Tag: Minnesota Timberwolves

Anthony Edwards trashed every 90s NBA player (except Michael Jordan) in a delightfully uninformed rant

Anthony Edwards knows that the best hating is uninformed hating.

Everyone knows that the best form of hating comes from a lack of first-hand knowledge.

Don’t like that TV show’s premise and never plan to watch it? It’s actually stupid and written poorly. Hate that new ice cream flavor because it just looks gross? Ew, you’d never spend your money on that. And so on and so forth.

Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards took this principle and applied it to the 1990s NBA in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal. One of the questions posed to Edwards centered on his thoughts about older generations in the NBA, particularly the 1990s, at least based on his answer.

While admitting he didn’t watch any of that basketball, Edwards delivered a hilarious criticism, saying only Michael Jordan had any skill back then. Truly, top-notch stuff.

More from the Wall Street Journal:

“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards said. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”

Honestly, is he wrong? Does one really have to watch the NBA of old to understand that the players are, on average, much more athletic and much more talented in 2024? There might be at least one guy on every NBA team who is a glorified role player now who would’ve been a star on ability alone back in the day.

I’m not even exaggerating. (Note: I also didn’t watch that basketball back in the day.)

And even if you do think Edwards is wrong, you can’t deny his charming bravado to confidently state his opinion despite being so uninformed. You only say that kind of thing out loud when you know you’re right (i.e., you don’t care about other opinions).

Edwards has hating down to a science. He is an artist.

The Western Conference isn’t as scary as it seems for the Lakers

Lakers fans shouldn’t fret too much about the competition in the Western Conference.

The narrative around the Los Angeles Lakers these days is that they’ve had a terrible offseason and that they won’t get much accomplished this coming season. While the former is true, the latter may or may not come to pass.

One argument more cynical fans and pundits have made against the Lakers having any real success is that the Western Conference will be much tougher this coming season. In their minds, a bunch of teams will be substantially better, leaving the Lakers to idle in the dust.

But a closer examination puts that claim in some real doubt.

In the 2023-24 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder claimed the top seed in the West with a 57-25 record. The Denver Nuggets were second with 57 wins of their own, and the Minnesota Timberwolves were third at 56-26.

After that, there was a considerable drop-off of sorts. The Los Angeles Clippers, who have been the darlings of the national media for most of the past five seasons and have often been overwhelming favorites to reach the NBA Finals, won a mere 51 games. The Dallas Mavericks, who did reach the finals, finished fifth with a 50-32 record.

Then came the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans, both of whom took home 49 victories. The Lakers, of course, had the seventh-best record in the West at 47-35.

Here’s a look at who should be better, who should be worse and who will roughly stay put. As you will see, there is no one for the Lakers to truly fear in the Western Conference right now.

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OKC Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves to face off 3 times in 4-game stretch

OKC Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves to face off 3 times in 4-game stretch.

The Oklahoma City Thunder revealed their 2024-25 regular season schedule. This means that it’s time to examine how the slate is laid out during the 82-game grind.

After a first-seed finish last season, the Thunder hope to repeat that accomplishment this upcoming campaign. They enter the year as title favorites after a productive offseason.

One important stretch during the Thunder’s season will happen in February 2025. They will play the Minnesota Timberwolves three out of four games from Feb. 13-24.

All three contests will be on national television. The Thunder travel to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves via TNT on Feb. 13. It is OKC’s final contest before the 2025 All-Star break.

After the break, the Thunder will travel to face the Utah Jazz on Feb. 21. It’s a nice one-game break before they battle the Timberwolves in a road-and-home back-to-back from Feb. 23-24.

The first contest will be on ESPN with an 8:30 p.m. CT tip. A back-to-back that features travel is already grueling as is. Toss in the layer that includes the late tip on the first night and standard tip on the second night — 7 p.m. CT — then it complicates important games.

The Thunder and Timberwolves were two of the best teams in the Western Conference last year. Their seeding wasn’t finalized until the last day of the regular season. Expect a similar finish this upcoming season between the squads.

Tiebreakers could prove vital once more. That’s why this three-in-four-games stretch will be crucial for seeding aspirations for both the Thunder and Timberwolves.

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NBA schedule exposes league’s favoritism of Anthony Edwards over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

NBA schedule exposes league’s favoritism of Anthony Edwards over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Here’s why that’s a mistake:

As the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season schedule slowly leaks, there’s been one common takeaway — the Oklahoma City Thunder have been snubbed harder than any other team in the league.

After a first-seed finish last season, it’d be easy to think the Thunder would be a frequent visitor on primetime slots. They have the star appeal and will be a title contender for the foreseeable future. Why wouldn’t the league boost their visibility?

Instead, OKC won’t be featured in either Opening Night or Christmas — the two most popular days of the league’s grueling seven-month campaign.

This feels like a shortsighted mistake.

Whether the league likes it or not, the Thunder will be a staple in the playoff picture for the rest of the decade. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams all are 26 years or younger. OKC was the youngest top-seed in league history last year.

Barring the unforeseen, the Thunder will be a constant 50-plus win squad for the next five-plus years. The same can’t be said about one specific team slotted to play on both nights — the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Looking at the schedules for both Opening Night and Christmas, the NBA has made a conscious decision to market Anthony Edwards over Gilgeous-Alexander. The Timberwolves will play on both nights while the Thunder on none.

Like Nickelodeon picking Victoria Justice over Ariana Grande, the NBA has hitched its wagon to the wrong horse.

Both teams had similar seasons last year. The Thunder captured the first seed and made it to the second round while the Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals but lost in five games.

Both franchises are also in small markets. Unlike other teams, OKC and Minnesota won’t be gifted the national spotlight unless deemed worthy.

This means the tiebreaker likely came down to who the league thinks is more marketable between Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander. This wouldn’t be the first time both players have been pitted against each other. They’re on similar trajectories, so comparisons have only naturally followed suit.

As of now, Gilgeous-Alexander is the clearcut better player. He’s had back-to-back top-five MVP finishes and headlines the Thunder. Meanwhile, Edwards has had a solid start to his career. The 23-year-old has made two straight All-Star appearances and was part of Team USA’s gold finish this summer.

But Minnesota’s success last season wasn’t mainly because of Edwards’ rise — unlike OKC’s with Gilgeous-Alexander. Sure, he was its top scorer but the Timberwolves rode an elite defense manned by Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert to their best season in two decades.

With that said though, pure production isn’t the sole factor involved in these decisions. Off-court personality and charisma also matter. As badly as Gilgeous-Alexander beats Edwards on the court, the latter equally dominates the former off it.

There’s no question Edwards does a better job in a press conference setting. He is unapologetically himself and offers blunt truths covered in witty one-liners.

Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander’s calm demeanor on the court reflects his personality. He is Mr. Calm, cool and collected. Always precise with his words. Never in a hurry.

Rarely does a quote from Gilgeous-Alexander make the airwaves on ESPN or take over Twitter. For Edwards, that’s a normal Tuesday.

Even though Edwards might be the sexier choice, Gilgeous-Alexander is the safer choice that should also be propelled up. The 26-year-old should be featured on at least one of the league’s two busy nights.

To be ignored for both exposes the league’s shortcomings. There should be a healthy balance but the NBA has put all its eggs in one basket with Edwards. If the NBA insists on living by that mindset and refuses to adapt, Gilgeous-Alexander is the better choice.

He’s one of the best players in the league and has had historically efficient 30-plus point seasons these last two years. Maybe Edwards reaches those heights in the future, but that shouldn’t factor into who plays on Opening Night or Christmas during these next few months.

The 2024-25 NBA schedule should be about showcasing the best players in the league right now. That’s Gilgeous-Alexander in this scenario. Edwards has the tools to reach that status but hasn’t yet. The league prioritizing the young, rising star over an MVP candidate in the middle of his prime is a colossal mistake that was avoidable.

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Lakers’ opening night opponent has been leaked

Who will the Lakers begin their 2024-25 regular season schedule against?

The NBA schedule for the 2024-25 season is expected to be fully released a little later this month, but for now, there have been a couple of leaks.

The Christmas Day schedule has been revealed, and it includes a couple of games that could be very entertaining, such as a matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. The Los Angeles Lakers will head north to take on the Golden State Warriors this Christmas.

On opening night, which will be on Tuesday, Oct. 22, they will host the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that reached the Western Conference Finals just a couple of months ago.

The two teams faced off in the 2023 play-in tournament, with the Lakers overcoming a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to win in overtime. But Minnesota has grown since then, as it went from winning 42 games that year to winning 56 games and finishing third in the Western Conference last season.

It thinks it is now a legitimate championship contender, while the Lakers are hoping to get back to that level after three frustrating seasons following the Russell Westbrook trade in 2021.

Noah Lyles denied a rumor that he disrespected Anthony Edwards’ adidas signature shoe release

Noah Lyles is walking back comments he reportedly made about NBA star Anthony Edwards.

Two of the biggest stars from the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics were Noah Lyles and Anthony Edwards.

Lyles and Edwards both became first-time Olympic gold medalists this summer. Before testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the Olympics this year, Lyles won a gold medal in the 100 meter for track and field. Edwards was a standout performer on the U.S. men’s basketball roster.

Both gold medalists have signed endorsement deals with the shoe company adidas. Recent reporting suggests that there is potentially animosity between the two, but Lyles is attempting to squash those growing rumors.

Included in a recent feature about Lyles is an anecdote about why the sprinter did not attend a shoe-release event for Edwards. Here is more (via TIME):

When Lyles was negotiating an Adidas contract extension last year, the company, he says, threw him what it thought was a bone. Adidas invited him to the shoe-release event for Anthony Edwards, the rising Minnesota Timberwolves star who’s got plenty of talent but, unlike Lyles, isn’t a six-time world champ. “You want to do what?” says Lyles. “You want to invite me to [an event for] a man who has not even been to an NBA Finals? In a sport that you don’t even care about? And you’re giving him a shoe? No disrespect: the man is an amazing athlete. He is having a heck of a year. I love that they saw the insight to give him a shoe, because they saw that he was going to be big. All I’m asking is, ‘How could you not see that for me?’”

Lyles, who wondered last year whether or not NBA Finals winners should call themselves world champions, has raised some eyebrows from basketball players and fans.

His reported comments about Edwards’ signature shoe would add further fuel to that fire, especially because the Timberwolves guard is one of the faces of the brand.

But he is creating some distance between himself and the comments that he allegedly made to TIME. He is now suggesting that he could not attend the event based on scheduling conflicts.

He added that Edwards is an “amazing player” and congratulated the former No. 1 overall pick on also becoming a champion at the Olympics.

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Jayson Tatum’s postgame press conference after tying Larry Bird’s franchise scoring record

Watch what the Celtics star had to say after his historic scoring night.

What do you say after you tie one of the NBA’s all-time greats’ career high and equal your team’s franchise scoring record? This was exactly what All-Star forward Jayson Tatum had to consider after scoring 60 points against the San Antonio Spurs in the Boston Celtics’ 143-140 overtime win.

Of course, as then-head coach Brad Stevens quipped, he wouldn’t have broken the record had he sunk all of his free throws late in regulation. But the former Duke standout earned his moment, and shared what drove him to such heights and what keeps him there to this day.

After a night for the ages, Tatum shared some deeply personal words worth checking out as much as his highlights are.

Watch the video embedded above to see what he has to say about his 60-point game in the clip produced by our friends at CLNS Media.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Jayson Tatum hangs 53 points on the Timberwolves in historic outing

Tatum finished with 53 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a block

Boston Celtics All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum had himself a game and then some against the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden back when Tatum was still finding his footing in the league. After a slow start and a forced extra period, Tatum and the Celtics finally dispatched the Timberwolves 145-136 to finish Boston’s seven-game homestand. The former Duke standout produced a historic night in the process.

Tatum finished with 53 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and a block on 16-of-25 shooting, including 60% from 3 and 15-of-16 from the line, the sort of stat line that has only been equaled by legends such as Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.

That he did it at 23 years old is even more impressive.

Watch the highlights of Tatum’s career night in the clip embedded above produced by Tomasz Kordylewski, it was at once a game to remember while also — at least at first — being one to forget.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Former Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham dominates in Summer League finale

Rob Dillingham dropped 25 points and 12 assists for Minnesota in his Summer League finale on Sunday.

Former Kentucky Wildcats guard Rob Dillingham’s up-and-down Summer League performance finished on a high note Sunday when the No. 8 overall pick tallied 25 points and 12 assists in Minnesota’s 115-100 win over Orlando.

Dillingham shot 11-18 from the field and 3-7 from three in the contest, also grabbing three rebounds and a pair of steals. It was far and away the rookie guard’s best Summer League performance, highlighting his exceptional scoring and facilitating ability to close out his time in Las Vegas.

Dillingham finished Summer League averaging 13.6 points on 36% shooting from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc. His 7.6 assists per game led the entire league, with former Marquette guard Tyler Kolek coming in second at 7.0.

The 6’3 guard was among the best players in all of college basketball last year, despite coming off the bench for John Calipari in Lexington.

His outside shooting and passing skills intrigued NBA scouts, although concern about his size and defensive impact lingered and led to him falling toward the back half of the top ten where he was snagged by the Timberwolves – where he can develop as a microwave scorer off the bench behind Mike Conley and Anthony Edwards.

Performances like Sunday may not come around too often in the NBA, but it shouldn’t be a huge surprise when they do – he’s more than capable of lighting it up when he gets going.

As summer league continues, should Rockets keep playing Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore?

As 2024 summer league continues, the Rockets will need to decide whether it’s worth it to continue playing Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore.

Having never been a general manager or head coach of an NBA franchise, my opinion doesn’t carry much weight regarding the decisions made by the Houston Rockets during summer-league play.

Yet, if I did have the chance to talk to Rafael Stone or Ime Udoka, I would offer them advice about the playing time of rookie guard Reed Sheppard and second-year player Cam Whitmore heading into Thursday’s matchup versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Shut them down,” I would say as loud as I could. It could be a similar template to 2023, when talented second-year prospects Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason played the first two games at summer league before watching the remaining games from the sidelines.

In 2024, even though the Rockets (2-1) are still in contention to make the summer-league playoffs and perhaps return to the championship game, Sheppard and Whitmore have already proven to have chemistry together. That was one of the main reasons they were paired together in Las Vegas, as they have the potential to play together on Houston’s bench unit during the 2024-25 season.

The two did not perform at their best in Monday’s 87-73 loss to the Detroit Pistons, when they combined to shoot 7-for-32 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range. Some of their play could have been due to the fatigue of playing back-to-back games, but they have displayed enough in the three games played for Stone and Udoka to get a sense of how to plan the rotation heading into training camp.

Some might say that Sheppard, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2024 NBA draft, could benefit from getting more reps against NBA competition. But, why take the chance of Sheppard getting injured (remember, Amen Thompson sprained his ankle in summer league a year ago) when his 3-point shooting and high basketball IQ could be valuable to the Rockets during the upcoming regular season?

In his lone collegiate season at Kentucky, Sheppard led the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (52.1%) on his way to being named the 2023-24 National Association of Basketball Coaches National Freshman of the Year. It’s a skill that could be useful to the Rockets, who were among the NBA’s 10 worst teams in 3-point accuracy last season, and that might prompt them to be cautious at summer league.

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