3 keys for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the rest of the season

3 keys for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the rest of the season: For better or worse, this team revolves around Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards made an outstanding case for Rookie of the Year last year, and while he wasn’t successful in capturing the award, the expectations of the Timberwolves and the broader NBA landscape were high for the youngster coming out of Georgia. And, at least over the first few games of the season, it looked like he wasn’t going to disappoint.

Whether it was cracking everyone up with a wild off-court anecdote or dazzling with his on-court performance, Edwards was the focal point for the team who, ever since the departure of Kevin Garnett in 2016, hadn’t really had an outward, public face.

A team that, up to that point, had seemed more of a melting pot or amalgamation of different styles now had a public star and persona to rally behind, and they all did.

While it’s not Edwards’ fault, because he is the face of the franchise, when he performs poorly, the rest of the team follows suit. In games where Edwards has scored less than 20 points, Minnesota has gone 6-8. Minnesota also split their six-game series where they were without him due to Edwards entering COVID-19 protocol.

In their two most recent games, Edwards had very different types of problems offensively. Against the Pelicans, Edwards had just eight points through the first three quarters, before eventually finding his rhythm and scoring 20 in the fourth. After the game, Edwards said in a press conference that he blamed himself for the loss because of his lack of aggressiveness.

Against the Grizzlies, Edwards got off to a hot start. He went 3-7 in the first for 13 points. In the second quarter, he stayed hot with 12 points off of 4-5 shooting.

However, the second half saw Edwards slow down a bit. In the third quarter, he had just three points on 1-4 shooting, while in the fourth he struggled just as much to get anything to fall, going 1-4 again, this time for just 2 points.

The lack of contributions from the sophomore in the second half was apparent, as it seemed like his teammates were hesitant to pick up any of the production. In the first half, Minnesota scored 60 points. However, behind that four-point half from Edwards, they scored just 48.

Again, none of this is Edwards’ fault, as it would be ridiculous to suggest a player in his second year should carry his team, but it is obvious that Minnesota needs to find a way to produce when Edwards starts to go cold.

Right now, they haven’t shown that they can do that, and so the team currently rests on Edwards’ shoulders.