On the Tuesday edition of the Bill Simmons Podcast, Bill welcomed frequent guest and new member of The Ringer, Wosny Lambre to discuss early season NBA news. After the usual crapping on the Los Angeles Lakers, the conversation turned to Anthony Edwards and our surging Minnesota Timberwolves.
Bill admits to being fascinated by the League Pass watchability of the Timberwolves due to the unheralded athleticism of Anthony Edwards. He places our young superstar in the athletic tier of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even offering a cross-sport comparison, Bill says “there is something different going on with him athletically. … It’s like watching Bo Jackson as a 2-guard.” At this point, we might just have to hope he doesn’t try to take Irv Smith’s job if there’s a Vikings playoff run.
After that gushing praise, Big Wos compares Antman to a young Kobe Bryant, circa 1998-2003, before his first knee injury. He reminds Wos of a young Kobe because “no one can stay in front of him, and he gets to the rack explosively.”
During the second-half comeback in Indiana, I found myself yelling on every possession, “Go to the rack, Ant, no one in this league can stay in front of you!!!” That is the exact reason to give legitimacy to the early Kobe comparison, despite the relative basketball IQ deficiencies.
With this evident special ability, Simmons questions “I don’t know why they don’t put him in more pick-and-rolls with Towns. … It’s because they usually leave that to their point guard D’Angelo Russell.”
I couldn’t agree more. Even though DLo has the most clutch points of any NBA player this season, shooting an astounding 42% shooting from 3 in those situations, the pressure Ant puts on the rim can create even easier shots for our ‘clutch time king.’ At the very least, Ant should start the late-game possessions with a PnR before swinging it around to the man with ice in his veins to finish off Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
What I love most about Ant is the aspect we loved least about Andrew Wiggins. “This dude is a pitbull that wants to rip your head off every night,” Wos says about his relentless desire to keep the Timberwolves in the game and round out the young Kobe comparison.
Let’s go get it Ant. With Towns being the greatest shooting big man in the history of the league, there is no drop coverage that can be played and Antman can blow by any attempt to recover on the screen. Just pray it isn’t JO standing over in the corner waiting for that pass.
4-seed is in sight, lock in Wolves fans.
