Should the Minnesota Timberwolves move forward with point Anthony Edwards?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are missing a lot of key players, and that’s forced Anthony Edwards to take on a bigger role. In limited action, he’s shown fans he can be the future lead ball handler, and the Wolves should lean into this plan.
Last season, Edwards said he wasn’t a fan of running the offense. This year he’s having the most fun he’s ever had playing basketball when initiating the offense.
That’s music to Timberwolves fans’ ears. Ant has played limited minutes as the lead ball handler. He has good passing skills, and he’s putting up MVP-type numbers in his first real shot at initiating the offense.
Edwards’ last four games:
- OKC Thunder: 19 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists
- Chicago Bulls: 37 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds
- Dallas Mavericks: 27 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists
- Dallas Mavericks: 23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
It’s working, but can he sustain this over a long period of time?
He has the talent level to do so, and if you watched him at Georgia, you know about his playmaking potential. As he develops, Edwards should only get better as a facilitator on this roster.
The Timberwolves will take that next step if he can continue to put up these numbers. Karl-Anthony Towns is still the team’s best player, but Edwards is the future. This team can only go as far as Ant takes them.
It’s going to be a lot more difficult for opposing teams to defend them if Edwards is bringing the ball up the floor and he’s finding the open man. If someone isn’t open, then his elite scoring ability will have to kick in; you choose your poison.
If you watch closely at some of these passes, you’ll notice some of these assists are with his left hand – including a skip pass to the corner to Austin Rivers.
Edwards needs to work on his pick-and-roll with Rudy Gobert, but this is a nice step in the right direction.
It’s right to question how things would look with Towns back in the fold. Even when he returns from his injury, the Timberwolves will have to lean into Edwards initiating the offense. He’ll have clear lanes to the hoop and rack up more assists with KAT sitting in the corner for easy 3s.
D’Angelo Russell has had success playing off the ball because he’s a good catch-and-shoot shooter.
When Edwards doesn’t have the ball, he looks disengaged. When he has the ball, you’re unlocking a completely different player – both offensively and defensively.
Since Towns went down with an injury, Edwards is averaging 2.8 steals. He’s a completely different player when he’s engaged and initiating the offense.
For the Timberwolves to have continued success, they must move forward with point-Ant. If they do so, they’re going to take the next step as a team because he’s that talented of a player. Edwards has the potential of becoming a top-five player as a lead ball handler, and to win a championship, you need to have one of those guys on your roster.
