Anthony Edwards thrust himself back into the forefront of the national conversation on Saturday when he poured in 33 points to go with nine assists and six boards in a Game 1 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. He also jawed with Kevin Durant as he made his way down the floor after splashing a triple in the future Hall of Famer’s face.
For the ensuing two days, ESPN and TNT conversations largely centered on the 22-year-old guard and his ascending stardom.
Tuesday’s performance was comparatively understated.
He did knock down a couple of key shots — a step-back again over Durant in the third that was a part of Minnesota’s separation-inducing run, and a triple in transition that effectively served as the kill shot in the fourth.
But for the most part, Edwards didn’t shoot well, going just 3 for 12 from the field. If asked about Timberwolves who were key to their victory Tuesday in Game 2, he wouldn’t be at the top of players you’d mention off the top of your head. Performances by Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert and Nickeil Alexander-Walker were more conspicuously effective.
But their contributions, particularly offensively, were all keyed by Edwards’ mere presence. Phoenix simply doesn’t have a wing defender capable of staying in front of the guard. So the Suns are forced to commit numerous resources to slow Edwards down.
In the past, such a stacked defense would have led to a number of turnovers and ill-advised shot attempts from Edwards, who doesn’t like to be denied his offensive aggressiveness by the opponent.
“I want to score,” Edwards noted after Game 1. “But (the excessive gap help defense) definitely takes away my scoring ability. They do a great job doing it, man. … (Suns coach) Frank Vogel is great at taking somebody out of the game.”
But Edwards ensured Tuesday that those plays came at a cost. He’s repeatedly stretching out Phoenix’s defense, drawing two defenders before passing to an open man. As a result, Conley, McDaniels and others are catching the ball in advantageous positions that either lead to open jumpers or easy drives to the rim against hard-charging closeout defenders.
Edwards finished with eight assists Tuesday to just one turnover, and that’s on top of the plays where his decision-making led to a series of other passes that created a scoring chance.
“Ant kept making the right play. They kept doubling. He didn’t shoot the ball well, but I still thought he did the right thing to unlock a lot of great shots (for others),” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “We didn’t make those shots. At halftime I said, ‘Don’t worry, those shots are going to go in. Just keep taking ’em. Keep making ’em. Keep creating.’ ”
Sure enough, the seal eventually broke — vindication for Minnesota’s coaching staff, which has worked with Edwards for multiple years to allow his gravitational pull to create opportunities for others. That message started to sink in with the guard over the latter half of the season.
“It’s been great growth for him. I thought he actually had some good looks when he had them. So, it wasn’t like he didn’t get any quality looks. It just didn’t go in for him,” Finch said. “But I still liked the way he kept making the right play. We’ve been preaching that. He believes in his teammates, and that’s the most important thing.”
Injury updates
Suns guard Grayson Allen re-injured the right ankle he originally hurt in Game 1 in the third quarter of Game 2 on Tuesday when his foot landed on the foot of Conley.
Allen crumpled to the floor and had to be helped back to Phoenix’s locker room. He did not return to action and was deemed day to day by the team.
“Forty-eight hours in between, two days,” Allen told reporters in Phoenix’s locker room after the game. “We’ll see how it goes after two days.”
Allen received around-the-clock treatment between Games 1 and 2 to be available on Tuesday. Phoenix outscored Minnesota by three points in the guard’s 17 minutes on Tuesday, and fell apart after he left the contest.
Even the threat of Allen’s shooting is necessary to create some semblance of spacing for Phoenix’s other perimeter scorers to operate. Allen was the best 3-point shooter in the NBA this season — 46 percent on six attempts per game. As a team, Phoenix is just 17 for 50 from beyond the arc this series, woeful numbers in terms of both volume and percentage.
Kyle Anderson, who suffered a hip pointer in Game 1, was available for Game 2 against Phoenix but did not see the floor. Finch said the Wolves will see how Anderson feels ahead of Friday’s Game 3.
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