As the Minnesota Timberwolves stare down the barrel of a Patrick Beverley left adductor strain that leaves him out for at least two weeks, they find themselves with some spare point guard minutes lying around the rotation. Fortunately for them, I found a fan favorite guard they could trade for.
The best thing about it is that he’s already on the roster.
That’s right, we’re talking about Mr. A1 from Day 1 himself, Anthony Edwards.
Unfortunately, Edwards doesn’t have much point guard experience yet. With only 30 career point guard possessions, there is sure to be a learning curve for the young star. Fortunately for the Wolves, it’s Edwards. There isn’t much he’s shown the inability to do. Even though he wasn’t projected to be a great 3-point shooter coming into the draft, he shoots over the league average.
As a draft prospect, his effort was supposed to be a huge liability, especially on defense. His defense now? By the metrics, he’s hovering above league average. Fancy numbers aside, the message is clear: Edwards has continually proven that he can produce in the aspects of basketball where he’s previously been doubted. When you look at the potential of a point guard Ant, the question is, why not?
Although the season is still young, the Wolves are positioned to take a large step in the standings.
Situations like this have been few and far between for the Wolves, so they must jump on an opportunity like this. It’s key to have your best players on the court as much as possible in stretches like this.
This is why the risk of Point Ant is worth the reward of allowing our skilled shooting guards like Malik Beasley to play alongside Ant. These shooting guards so far have been proven themselves to be more effective than a Leandro Bolmaro or a Jordan McLaughlin. That’s not to say either McLaughlin or Bolmaro are unplayable. It’s more a credit to how skilled Edwards is.
Can it work?
Ever since his first game in the league, Edwards could be described as a shoot-first player, but he’s been a willing passer. He has looked like a very willing distributor at times, and that’s not just the eye test. Although his 3.5 assists per game aren’t eye-popping by any means, there are stats to show that he may be having a stroke of some bad luck.
When Edwards passes the ball to his teammates in a position to score, they only score 40.5% of the time, a league-worst. If his teammates can give him a little more help on the shots, his numbers should spike. Not only that, but he’ll probably be more confident in his passes if his teammates make their shots. Although he may not need much more confidence, when asked about the demanding schedule the Wolves will face in December, Ant says, “We’re just as good as every other team in the league.”
Another thing to consider is that Edwards will have no reason to run point guard if D’Angelo Russell is on the floor. He is more likely to share the floor with players like Beasley, Jaylen Nowell, Naz Reid, Taurean Prince, and Jaden McDaniels. Since I like the horns set for Ant, it would be best to surround him with shooters to clear the paint for potential pick and rolls, pick and pops, and back door cuts.
I believe a “horns” offense is one of the best fits for Anthony Edwards at the point. Ultimately, I think it’s a good idea for the Timberwolves to keep as many options open as possible for Ant, especially as he looks to learn a new position temporarily. The horns set leaves many options open for Ant. If necessary, after the initial screen in a horns set, Ant can look to set up an isolation play that he’s already shown he is comfortable in.
Ideally, this play does not end with Edwards in isolation, because he hasn’t been an efficient isolation player this year. Ideally, this play ends in an Ant assist for the most efficient shots. This could be off a pick-and-roll or a pick-and-pop with Naz Reid.
Alternatively, the best look could come from an off-ball action on opposite sides of the horns set. If one of the centers runs a PnR with Edwards on the left wing, that leaves someone like Taurean Prince setting an off-ball screen for an open three-point shot around the top of the key.
The bottom line
Realistically, there is a chance this type of experiment could fail. But the beauty of it is that it’s all in Edwards’ hands. If he can continually make the lineups and sets the Wolves throw at him work, this could all be a perfect marriage. Point Ant is a low-risk, high-reward situation for the Wolves.
And hey, if it doesn’t work, the Timberwolves can just run with McLaughlin or Bolmaro at the point. After all, this experiment is just trying to plug a Beverley-sized leak with a two-week caulk on this beautiful boat we call the Minnesota Timberwolves.
