Julian AndrewsWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
After practice on Tuesday, Wolves Coach Tom Thibodeau seemed optimistic about his team’s play in Game 1 of their series against the Wolves.
“I thought we did a lot of good things,” he said. “Obviously there are always things you can do better, but there’s a reason why they have the record that they do. We know we have to play great for 48 minutes."
Thibodeau pointed out that the Wolves did a lot of things right: they outrebounded the Rockets, they had 22 assists, and they got 28 shots from the line. The Wolves didn’t let the Rockets win easily.
“When you have two superstars like that, the pressure they put on you with dribble penetration, you have to make decisions as to how you’re going to contain that,” said Thibodeau. “You can’t win 65 games in this league without having a lot of talent and playing well, and they’re strong on both sides of the ball.”
Thibodeau discussed the multitude of things that the Rockets can do on offense, but thought his team did a good job giving themselves a chance.
“You have to be concerned about the dribble penetration, what they do at the rim, and of course the threes,” he said. “We’re on the road, we’re an eight seed, and we have a chance to win. Six minutes to go we’ve got the lead."
Thibodeau praised the play of Derrick Rose and Jeff Teague, noting that their physicality and ability to get to the rim greatly helped the Wolves against a Rockets team that loves to switch big men onto smaller guards.
Things didn’t break the Wolves way, but they have another chance on Wednesday, and Coach Thibodeau will have his team ready to go.
“Every game is different and we have to be ready for the next game,” he said. “I think we’ll be better.”