Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves sweep ‘superteam’ Suns; Commanders thrive, Panthers struggle in NFL Draft grades

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE WOLVES OF MINNESOTA

O Timber Wolves and the Suns He played hundreds of possessions in the first round, but two in particular, when the visitors needed it most in Game 4, summed up the entire series.

Trailing 113-111 with less than three minutes remaining, Kevin Durant got great posting position against Mike Conley, which is almost a foot shorter. Easy scoring opportunity, right? Wrong: A timely double-team frustrated one of the greatest offensive players of all time. He kicked it out. It must be an open shot, right? Wrong: A perfect defensive rotation forced Phoenix to swing the ball. And when Bradley Beal broke the defense and tried to kick out, Nickeil Alexander-Walker intercepted.

They got down and went to the other side. Antonio Eduardo sized up Beal and walked past him as if he didn’t exist before throwing a ferocious dunk at Durant, the kind of dunk that leaves you half in stunned silence and half wanting to stand up and scream. “Ahhhh!” on your TV. I don’t even remember which one I did.

Game. To define. Match. The Suns never got closer.

Edwards is a superstar – not a star, a Super star – and you won’t see a more competitive superstar on either side. Your Timberwolves are a force. Minnesota capped off its first win in franchise history and first series victory since 2004 with a 122-116 victory in Phoenix.

Edwards scored 31 of his 40 points after halftime. Karl-Anthony Cities scored 28 points. Jaden McDaniels He was 18 years old and among the most disruptive wing defenders in the league. It’s only fitting that he leads the best defense in the league. The Timberwolves were defeated by the Suns in the regular season, but completely flipped the script in the playoffs, using their size, physicality and toughness to dominate a run-heavy Suns team.

It is by far the most impressive performance in the first round. And they are coming for more. Let’s wait Chris Finch can train what comes after a brutal collision at the end of the game with Conley.

What’s more: Colin Ward-Henninger writes that in a world without deep playoff runs of players like Stephen CurryDuring LeBron Jamescoupled with emphatic performances from the game’s youngest stars, It sure looks like the NBA’s unofficial changing of the guard is officially underway.

• Ward-Henninger: “…the youth movement is thriving, starting with Edwards in all his charismatic bravado. The Oklahoma City Thunder, led by 25-year-old MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, became the first team in NBA history to having all points scored by players 25 or younger in a playoff game Another 25-year-old MVP finalist, Luka Doncic, runs the hottest team in the Western Conference entering the postseason.

Honorable mentions

And it wasn’t such a good day for…

THE PHOENIX SUNS

We’ll do it quickly. The Suns were no match for the Timberwolves. They weren’t tough or strong enough, they didn’t work hard enough, and they just didn’t have enough. Devin Booker (49 points) and Kevin Durant (33 points) were great. The rest of the team, and especially Beal (4-for-13 shooting, nine points, six turnovers, foul), didn’t show up.

After Game 3, Brad Botkin wrote Durant’s superteam efforts continually failing. And after an embarrassing scan, Sam Quinn says the The era of super teams is over and Phoenix’s future is bleak.

• Quinn: “If this all seems bleak… well… yes. It should. This is bleak. It’s one of the bleakest sets of circumstances facing any team in the NBA right now. It’s only going to get bleaker… There’s no obvious pivot or strategic approach that can fix this for the Suns. They misunderstood where the league was when they traded for Beal and they misunderstood where it was going when they traded for Durant… The most likely outcome here is that the Suns were simply wrong. “

Not-so-honorable mentions

NFL Draft: winners, losers, grades and young QB situation rankings

The 2024 NFL Draft is behind us – here are all the picks – and our experts have weighed in on who fared best. A team and a team justgot an “A+” in Notes from Pete Prisco — O washington Commanders.

• Pristine: “Best choice: it was their first, quarterback Jayden Daniels. I think he will be the best quarterback in this draft. They nabbed a franchise passer with the No. 2 pick. He will be dynamic. … The Skinny: In his first year in the draft, general manager Adam Peters killed. … I liked all the second-round picks at defensive tackle Johnny Newtoncorner Mike Sainristil and tight ending Ben Sinnott. They recruited a lot of talented football players.”

Chris Trapasso too ranked each team, including ratings for each player. Yes, all 257. Three teams earned an “A” from Chris.

Not everyone fared well, however. Will Brinson handed over his winners and losersand the biggest loser of last year’s draft (so far) hasn’t done well this year either, in his opinion.

Listen, it’s brutal having to analyze drafts immediately after they happen. I applaud Pete, Chris and Will for doing this. There will always be opinions that age like milk. There will be shots of that age, like a fine wine, too. That comes with the territory. Nobody thought Tom Brady it would be an A++++++++++++++.

So, I’m going to stick my neck out with some drafts that I liked/didn’t like too.

• I liked the Crows. Corners Nate Wiggins (first round) and TJ Tampa (fourth, even though he had a second round rating) could play immediately. So I could face Roger Rosengarten. Both were positions of great need for Baltimore.
• I liked the Cowboys. Tyler Guyton It is Cooper Beebe they can be the first to start. Guyton has tremendous potential thanks to his athleticism and physical build, and Dallas is excellent at turning potential into results. Marshawn Kneeland He was an early riser who increases the pass rush.
• I didn’t like the Panthers. I’m not sure about Xavier Legete instead of some other receivers that were available, and Carolina traded for him. Carolina also switched to Jonathan Brooks, adding to an already packed race room. Don’t get me wrong: I like Brooks, I just don’t like the resources the Panthers used to get him. But I liked the Ja’Tavion Sanders choice!

But hey, go ahead. Roast me.

Here’s more from the weekend:

Candace Parker retires; Kiki Iriafen to USC; WNBA training camps open

From high fives to goodbyes and more, there was plenty of women’s basketball action this weekend.

Let’s start with a bittersweet goodbye. Candace Parker called it a career, and what a career it was. Over 16 seasons with the Sparks, Sky It is Aces …

• 6,574 points (ninth all-time)
• 3,467 rebounds (third all time)
• Seven-time All-Star
• Two-time MVP (2008, 2016)
• 2016 Finals MVP
• Only player in WNBA history to win a championship with three different franchises

The last of the three came with Las Vegas last season, though she battled a foot injury, which influenced her decision.

The announcement came on the same day that WNBA training camps opened. The preseason begins May 3 and the regular season begins May 14. Here are all the important dates.

Jack has a big question for each team.

As for the future of the league, two potential future No. 1 picks are teaming up on USC. Kiki Iriafen transferred to USCwhere will she join JuJu Watkins. Iriafen averaged 19.4 points and 11 rebounds last season, highlighted by a 41-point effort against Iowa State in the NCAA tournament.

What will we watch on Monday

Game 5: Lightning on the Panthers7pm on ESPN
Game 4: Celtics at Heat7:30 pm on TNT
Twins on the White Sox7:40 pm on FS1
Game 4: Thunder at the Pelicans8:30 pm on NBA TV
Game 4: Stars in Golden Knights9:30 pm on ESPN
Game 5: Lakers vs. Nuggets10pm on TNT