Last year, Anthony Edwards had decided that he wouldn’t allow an opponent to sweep him in his career. He had sat in front of his locker room mirror after Game 3, confronting the reality that the Denver Nuggets were one game away from knocking the Minnesota Timberwolves out of the playoffs in four games.
So when the Timberwolves blew a 12-point lead with 2:52 left in the game, forcing overtime, Edwards decided he had to take over. Denver rallied in the fourth quarter and mounted a threat in overtime, but Edwards staved them off. With 11.5 seconds left in the game, he shimmied away from Aaron Gordon and hit a three-pointer that clinched the game.
“I wasn’t passing the ball,” Edwards said. “I was taking the shot. I was going to live with whether I lost us the game or we won. I end up hitting the shot.”
However, Edwards missed the game-tying three-pointer in the next game, and the Nuggets eliminated the Wolves in five games. Edwards has shown growth since then. He’s quick to complement his teammates in interviews this year and more willing to share the ball. Edwards drives winning for Minnesota like he did with 43 points in Game 1 this year. Still, he knows he can’t will the Timberwolves to the second round on his own.
“Just the whole team, we trust each other,” Edwards said after Minnesota’s 106-99 Game 1 win in Denver. “It doesn’t matter down the stretch who takes the shot; just find the open guy. Everybody put the work in, and I trust my teammates, so I can’t wait to pass it to them if they’re open.”
Edwards can score in ways reminiscent of Michael Jordan, but he also continues to evolve as a playmaker. He sees the court better than he did last year, and he passes better off double-teams. Kyle Anderson said he saw the transformation early in the season when Edwards would have 35-point games and still come close to having ten assists.
“I’ve seen that about a month and a half or two months ago when he started making the right play,” said Anderson. “Like damn the shots that he takes and makes. Like, he started making the right play, making the right pass, getting off it early. And that just opened up his offense.
“He’s done a tremendous job of totally transforming his mindset and transforming his game into, ‘I’m gonna make the right play. I’m gonna make my teammates better, and I’m gonna go get mine as well.’”
It’s one thing for Edwards to trust his teammates when they’re scoring. It’s another when Denver holds Rudy Gobert (six), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (five), Anderson (two), and Jaden McDaniels (0) to single digits. Naz Reid also only had two points until his 14-point outburst in the fourth quarter. Still, Edwards said he’ll continue to try and get his teammates involved, even on a slow night.
“These guys are going to make shots,” said Edwards. “Everybody is going to miss shots. I’m going to miss shots. I’m not going to make all my shots. I don’t care how many shots they’re going to miss. If they’re open, I’m going to pass it every single time. I see the work that they put in.”
Micah Nori coached Game 1 with Chris Finch sidelined by a knee injury. He said that Edwards spoke up in the locker room at halftime with the Wolves trailing 44-40. Edwards was carrying the team with 25 points at halftime, and he encouraged his teammates to stay aggressive in a hostile road environment.
“He’s become more vocal,” said Nori. “Obviously, you have some great vets on our team with KAT, with Rudy, with Kyle, who do most of the talking. However, when Ant speaks, they all listen for sure, and they know that he’s all-in, and all he is is positive. ‘Naz, keep shooting.’ ‘Nickeil, we need you.’”
Not only is Edwards goading his teammates into shooting more, but it also allows them to feel comfortable in their roles. Gobert, McDaniels, and Alexander-Walker are good enough defensively to contribute to winning without scoring.
“It’s different. It’s the playoffs now,” said McDaniels at practice the next day. “It’s win or go home type of thing. So I mean, just gotta affect the game in other ways. We’ve got plenty of scorers, so I’m not tripping that I scored zero. I still affected the game on defense. That’s what I’m here for.”
Still, the Wolves can’t fully tap into Edwards’ superpowers unless he gets more scoring support. Reid played a vital role in Game 1 by scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns (20) and Mike Conley (14) provided significant secondary scoring. But as much as McDaniels and Alexander-Walker change the game with their defense, the Wolves can’t fully activate Edwards until they contribute offensively.
Edwards’ superpower isn’t that he can score 40-plus points in a playoff game or dunk like Jordan. That drives winning, but he can’t carry the Timberwolves by himself. His superpower is creating gravity and making scoring easier for everyone around him. It’s not that he can take and make the last shot. It’s that he’s willing to find the open man.
