“I will be so fascinated to see what Anthony Edwards provides to his recreation within the offseason. One of many issues he is obtained to do is develop footwork within the publish,” ESPN’s Doris Burke said within the waning seconds of the Timberwolves’ season-ending loss to the Thunder on Wednesday.
Burke echoed the feelings of many analysts who consider Edwards, whereas a formidable uncooked expertise, is much from a sophisticated product.
Edwards averaged 23.0 factors on 47 p.c taking pictures within the five-game collection. On the floor, his numbers weren’t dangerous. Nonetheless, he was too predictable along with his strikes on the courtroom, making him a straightforward cowl for OKC’s top-ranked protection. Per Second Spectrum tracking data, Edwards tried solely 32 p.c of his pictures inside 10 toes of the basket, which means he could not deal with the physicality of OKC’s swarming protection.
The 23-year-old additionally confirmed no semblance of a mid-range recreation. He shot 16-of-42 on pull-up jumpers (29 p.c from three) and routinely settled for contested pictures as a substitute of looking for higher seems. By way of the primary 4 video games, he took a whopping 24 pictures early into the shot clock — the signal of an impatient participant. In distinction, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tried solely 15 p.c of his pictures inside the first 9 seconds of the shot clock, suggesting he was composed and infrequently settled.
Edwards is the primary one to acknowledge that he wants so as to add to his offensive repertoire. If not, he’d doubtless discover himself in the identical place a 12 months from now when going up in opposition to an elite protection.
“I will work my butt off this summer season,” Edwards stated, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “No one’s going to work more durable than me this summer season. I will let you know that a lot.”
These are encouraging phrases from Edwards, and probably an admission that he must refine his craft. The blossoming star can draw inspiration from LeBron James, who was equally uncovered in opposition to the Spurs within the 2007 NBA Finals when Gregg Popovich dared him to shoot by packing the paint. Even Giannis Antetokounmpo underwent related trials — in opposition to the Raptors (2019) and Warmth (2020) — earlier than capturing his lone NBA title in 2021.
The OKC beatdown may be the wake-up name Edwards wanted.
