On Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Cinderella story took a massive detour as they faced their first loss of these playoffs, that too on their home court. Showing what happens when you give the defending Champions any breathing room, Anthony Edwards’ squad got blown out by twenty-seven points, courtesy of the Denver Nuggets. But that was something that the Timberwolves had already been warned about ahead of the game, and the warning came from none other than their minority owner, Alex Rodriguez.

Making an appearance on the Dan Moore Podcast held live in front of the fans before Friday’s game, Rodriguez revealed the mindset that the Timberwolves should approach the game to take a 3-0 lead, “First of all, you gotta come with a mentality almost like it’s 1-1.” Truly believing that the winner of Game 3 is usually the winner of the series, Rodriguez advised his team to not lose energy and play the way they have been playing so far, “Games 3 and 5 are the most pivotal in a seven-game series, but you have to come out with the same desperation and hunger.”

While A-Rod’s response was met with loud cheers from the crowd, unfortunately, the warning fell to deaf ears as the Timberwolves looked like a deflated version of themselves on Friday despite playing in front of thousands of their supporters. With their best player, Anthony Edwards, struggling on both ends of the floor and finishing with only nineteen points, the Timberwolves were limited to only ninety points by Nikola Jokic and Co. Even Ant-Man’s co-stars, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, played with zero intensity, raising even more concerns for the team.

Anthony Edwards took the blame for Minnesota’s humiliating loss

Maybe, Anthony Edwards and Co. should have listened to Rodriguez before heading to the court for the game. After all, A-Rod is an MLB legend with an experience spanning more than two decades. But Ant-Man was quick to accept his mistake after the game and took full responsibility for the team’s low energy, “It’s on me. I’ll take the blame for this loss. I came out with no energy. I came out flat.”

Although Edwards thought he had great energy before the game, he admitted to losing it soon after the ball went up in the air. However, after his rare bad performance in these playoffs, Edwards knew that he had to step up in the next game, “I can’t afford to do that. I let my team and my coaches down, the fans down. So, I’ll be ready for Sunday.” Even during the game, while the Timberwolves were getting blown out, instead of looking deflated, Edwards was trying to motivate his teammates by saying, “It’s a series bruh, we good. First to four games.”

And after his disappointing performance that led to Minnesota’s first loss in the playoffs this year, we can expect a break out performance from the 22-year-old superstar on Sunday as the Nuggets return to Target Center for the next game. Hopefully, this time, they will take A-Rod’s warning more seriously.