One of the big stories coming into the postseason was the performance of the Wolves’ young players.
Several key pieces of this team are in the midst of their first-ever playoff run—including Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns’ playoffs didn’t get off to the best start, but he unlocked something in Game 3 that should carry over to the rest of his playoff games—and the rest of his career. Towns refused to back down, even in the face of some of the most difficult basketball he’s ever had to play.
“The playoffs are all about toughness, and I think our young guys are starting to learn that,” said coach Tom Thibodeau after Monday's shootaround. “Adding guys like [Jimmy Butler] and Taj [Gibson] have helped to speed up the process.”
“Experience is the greatest teacher. He’s learning that,” said Thibodeau of Towns. “Just learning, the ball will find the energy. The more he’s being double-teamed, how you respond and react to that is critical. You can’t let that take away from your aggression.”
“KAT did a really good job of getting to his areas last game and making plays,” said Jeff Teague. “Everybody is just growing together.”
Wiggins has not had the same struggle. Through three games he’s been the most consistent player on the Wolves, playing with confidence and poise in the most pressure-filled contests he has ever been a part of. His teammates are taking notice:
“We all know what he’s capable of. He’s just got to have that mindset that he’s going to go out and show how he’s the best player on the floor,” said Butler. “Everybody’s trying to instill that in him, whenever he decides to do it, you get that performance you got last game.”
Wiggins isn’t paying attention to any outside noise—he doesn’t go on social media very much, he says he’d rather play video games and play with his dog.
“We’re not really worried about what the outside world thinks,” he said. “Feeding into all that stuff is poison. You don’t want to let it get to you. You just have to stay focused and do what you have to do.”
That’s exactly the mature attitude the Wolves need from their young star. Coming off a win on Saturday, Minnesota is ready to come out with energy and focus in Game 4. With every game, the younger Wolves players become that much more experienced. While it will take a while for Towns and Wiggins to understand the playoffs like Teague and Butler do, they should be very proud of the progress they’ve shown so far.