示出一支充满斗志且极具身体对抗性的马刺队。他们全场紧逼森林狼队，攻击球员的运球，并在爱德华兹过半场时对他进行有选择性的包夹，迫使他出球并打乱他的节奏。
“他们打疯了，对吧？”爱德华兹在谈到马刺队的重点盯防时说道，“回去看录像，找出其中的破绽。我们没能投进足够的球来让他们停止这种防守。”
芬奇表示，他不满意爱德华兹以及队内其他组织者应对这种超负荷防守策略和高压防守的方式。
“必须迅速出球，”芬奇说，“应该把这当作带动球权流转的催化剂，本该如此。我觉得我们运球到了死角，出球太慢，而且周围的空间拉开得也不好。”
森林狼队三分球 30 投仅 9 中，在创造出不错的投篮机会时未能惩罚马刺队。他们在禁区内的 44 次投篮中投丢了 26 次，在面对维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 时难以完成终结。他们出现了 22 次失误，在面对一群积极的防守者时，控球显得过于随意。
“我们必须让球运转起来，”芬奇说，“我们现在的运球就像是在原地打转，毫无进展。”
当被问及“运球毫无进展”的评价时，爱德华兹表示：“我不知道，我得看录像。但他是主教练，我支持他说的任何话。所以如果他这么说了，那我们当时确实就是那样做的。”
这是本赛季森林狼队在最艰难时期，芬奇对球队进攻的常见批评。他们的一些顶尖得分手——爱德华兹、朱利叶斯·兰德尔 (Julius Randle)，以及像海兰德 (Bones Hyland) 和小泰伦斯·香农 (Terrence Shannon Jr.) 这样的年轻替补——往往会陷入停滞的单打模式。
“在糟糕的位置接球，”兰德尔在经历了仅得几分却有 5 次失误的夜晚后说道，“在糟糕的区域被包夹。我必须在接球时占据更好的位置。”
首发侧翼杰登·麦克丹尼尔斯 (Jaden McDaniels) 是森林狼队在 G2 表现较好的球员之一，但他再次因为过早的犯规麻烦导致上场时间受限（20 分钟）。在 G1 的上半场，他也因为在前 15 分钟内领到三次犯规而枯坐板凳。
“你需要杰登始终留在场上，”爱德华兹说，“他不在场每次都会伤害到我们。我们知道，他知道，全场的人都知道，对手也知道。当他陷入犯规麻烦时，他们会很高兴。他知道自己不能犯规。如果他不在场，我们赢不了。”
在 G1 中，爱德华兹在左膝严重过度伸展和骨挫伤仅九天后出战了 25 分钟，他替补出场以控制工作量。在 G2 中，他最终出战 24 分钟，但如果不是因为在惨败中第四节休战，他的上场时间本会更多。
因此，随着系列赛移师明尼苏达，森林狼队的压力增大，爱德华兹（他表示自己的膝盖“感觉很好”）似乎已经准备好恢复正常的工作量。
“这不取决于我，”爱德华兹在谈到重回首发阵容的愿望时说，“如果需要的话，无论需要做什么都可以。”
森林狼队在揭幕战中震惊了这支拿到 62 胜的马刺队。而圣安东尼奥在 G2 给予了强力回击。
“他们赢了 40 分，”爱德华兹说，“我会充满信心……我向那些家伙致敬。他们打得很努力，他们是更有危机感的球队，他们更渴望胜利。我们会看看接下来的走势。”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Wolves fail to heed Edwards' warning, come out 'cool' in rout
Wolves fail to heed Edwards’ warning, come out ‘cool’ in rout
SAN ANTONIO – Before Wednesday night’s Game 2, Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards relayed a warning he had given to his teammates.
“The natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, the away team, they get blown out in Game 2,” Edwards said of his message. “We can’t come out cool.”
In an eventual 133-95 blowout loss to the recharged San Antonio Spurs, the Timberwolves scored only 17 first-quarter points, 18 second-quarter points, turned the ball over 22 times, fell behind 24 at the half and spiraled into a 47-point hole, sending the Western Conference semifinals series back to Minneapolis tied at 1.
“We came out cool,” Edwards said. “Look what happened. My momma used to tell me that a hard head make a soft ass. That’s what happened tonight.”
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch was even harsher in his assessment, telling his team after the 38-point blowout that “we just got punked.”
“Punked is crazy,” Edwards said. “But, I mean, just look at the film and see what we can gain from it.”
The film will reveal a desperate and physical Spurs team, pressuring the Timberwolves full court, attacking their dribble and deploying selective double-teams on Edwards when he crossed half court, getting the ball out of his hands and disrupting his rhythm.
“They was playing crazy, right?” Edwards said of the Spurs’ extra attention. “Watch film, find the holes in it. We didn’t make enough shots to get them out of it.”
Finch said he didn’t like how Edwards and the team’s variety of other playmakers responded to the overload scheme and amped up pressure.
“Got to get off of it,” Finch said. “Got to use it as a catalyst for ball movement, what it should be. I thought we dribbled to tough spots. I thought we were late getting off it. I thought our spacing around it wasn’t really good.”
The Timberwolves made only nine of their 30 3-pointers, unable to punish the Spurs when they did generate a decent look. They missed 26 of their 44 shots in the paint, struggling to finish against Victor Wembanyama. They turned it over 22 times, too often getting too loose with the ball against a swarm of active defenders.
“We got to go somewhere [with the basketball],” Finch said. “We are kind of dribbling and going nowhere.”
Asked about the “dribbling to nowhere” comment, Edwards said: “I don’t know. I got to watch the film. But he’s the head coach. I’m with whatever he says. So if that’s what he said, that’s what we were doing.”
This has been a common critique of the Timberwolves’ offense from Finch during their roughest patches this season. Some of their best scorers – Edwards, Julius Randle, younger reserves such as Bones Hyland and Terrence Shannon Jr. – can tend to revert into more of a stagnant isolation style.
“Getting the ball in bad spots,” Randle said after a quiet five-turnover night. “Getting trapped in bad areas. I got to get a better position where I’m receiving the ball.”
Starting wing Jaden McDaniels was one of the Timberwolves’ better performers in Game 2, but he was again limited to a lower minute total (20) because of early foul trouble. He was also on the bench in the first half of Game 1 because of three fouls in the first 15 minutes.
“You need Jaden on the floor at all times,” Edwards said. “Him being off the court is going to hurt us every time. We know it. He knows it. The whole gym knows it. Their team knows it. When he get in foul trouble, they get happy. He know he can’t foul. We’re not going to win if he’s not on the floor.”
In Game 1, Edwards logged 25 minutes only nine days after a badly hyperextended left knee and bone bruise, coming in off the bench to manage his workload. In Game 2, he finished at 24 minutes but was on track for significantly more before sitting out the fourth quarter of a blowout loss.
So it appears Edwards – who said his knee “feels good” – is ready to step back into a normal workload as the series shifts to Minnesota and the pressure on the Timberwolves increases.
“That’s not up to me,” Edwards said of a desired return to the starting lineup. “If it’s required. Whatever’s required.”
The Timberwolves stunned the 62-win Spurs in the opener. San Antonio punched back powerfully in Game 2.
“They won by 40,” Edwards said. “I would have a lot of belief. … I tip my hat to those guys. They came out, they played hard, they were the more desperate team, they wanted it. We’ll see where it goes from here.”
By Anthony Slater, via ESPN