Bintang Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards, dipastikan tampil menghadapi San Antonio Spurs pada laga perdana Semifinal Wilayah Barat, Senin, 4 Mei 2026, setelah pulih dari cedera lutut. Kehadiran Edwards di Frost Bank Center menjadi faktor krusial bagi Minnesota meskipun tuan rumah Spurs tetap mempertahankan strategi persiapan awal mereka.
Pelatih San Antonio Spurs, Mitch Johnson, mengungkapkan bahwa timnya tidak mengubah pola persiapan terlepas dari status ketersediaan Edwards. Menurut laporan si.com, Spurs telah mengantisipasi gaya permainan fisik dan agresif yang menjadi ciri khas Timberwolves selama babak playoff musim ini.
"When he doesn't play, I don't think Minnesota necessarily changes their style of play drastically, who they are. Think they're aggressive, they're athletic, they're competitive, they're physical, they're tough minded, and that's how they look through that whole series I just watched, when Anthony Edwards is on the court, when Anthony Edwards is off the court. Obviously, when he's on the court, infusion of talent there." ujar Mitch Johnson, Pelatih San Antonio Spurs.
Pemain Spurs, Keldon Johnson, menekankan pentingnya kesiapan tim dalam menghadapi segala skenario yang mungkin terjadi di lapangan. San Antonio berupaya menjaga fleksibilitas strategi demi meredam intensitas serangan Minnesota yang dikenal memiliki kedalaman skuat solid.
“We’re just trying to cover all bases,” kata Keldon Johnson, Pemain San Antonio Spurs.
“I’m not really sure if he plays or if he does not play, but we just try to prepare as best as possible, so we’re ready for anything.” lanjut Keldon Johnson, Pemain San Antonio Spurs.
Di sisi lain, Pelatih Minnesota Timberwolves, Chris Finch, mengakui adanya peningkatan performa pada skuat San Antonio Spurs dibandingkan pertemuan mereka di pertengahan musim reguler. Finch menyoroti akurasi tembakan dan kematangan peran para pemain Spurs sebagai tantangan besar bagi timnya.
"They're all shooting the ball at a little higher clip than when we were in here in mid season, for sure, it looks like they've all really settled into their roles. They're settled into their rotation a lot better," kata Chris Finch, Pelatih Minnesota Timberwolves.
"I think just the certainty of their availability has been pretty consistent with all their players. So they've been able to kind of really gel around that, and just being able to kind of slowly advance themselves and win a lot of games and gain the confidence that you get by doing that." tambah Chris Finch, Pelatih Minnesota Timberwolves.
Victor Wembanyama menyatakan antusiasmenya menghadapi tantangan fisik yang dibawa oleh Timberwolves. Pemain asal Prancis ini menyadari bahwa seri babak kedua ini akan menuntut konsentrasi penuh dari seluruh pemain Spurs sepanjang durasi pertandingan.
"We’re excited," ujar Victor Wembanyama, Pemain San Antonio Spurs.
"We’re locked in. We know it’s going to be harder than our first series ... (they are) a team that requires you to be on for 48 minutes." tutur Victor Wembanyama, Pemain San Antonio Spurs.
Minnesota dipastikan tampil tanpa Ayo Dosunmu akibat cedera betis dan Donte DiVincenzo yang mengalami cedera Achilles. Sementara itu, San Antonio Spurs kehilangan pemain pendatang baru Carter Bryant yang harus absen mendadak karena mengalami nyeri pada kaki kanan sebelum pertandingan dimulai.
