Julian Champagnie misses a 3-pointer as time expires to give the Timberwolves a Game 1 victory on the road.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a><\/p>\n If ever there was a playoff series that deserved to use Game 1 as a proverbial \u201cfeeling out\u201d game, it was this Minnesota-San Antonio Western Conference semifinals<\/a> that began Monday at Frost Bank Center.<\/p>\n There was nothing in the run-up or the result to negate the Timberwolves\u2019 104-102 victory<\/a> on the Spurs\u2019 court, good for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.<\/p>\n But there was plenty that provided before, during and after to provide context and fresh challenges for however many more games unspool in this one.<\/p>\n Minnesota, after all, was only a few days removed from an emotional and physically costly elimination of Denver. It had six games and nearly two weeks of coping with arguably the NBA\u2019s most potent offensive center, Nikola Joki\u0107, a top-of-the-key initiator of everything the Nuggets do to pick apart an opposing defense.<\/p>\n Then on Monday, it was into battle against the league\u2019s Kia Defensive Player of the Year<\/a> anchoring and emboldening everything San Antonio does at that end.<\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama swatted shots in the opener like he was protecting sandwiches at a picnic, suggesting an upcoming adjustment by the Wolves or a statistically humiliating string of performances.<\/p>\n San Antonio, meanwhile, needed to feel its way through a game, period, after being off for six days. The rhythm and efficiency the Spurs had in ousting Portland in five games needed to be found anew.<\/p>\n Here are four takeaways from Game 1 in a series that figures to get more intense by the game:<\/p>\n 1. Edwards returns to keep Spurs honest<\/p>\n Those familiar with Anthony Edwards\u2019 physical resiliency weren\u2019t surprised when he was activated for Game 1. He has a personal history of bouncing back ahead of schedule, within games, from one half to the next, and somehow shortening injury layoffs from weeks to days.<\/p>\n The bone bruise and hyperextended left knee<\/a> suffered in Game 4 against Denver last week was a perfect example. The Wolves\u2019 scoring star fast-tracked his return, coming off the bench<\/a> seven days after the initial \u201cweek to week\u201d prognosis.<\/p>\n Edwards played just 25 minutes, didn\u2019t high-fly around the court the way he usually does and finished with modest numbers (18 points, two 3-pointers) by his playoff standards.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Anthony Edwards returns from injury to score 18 points off the bench in a Game 1 victory for the Timberwolves.<\/p>\n But Minnesota\u2019s depth chart needed him back, with Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu absent from its backcourt, and its mojo craved Edwards\u2019 return too.<\/p>\n \u201cJust his ability to bounce back and give us whatever he had out there was huge,\u201d said teammate Julius Randle said. \u201cJust super happy, super proud to have him back.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spurs knew Edwards\u2019 reputation, so they didn\u2019t presume anything about his availability. \u201cWe practiced as if he was playing,\u201d said forward Julian Champagnie. \u201cThere was no difference in strategy, there was no difference in what we were trying to do. [It was] \u2018This is what he wants to do, this is what we\u2019re going to do to counter it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Wemby\u2019s shot rejections better than shot selection<\/p>\n Wembanyama did more than block a dozen Minnesota shots<\/a> Monday, a hefty share of the Wolves\u2019 50 misses. The Spurs\u2019 7-foot-4 rim-protecting windmill offered a glimpse of what NBA playoff games must have looked like in the 1960s, when Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell were turning back opponents\u2019 (and often each other\u2019s) field-goal attempts.<\/p>\n Wasn\u2019t Wilt\u2019s and Russ\u2019 fault the NBA didn\u2019t bother to track blocks back then.<\/p>\n The stat only was made official in 1973-74, which is why Wembanyama\u2019s 12 blocks cleared the single-game playoff record, held jointly by Utah\u2019s Mark Eaton (April 1985 vs. Houston), Houston\u2019s Hakeem Olajuwon (April 1990 vs. the Lakers) and the Lakers\u2019 Andrew Bynum (April 2012 vs. Denver).<\/p>\n There was no Wolves offering that seemed beyond Wembanyama\u2019s reach.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama sets an NBA playoff record with 12 blocks, along with 11 points and 15 rebounds for a triple-double in Game 1.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, Wemby had 12 blocks. We have to make a little bit of an adjustment there,\u201d said Randle, chuckling. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to just not attack the basket because he\u2019s down there. We can be smarter about how we do it. We\u2019re not going to let him just deter us from attacking the rim.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota did appear to adjust in the second half.<\/p>\n They put more arc in some shots, went to the glass with others, switched hands to throw off the big man\u2019s timing and even quibbled with the validity of some swats, maybe to plant seeds in the Game 2 officials\u2019 heads.<\/p>\n As coach Chris Finch said, \u201cA little bit better spacing, a little bit better off-ball movement. \u2026 He had a couple uncalled goaltendings too. Those are valuable points we\u2019d like to have back.\u201d<\/p>\n Wembanyama gave back a few at the other end, taking eight 3-pointers and missing each one. As much as that range is part of his game, it sure seemed he was letting the Wolves off the hook whenever he opted for the arc vs. the paint.<\/p>\n 3. Expect more bumping, more bruising<\/p>\n Finch in his opening postgame remarks noted \u201cdefense was at an all-time high at both ends.\u201d That is the forecast for the next three-to-six games in the series, considering that both participating teams are built defense-first and more than willing to play through contact.<\/p>\n Physicality was a theme at the podium, same as it was the name of the game. Stephon Castle fouled out, Randle and Jaden McDaniels had to work around five fouls each and Naz Reid, Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper were saddled with four.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t be ideal if a disqualified player ends up swinging the outcome of a game or two in the series. Then again, the way the Wolves shot free throws (12-for-21), who could blame the Spurs for sending them to the line as often as possible?<\/p>\n Flip side: Wemby can\u2019t block those.<\/p>\n Look for adjustments from both teams and, most important, from what\u2019s whistled and what\u2019s tolerated as the series plays out.<\/p>\n 4. To timeout or not to timeout?<\/p>\n Both Finch and Spurs coach Mitch Johnson eschewed calling timeouts in a hectic final minute. Minnesota could have used one with 34.4 seconds left when it was clinging to a 104-100 lead. Edwards\u2019 attempted inbounds pass was picked off by Vassell, who got the ball to Harper for a layup at 30.9 seconds to cut the lead to two.<\/p>\n Edwards and Finch both second-guessed themselves afterward for not calling timeout to allow for something more precise.<\/p>\n Johnson made the same decision after Randle missed a 17-footer with eight seconds left. Like Finch, he had two timeouts available but let it go. Champagnie\u2019s 3-pointer from the right wing banged off as time ran out.<\/p>\n Johnson said he had no problem with the shot, though the Spurs didn\u2019t need a 3. The shooter was OK with it too.<\/p>\n \u201cFelt pretty solid,\u201d Champagnie said. \u201cMissed the shot, on to the next.\u201d<\/p>\n On to the next, indeed. Game 2 (9:30 ET, ESPN)<\/a> is set for Wednesday.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n