All-NBA Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards was rattled by the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the two teams’ ongoing first round series.
In the 94-85 defeat on Tuesday (Minnesota’s lowest-scoring night of the year), the 23-year-old notched 25 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor (2-of-8 from distance) and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line and six rebounds.
Those are solid numbers, but a bit lackluster for a three-time All-Star who’s operating as the focal offensive contributor for a 50-win team. Even in the Timberwolves’ 117-95 Game 1 victory over Los Angeles, Edwards scored just 22 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the field (4-of-9 from the 3-point line) and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, dished out nine dimes, grabbed eight rebounds, and swiped one steal.
The 6-foot-4 Georgia product spoke candidly about what L.A. is doing to frustrate him so much in a recent press conference, per Dane Moore of Blue Wire Podcasts — a zone defense-esque approach rather than a man-to-man tact.
“This was the first time I’ve seen this one,” Edwards said of L.A.’s unconventional strategy. “Every time I caught the ball at the top, it was kind of like they was in a zone. Even when we cut guys through, they just stayed.”
Across 79 healthy regular season games this year for Minnesota, Edwards logged impressive averages of 27.6 points on an efficient shooting line of .447/.395/.837, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.
If he could return to that level of output in the playoffs, Los Angeles could be in trouble. For now, he’s struggling to score at the consistency or frequency he did in the regular season, with the Lakers game-planning against him.
Defense-by-committee has been the approach for the Lakers following a frustrating Game 1. It seems to be getting under Edwards’ skin.
