After three games, Rudy Gobert had high praise for Anthony Edwards’ growth as a playmaker.
“I think it’s becoming instinctive for him. That makes him even more dangerous,” said Gobert after practice. “Obviously, [opponents] fear his scoring abilities, but when they have to fear the pass, that’s when you become unguardable.
“That’s when you elevate your team to another level.”
The Wolves are entering the 2024-25 season with Mike Conley as the only true point guard in the rotation. Therefore, they need Edwards to continue his growth as a playmaker. Thus far, Edwards has shown flashes of growth in his game, but his inconsistency occasionally has negatively affected his playmaking numbers.
Edwards is averaging just 3.7 assists per game, his lowest since 2021-22. He’s also averaging a career-high 3.7 turnovers. As a result, his assist-to-turnover ratio is exactly 1.0, the lowest of his career. He hasn’t had more than four assists in his three games this season.
While it’s true Edwards is playing more minutes this season than ever before, the increase in minutes also can’t be to blame for the turnovers and lack of assists. Edwards’s usage rating is lower than last season by 0.8 at 30.6, and his turnover ratio (percentage of possession that Edwards is responsible for a turnover) is at a career-high of 11.5.
With this raw data, one would believe Edwards has shown regression in his decision-making and not the growth that Gobert spoke of. However, Jaden McDaniels also spoke highly of Edwards’s playmaking growth before the home opener against the Toronto Raptors.
“He knows the double is coming, so he already knows what three spots he can pass it to. He gets doubled, shoot, seemingly all year round,” McDaniels said with a smile. “It’s pretty easy for him.”
Gobert and McDaniels agree that Edwards has shown growth in making reads, which seems to conflict with the data. Looking at his per-game passes, Edwards is averaging 51.8 passes thus far this season compared to 42.7 last season.
McDaniels and Gobert are ancillary pieces in Minnesota’s offense. They seem to be major beneficiaries of the increase in passing, with Jaden receiving 0.9 extra passes from Edwards per game and Gobert receiving an impressive 7.7 passes from Edwards compared to only 3.7 last year.
Interestingly, only 1.0 of those 7.7 passes end with Rudy Gobert shooting the basketball. Of the 5.0 passes he throws to McDaniels, only 1.3 result in a McDaniels shot. In total, 33.2% of Edwards’s passes resulted in the receiver of the pass shooting the ball. That means nearly two of three passes by Edwards result in moving the ball.
“[Edwards] kinda understands, just take what the defensive gives you,” said Naz Reid. “He’s making the extra pass.”
The extra pass Reid describes is likely Edwards’s biggest growth point. It matches what McDaniels described as knowing which of the three places to go with the ball, which could be the instinct to which Gobert alluded. More often than not this season, Edwards is making the right play. Edwards isn’t forcing passes into difficult windows in the pick-and-roll. Instead, he’s finding a wing player to reset or wheel the ball around for three.
When Edwards drives off of isolation, he looks to pass to the corners, where sagging defenders can tip passes. He has also started surveying the court, looking for where the double team is coming from.
Certain stats can be used to confirm the eye test. Of Edwards’s 158 passes made this season, only four have resulted in a turnover or just 2.5% of all passes. That also means only 4 of Edwards’s 11 turnovers are while playmaking. The other seven were violations or stolen balls off the dribble.
In learning that not every pass needs to lead to an assist, Edwards is a valuable part of maturing in the NBA. It shows his teammates that he trusts them to make the correct read off of his pass, which leads to the coveted flow that Chris Finch has been looking for in his offense since coming to Minnesota.
Through three games, this increase in ball movement has led to the Wolves assisting on 60.8% of their 115 made shots, despite working in new starter Julius Randle, and Joe Ingles and Donte DiVincenzo into the rotation. Take out the season-opening loss against the Lakers, and that percentage grows to 66.3%. One could assume it’s a team led by Edwards’ example, and the flow will continue to improve.
Anthony Edwards is coming off an all-NBA season and a trip to the Western Conference Finals last season. He played in the Olympics over the summer and is looking to take the next step this season to becoming a superstar and face of the NBA. One way he is looking to do that this season seems to be by being a better passer and cog in Minnesota’s offense because, as the four-time defensive player of the year Gobert said, when they have to fear the pass, you become unguardable.
