The Minnesota Timberwolves were held to just 31 first-half points in Tuesday night's Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors, a sluggish start that set the tone for a 99–88 loss to a Warriors squad that was without Steph Curry for much of the game.

At the center of those early struggles was Anthony Edwards, the typically explosive young Timberwovles guard who managed just one point before halftime of the game. He finished with a team-high 23 points but on an inefficient 9 of 22 from the field. He hit just 1 of 5 threes, as Minnesota struggled to a 5 of 29 performance as a team from beyond the arc.

T-Wolves coach Chris Finch was clearly not thrilled with his star guard's early-game effort. During his postgame press conference, he made it clear that Edwards must set the tone for the team, even when his shot isn't falling.

"You're the leader of the team, and you've got to come out and set the tone, in all ways that that happens," Finch said. "If your shot's not going, you've still got to carry the energy. If I got to talk to guys about having the right energy coming into an opening second-round game, we're not on the same page, right?"

Energy is not usually a concern for Edwards, though his numbers have dipped a bit so far this postseason—most notably his three-point shot. After knocking down more than 39% of his threes during the regular season, he is 17 for 53 in the playoffs so far, and just 1 for 16 in the last two games.

Even with the loss, Minnesota has an excellent chance to advance to the Western Conference finals as Golden State is set to be without Curry, who will miss at least a week with a hamstring strain. The Warriors still have playoff-tested veterans like Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, though, so Finch will need Edwards and the rest of the young Timberwolves roster to kick it into gear soon.

Minnesota will get its chance to even the series at home on Thursday. Game 2 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET.

More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Timberwolves Coach Has Clear Message for Anthony Edwards After Slow Start vs. Warriors.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate