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Karl-Anthony Towns says game plan was working in Game 1 vs. Rockets

Karl-Anthony Towns

The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a Game 1 loss to the Houston Rockets which in hindsight was a winnable game looking at the final minutes of the game.

While it appeared to be a disaster for the Wolves, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed, although there are things that could have been done which would have netted better results.

An unusual strategy at least for the Rockets was to constantly switch on defense, something usually seen by teams such as the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks.

This season, the Rockets ranked sixth in defensive efficiency although they aren’t known as stalwarts, their plan for the Wolves seemed to be pretty effective throughout the game.

Charles Barkley lashed out calling the Wolves the dumbest team in the playoffs for refusing to throw the ball down low to Karl-Anthony Towns, who had several mismatches with smaller guards defending him in the post.

One reporter made Barkley’s comments known to Towns questioning the team’s soundness and willingness to do what it takes to win, especially when it came to exploiting advantages.

Towns didn’t agree and felt the team had a chance to win the game (which was a Jimmy Butler three-pointer from going into OT) sticking with the gameplan that was given to them, and marked it off as things not going their way on this particular night.

While it is true the Rockets were down late in the fourth quarter, the number of mistakes and not getting stops on the defensive side of the ball is the biggest killer in playoff basketball.

The Wolves big man gave no indication if the team planned on making adjustments for mismatches or switching any parts of the current game plan, but they will get another chance to capitalize on what they did wrong Wednesday night at 9:30 PM ET on TNT.

The post Karl-Anthony Towns says game plan was working in Game 1 vs. Rockets appeared first on ClutchPoints.

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