Mike Conley will have a chance to make a new Game 7 memory on Sunday, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Timberwolves‘ veteran point guard is still bothered by how the series ended when he and Rudy Gobert faced the Nuggets as members of the Jazz in a 2020 seventh game in the Orlando bubble. Conley had an opportunity to give Utah a dramatic victory, but his three-point shot at the buzzer misfired.
“I’ve replayed it a lot,” he said. “Having that opportunity to win a Game 7 like that and not be able to make the shot was tough. Now here we are in a similar situation, where we get to play the same team, a lot of the same guys. So for me, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully this will turn out different.”
Conley plans to be ready despite being listed as questionable with a right soleus strain that kept him out of Game 5. He was able to return for Thursday’s contest and said he feels better now than he did that night. He wants to be on the court so he can put to rest the bad memories from four years ago.
“It’s hard to escape it,” Conley said. “You find that clip every now and then. Sometimes it comes across the phone. I don’t actively search it — I don’t want to bring up that memory too much. But at the same time, it’s something that I’ve thought about at workouts and I think about if I’m having a tough day in a workout missing a certain shot. I’m like, ‘Nah, I got to make this because I might be in this situation again.'”
There’s more on the Wolves:
- Injured head coach Chris Finch said he and lead assistant Micah Nori have developed an effective system as the series has worn on, Hine adds in the same piece. Finch can’t roam the sidelines after suffering a ruptured patella tendon in the first round, so he and Nori have to be selective about when they communicate. “Couple games ago, he was looking at me or to me a lot,” Finch said. “I just said, you can’t do that, we’re losing some possessions maybe here and there. Just trust your gut. He’s got 30 years of experience. So use it.”
- Karl-Anthony Towns only scored 10 points in Game 6, but he sparked Minnesota’s blowout by doing all the things his critics say he can’t do, observes Jim Souhan of The Star Tribune. Towns served as the primary defender against Nikola Jokic, grabbed seven rebounds by the end of the first quarter and made the right passes in the offense.
- Teammates raved about Anthony Edwards‘ maturation int0 a leader after Game 6, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. As the Wolves pulled away, Edwards implored the team to avoid any letdown that would allow Denver to get back into the game. “Just the way he’s grown from, I always say my second year, his rookie year, just from the way he’s grown as a basketball player and that person,” Naz Reid said. “It’s completely night and day.”
KAT makes Gobert trade tolerable, if they trade KAT in off season, keep
GOBERT, even with ANT man, they are not same team…. will take a step back
Timberwolves need to move on from KAT. He’s just not a winning player and this team revolves around Edwards. Gobert shouldnt have to be telling KAT where to be and what to do constantly, and KAT just takes too many possessions off to want to root for him. Edwards makes KAT look bad.
We don’t “need” to move on from KAT. That is evidenced by being a win away from the western conference finals with him as the second scoring option and performances like his previous game. I highly doubt Connelly trades him unless the return makes us better for 2025. And he shouldn’t because there’s no reason the Wolves shouldn’t compete for the next 4-5 seasons.
That’s part of Gobert’s job, he runs the defense. He’s sees things on defense that other’s don’t. Draymond has pointed out defensive positioning for years and it lead the Warriors to having a top rated defensive club for a long time as well as four championship seasons.
Agreed. Marc Gasol did the same thing when he captained the Raptors Championship squad defense. That’s why they are DPOY candidates, they can both guard their guy and lead their team on defense. Everyone knows KAT is not a good defensive player, so pairing him on D with Gobert improves their D, and his O complements ANT’s game. I actually think it’s a good pairing, just that KAT needs to find that extra gear. KAT has shown he’s not a top option on a championship-level team, but he’s a damn good 2nd option!
Why change what’s working? Gobert and KAT have different play styles as big guys. Gobert needs to play the paint on both sides. I feel like KAT needs more opportunities for threes, but his presence on the perimeter shifting in on defense with Gobert waiting at the net leads to bad shots.
I’d agree that kat can be slow on transition, but his foul trouble and complaints while the ball is in play are his main problems.
Wolves three bigs are why jokic has had so much trouble against em.(I’m including naz because he is essential)
100% agree the only other thing I’d add is LAT has been a little lacklustre on offence.
Even if you want to play ANT in pick and rolls with Gobert and use KAT as a floor spacer in the corner or whatever. He needs to be giving you more than 10-14 points per game from the same amount of shots.
Going to be a great watch this game 7
Problem is that he is getting 2x money he is contributing. He is at best on lv of A Gordon.
This feels very “what have you done for me lately?” He averaged 21.8 ppg in the regular season on 55% 2PT FG and 41.6% 3PT FG. One series is not going to dictate whether he’s traded or kept.
KAT is not a max player. This will never go away. Nobody is giving equal value for KAT.
Conley is on his last legs. So they need a PG. Don’t see them winning in Denver. Minny can’t win it. Unless AD goes off. That is not how you win chips …….
We don’t need a PG to replace Conley lol all this interjection from fans who don’t watch the Wolves every game is silly. Conley has been fantastic this season. There’s a reason he was extended. Backup PG, sure. We definitely need that. To say Minny “can’t” win it makes no sense. There’s a reason Vegas has the Wolves at the 4th best odds to do so behind Boston, Denver, and Dallas.