2020 NBA Draft profile: Anthony Edwards another Zach LaVine?
Playmaking
Playmaking is a fairly universal term and can be utilized in a variety of ways with multiple definitions.
How I would best describe the term is how a player actually makes things happen on the court.
This can be from passing the ball, finishing a shot, doing things on defense to force a turnover.
Edwards certainly makes things happen on both ends of the floor, but what’s troubling about his case as a playmaker is that the outcomes are generally for himself and not for his teammates around him.
We’ve already detailed Anthony Edwards’ scoring package and what makes him such a threat on offense. His ability to score from all three levels with the athletic talent and natural ability to convert on multiple shot types puts him in a unique category as an isolation scorer. Matter of fact, other than in transition he personally ranks highest among isolation play types per Synergy.
Why is that such a bad thing you ask? Coming into the league nowadays, it’s important to be a well-rounded offensive threat in three categories: dribbling, passing and shooting.
Notice how shooting is the last thing I said in that list of skills. Sure it’s as important to be able to shoot with proficiency in an offense-obsessed modern NBA, but the other two talents are what brings the game together on a level that many teams hope to replicate and achieve.
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What those two skills bring together and merge into is one word: movement. Movement with or without the basketball is essential to a well-constructed offense.
Edwards’ game lacks the movement aspect when it comes to involving others.
As mentioned previously, he’s not exactly the most heads-up aware player when driving to the rim. The best way to describe his overall approach to the game is that he’s laser-focused on whatever task is at hand and decision that’s made.
If Anthony Edwards makes the choice to slash and attack the basket, chances are he’s going to try to finish no matter how many defenders await him once he’s there. If he’s leaning toward stopping and pulling up for a jump shot, he’s likely to do that given how quick he can leap off the ground and get himself into form.
Court vision isn’t something that Edwards possesses at a high level at this moment in time. There are multiple examples of the college game just moving too fast for him, and once that happens he’s overwhelmed into settling for poor shot selection or passing out leading to a turnover.
He’s not a guard who can take the ball and make things happen on a regular basis for his teammates. Edwards isn’t a black hole and can be viewed as a willing passer, when the play in front of him is a simple one to make.
Bottom line is that Edwards has lapses of poor decision-making and execution within a half-court offense. When he has one man to beat or one read to make, he can do so brilliantly because of all the other gifts present. But put too much in front of him to process and it can get ugly at times.