Anthony Edwards said Thursday he doesn’t play basketball to pass when defenses are focusing on him. He showed it on Saturday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves star scored a career-high 53 points on Saturday, which represented the majority of his team’s scoring total in a 119-105 loss to the Detroit Pistons. Edwards also finished the game with two assists and six turnovers.
Edwards also accounted for 16 of Minnesota’s 34 field goals, and 31 of its 80 attempts.
It was a miserable game throughout for the Timberwolves, who leaned on Edwards more than the final numbers suggest. At one point, he had 43 of their 68 points, and didn’t record his second assist until the last three minutes of the game. The Pistons were up double digits by the first few minutes of the second quarter, and led by as many as 24 points in the third.
The loss is a distillation of the problems that have plagued the Timberwolves since they traded away Karl-Anthony Towns and bet big on Edwards as their offense’s first — and, frankly, second — option. The team’s record now sits at 17-17, while Edwards has expressed frustration with how many double teams he is experiencing.
After a loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, Edwards said he wasn’t having fun having to pass out of double-teams and that he was still trying to figure out what to do. He also made very clear he would rather not pass:
“That’s a good brand of basketball, but it’s not how I want to play, of course. I’m only 23, I don’t want to just be passing the ball all night. … But the way that they’re guarding me, I think I have to.”
The Pistons might have been listening.
Gavin Lux is headed to Cincinnati.The Reds struck a deal to trade for the former Los Angeles Dodgers infielder on Monday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. In re
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Polic
(Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images)Getty Images Let the 2025 Hollywood Consolidation Derby begin! Fubo, the sports-minded upstart online replacement for tradition
The search for a new Chicago Bears coach is on in earnest with the conclusion of the NFL's regular season, and it reportedly includes a surprising new candidate