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The Minnesota Timberwolves won Game 1 of their 2022 NBA Playoffs first-round series versus the Memphis Grizzlies. It was a shock for most, as the Grizzlies had a great season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with 56 wins. That is not a knock on the Timberwolves, who also had a good year, but everyone was expecting the Grizzlies to take Game 1.
The Timberwolves did it behind Anthony Edwards scoring 36 points. The bench contributed massively as well, scoring 43 points. As they come into Game 2, the Timberwolves can be in prime position to beat the Grizzlies once again and really put the favorite in a hole with the series shifting to Minnesota.
Here are three bold Minnesota Timberwolves predictions for Game 2 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Timberwolves predictions for Game 2 vs. Grizzlies
Anthony Edwards will score 30+ points again
There are no words to describe how Edwards played in his first playoff game in his career. While Karl-Anthony Towns was also great, the incredible sophomore was the true star of the show with 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting.
However, it is not only about his pure stats, but rather it is about Edwards taking the responsibility to carry this team to victory. Obviously, he had good support, but it was his 36 that really got the Timberwolves where they needed to be. He was relentless in attacking the Grizzlies, who had no answer for his play all game long. If he can repeat this form, the Timberwolves can hope for a lot in this series.
It is fairly simple seeing Edwards having this kind of game again. He managed to score over 30 on nine occasions this year, and while it does not seem like a ton, it is very solid for a second-year player. The manner in which he did it also should give the Timberwolves a lot of optimism going forward that they have a true star in their ranks.
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The best indicator of how good Edwards can be is his lack of fear to shoot. There was a spell in the fourth quarter where the Grizzlies were fairly close and Edwards missed a fairly uncontested 3-pointer. A ton of young players would simply stop shooting, but Edwards pulled up for another 3-pointer just a few minutes after that, made it, and put the Timberwolves up 10 points. Look for Edwards to have a massive game again.
The Timberwolves will repeat their 3-point efficiency
In general, the Timberwolves are a team heavily reliant on 3-pointers. They have a potent offense and play at a high pace. With 100.9 possessions per 48 minutes, the Timberwolves led the league in that category. Thus, it is only natural that they also have the most 3-point attempts and makes in the league, and the 12th-best percentage. Despite the Grizzlies being a fairly good defensive team when it comes to the perimeter, ranking 12th in the league in 3-pointers allowed and attempts allowed as well as 11th in opponent 3-point percentage, the Timberwolves shot 39% in the first game and made 16 of their 41 attempts. It would not be too difficult to assume that they will continue on that trajectory in Game 2.
This prediction is especially valuable given the fact that D'Angelo Russell was only one for three on his 3-pointers, far from his stats in the regular season. The Timberwolves guard generally had a poor game and if he is on the money in the second game, especially if he chucks up more than three, the Grizzlies will be in a world of hurt. Thankfully for the Timberwolves, they had Malik Beasley shooting 4-of-10 from the bench, so they have insurance in case Russell plays poorly once again. Look for the Timberwolves to continue their 3-point barrage in Game 2.
The Timberwolves will win Game 2
While the Timberwolves' win was both surprising and impressive, there is not much that is that unbelievable from this game that cannot happen again in Game 2. To the credit of the Grizzlies, all their main guys had solid games, with Ja Morant dropping 32, Dillon Brooks scoring 24 with three makes behind the arc, and Desmond Bane adding another 17 points on top of that. The Timberwolves did have some guys going over their season averages but also had D'Angelo Russell dropping just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting. Even with Russell completely out of the game, apart from his nine assists, the Timberwolves still won.
That must be a huge confidence boost for this young team. This is a matchup of two very young teams, as the Grizzlies are the second-youngest and the Timberwolves are sixth. As they are both such young teams, what tends to happen is that momentum and confidence dictate a lot of what happens on the court. With younger squads, cooler heads and a relaxed approach to a game after a loss can be difficult, so the Timberwolves might be in a position to use this Game 1 win and turn it into two wins away from home.
Minnesota is playing with a ton of confidence right now, so look for them to keep things rolling in Game 2 to the shock of Memphis.
