The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently gearing up for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Timberwolves trail this series 3-1 after a crushing Game 4 loss Monday night, a game in which superstar Anthony Edwards was held to just 16 points by the Oklahoma City defense.

From the jump in that game, it was clear that the Thunder were not going to let Edwards get the space to shoot that he enjoyed in his dominant Game 3 performance, so the star became more of a facilitator early on in Game 4, not taking his first shot attempt until several minutes into the game.

Ahead of Game 5, Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert got 100% honest on why he felt that Edwards' impact on the game goes far beyond his box score numbers.

“I thought he was great … A lot of people think basketball is just about scoring 30 every night, it’s not true,” said Gobert, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN on X, formerly Twitter.

Indeed, Edwards showed a willingness to slide into a facilitator role on Monday, and for the most part, it worked. The Timberwolves put an impressive 126 points on the board against the best defense in the NBA; conversely,  it was Minnesota's inability to get stops or defensive rebounds that led to their demise in Game 4.

A long road ahead for the Timberwolves

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The Timberwolves now face the daunting task of having to win three straight games in order to advance past this series, two of which would be on the road in one of the NBA's most hostile environments.

The Thunder organization has proven before that it has what it takes to blow a 3-1 Western Conference Finals lead, but the Timberwolves will have to play a lot better, particularly on defense and the glass, in order to extend this series to a Game 6 back in Minnesota.

Game 5 is slated for 8:30 PM ET from Oklahoma City and will be carried nationally by ESPN. If there is a Game 6, it would be on Friday evening.