Emotional Timberwolves trying to 'reserve energy' in playoffs

MEMPHIS – When the Timberwolves went up 9-2 early against the Grizzlies on Saturday, Memphis called timeout and Patrick Beverley was at midcourt telling his teammates to stay calm.

That might seem counterintuitive to the way the Wolves have played all season — they wear their emotions on their sleeves, even if they receive criticism for how they play.

But Beverley's actions were indicative of something he told the team coming into the series.

"I think it's all about reserving energy," Beverley said. "If you get too hyped, it kind of takes the energy out of you. Obviously, you can be energized after you take care of business, but in that moment, it's all about staying even-keeled and reserving that energy, because we're going to need a lot of it."

While coach Chris Finch said he wants his team to "let it fly" when it comes to playing with emotion, he also cautioned them to not get too high or too low within a game and from game to game.

"The biggest challenge for young teams in the playoffs is maintaining an even keel, no matter what happens," Finch said before the series began. "Win or lose, the narrative swings so wildly in the media and everywhere else about what's just happened. There's always a lot of basketball left to play, you make your adjustments, and then you move on."

After the series, Beverley said the Wolves can let it out should they win, but they need to channel it properly in games.

"Reserving energy is the key," Beverley said. "We'll have all the fun we need to have after the series, but reserving energy is key."

The Wolves were able to get Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. in foul trouble and limited him to only 24 minutes of playing time.

Jackson still managed to get seven blocks, in addition to 12 points and four rebounds, but said those blocks didn't matter much.

"I got to be better," Jackson said. "Seven blocks don't really mean nothing if we lose and they put in 130. That's what it's going to mean. We got to lower that total score down."

A few of Jackson's fouls were on offense, and he said he better knows how the Wolves will defend — and try to take charges against him.

"That team takes a lot of charges, kind of like Boston takes a lot of charges, so you just got to move around them, Euro[step], make better moves," Jackson said. "Can't fall into that trap because it's a good play by them."

Guard Ja Morant said Jackson, who averaged 16.3 points and 2.3 blocks, texted him after the game to say, "I got you."

"I told him I wasn't worried at all," Morant said. "I know what he's capable of. He's Jaren. We talked about him all year with what he does on the floor for us and how special he is and how much of a factor he is for us and our team."

A member of the Wolves' traveling party was reportedly robbed after Game 1, according to local reports in Memphis. The incident did not involve any players or coaches. Finch briefly addressed it after practice Monday.

"Everything's fine," Finch said. "Memphis PD [police department] has been great. They're on it. It's an unfortunate thing, but we're letting them handle it and we're just moving on."