Two-time all-star Anthony Edwards has been sensational since the Timberwolves lost Karl-Anthony Towns to injury, increasing both his points and assists per game while reducing turnovers.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have now played 10 games without their franchise big man Karl-Anthony Towns since he was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Over those 10 games, the Wolves are 7-3 including thrilling wins over the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Golden State Warriors.
Without KAT, it was clear many players would need to step up into different roles. None more so than Anthony Edwards as opposing defenses have turned their attention almost entirely to the Wolves superstar guard.
As frequency in which he is being double-teamed increases substantially, Edwards continues to take his game to another level, with sensational play over the past few weeks. In the recent games without Towns, Edwards is putting up 26.6 points per game and 5.6 assists per game, while only turning it over 2.8 times per game, all of which are improvements compared to his season-long numbers.
The main area in which Edwards has improved his play over this stretch without KAT is his ability to play through double-teams, get off the ball when needed, and overall, force up bad shots less often when defended well by opposing teams.
The most simple example of this improvement is found when teams bring two defenders to Edwards. Ant has shown the ability to get off the ball right away, leading to open shots for his teammates. The play below illustrates this; when both Nikola Jokić and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope defend Edwards after a ball screen, he finds Kyle Anderson in space, leading to an open floater.
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While Ant made this play look easy, he often would struggle in similar situations as recently as last month. Here, Edwards drives to the rim and has both Mike Conley and Naz Reid open on the perimeter, but tries to force up a shot in the paint through four Sacramento Kings defenders, leading to a block by Domantas Sabonis.
Getting his shot blocked or turning it over in attempt to make a hero play have become far less regular for Edwards of late, as Ant has more consistently found teammates within the flow of the offense — something that is paramount for any player in a Chris Finch offense.
Another example of this progression from the two-time All-Star came against the Utah Jazz. You can almost see him process mid-air that trying to shoot through both Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler is probably not the best idea.
Take a peek at the time and score, too. That’s a big time play in the clutch.
Earlier in the season, this may have been a spot where Ant opted to force his own shot; but instead, he was able to pass out of his jumper mid-air and find Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the corner.
Edwards’ ability to make the correct pass out of a double-team has become especially valuable when playing with Rudy Gobert, as the pick-and-roll frequency between the two players has only increased in Towns’ extended absence.
Here, Ant finds Gobert with a nice bounce pass leading to a wide-open corner three for Jaden McDaniels.
Ant commonly defaults to trying to use his speed to jet around a double team on a ball screen. But even when he doesn’t get to the edge, his burst often opens up a window to throw the pocket pass, which has become another weapon in Edwards’ arsenal. He has gone to it more and more with Gobert when two defenders come to the ball — a sign of his growing confidence in the three-time All-Star.
When this pass is made correctly, and the Wolves have shooting on the floor, it becomes nearly impossible for opposing defenses to stop.
Above, Edwards makes the perfect pocket pass to a rolling Gobert, who scores the basket with ease.
The last two plays also serve as a nice highlight of Gobert’s evolution this season from strictly a play finisher to a big with some play creating skills on the short roll, too. In the first play when Stephen Curry rotates over, Rudy makes the correct pass to McDaniels and in the second play when Darius Garland and Sam Merrill are late to rotate over, Gobert makes the easy layup.
Rudy is not the only player Ant has been able to find with a great pocket pass. With Towns out, Anderson has seen increased minutes at center, which has led to some pick-and-rolls with Edwards. That’s a fun development considering Slow-Mo’s playmaking ability in the middle of the floor.
Similar to an earlier play, Jokić and KCP both stay to guard Ant, which leaves Anderson open under the rim. Ant finds him with the sweet pass and he hits a hook shot over Michael Porter Jr.
Even when an action does not involve a ball screen, opposing defenses are unsurprisingly opting to put most of their focus on stopping Ant. They may not be actively sending a double-team every possession, but often their focus seems to be to not allow Edwards into the paint.
Below, in an effort to slow down Edwards, Brandin Podziemski loses track of Conley who makes a nice cut to the basket. Edwards finds him which leads to another 3-pointer for Reid.
In this play, Ant could have taken a tough shot over Andrew Wiggins or continued to keep his dribble alive, but as has been the case so often recently, he found the open teammate early in the possession when the opposing defense sent a second defender.
Edwards’ name may not come up in the boxscore for that play, but his gravity and playmaking were the main reasons the Wolves were able to get an open look for Reid on that possession.
With Karl-Anthony Towns’ health status unknown for the start of the postseason, these are the types of plays Anthony Edwards will need to continue to make if the Timberwolves hope to advance deep into the Western Conference Playoffs — regardless of when their four-time All-Star big man returns.