No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards hasn’t been in Minnesota very long but his teammates and coaching staff can already tell that he wants to be great and is willing to put in the work to reach that level as a player.
On Thursday, Edwards flashed some of his potential, recording a preseason-high 17 points, three rebounds and three assists during a 129-127 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks. Anthony said on Wednesday that he likely needed another game or two to get back into a rhythm, and though he shot just 5-of-15 from the field, Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders thought he performed great throughout the contest.
“I thought Anthony was great tonight. I really did,” Saunders said after the game. “I’m excited about him because of the stuff that he shows in a lot of ways, I thought tonight he did a better job of picking his spots and also letting the offense work for him. You also saw a dynamic scorer come out in certain ways. When he’s going, we’ll let him roll a little bit as time continues to go on. I like how he competed defensively, too.”
Edwards showed off each aspect of his game that prompted the Timberwolves to take him with the top pick. He worked well in the pick-and-roll with Karl-Anthony Towns at times, while he also ran the floor in transition and drained three 3-pointers. Perhaps most impressive, he flashed his defensive skill set on one sequence, in particular, guarding Luka Doncic.
Anthony Edwards locked up Luka đź”’ pic.twitter.com/mRwxFvytyH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 18, 2020
The Timberwolves are hoping Edwards can build upon his performance on Thursday as the regular season kicks off next week. Edwards averaged 11.3 points per game during the preseason but still has so much of his game to unlock.
Towns understands that the organization, himself included, will need to push Edwards this season to be the best player he can be.
“[We] have to make Anthony great,” Towns said. “It takes a village, you know? I was fortunate to have [Kevin Garnett] and Tayshaun Prince and Andre Miller and everybody but I gotta translate that to Ant with not having that kind of experience.
“He is doing an amazing job. Ant is really hungry to be great and that is what is so positive about him. He wants to be great and he wants to be the best. It’s up to us as a team, as an organization, especially me and D’Lo as leaders, to bring the best out of him and help him find the groove and rhythm he needs to be successful in the NBA.”
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