Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu returned to action on Wednesday at San Antonio after missing the previous two contests (Game 6 vs. Denver and Game 1 vs. the Spurs) due to right calf soreness. However, the former second-round pick exited the lopsided loss in the second quarter and did not return due to right heel pain (Twitter link via the Wolves).
Dosunmu is considered questionable to suit up for Friday’s Game 3 due to the heel injury, according to the team (Twitter link), as is star guard Anthony Edwards, who continues to battle a left knee bone bruise he sustained on April 25. Edwards has been on a minutes restriction and has come off the bench in the first two games of the second-round series vs. the Spurs.
Here’s more on the Timberwolves:
- After upsetting the Spurs on the road in Game 1, the Wolves “got punked” by a desperate San Antonio team in Game 2, head coach Chris Finch told reporters, including Anthony Slater of ESPN. Finch was critical of Minnesota’s offensive execution, and didn’t like how Edwards and the rest of the team responded to the Spurs’ ball pressure and selective double-teams on the former No. 1 overall pick. “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.”
- Foul trouble limited Jaden McDaniels to under 20 minutes of playing time on Wednesday, and the Wolves know they need the versatile forward to stay on the court to have a chance in the series, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Spurs went on a huge run when McDaniels picked up his third foul in the second quarter and the game was out of reach by the time he returned in the third, Hine notes. “Him being off the court is going to hurt us every time,” Edwards said. “He knows it, we know it. The whole gym knows it. Their team knows it. When he gets in foul trouble, they get happy. We need him on the floor. He gonna be better next game. He know he can’t really foul. We’re not gonna win if he’s not on the floor.”
- Second-year guard Jaylen Clark has received rotation minutes against the Spurs after only appearing in two of the six games against Denver. The 24-year-old talked about his role in the offense on Wednesday, per Dane Moore (Twitter video link). “Nobody is guarding me right now, so hitting the open shot. Those two, three buckets is enough to keep me out there right now,” Clark said in part.