Official Anthony Edwards Thread

[Baseline81]

First, Ant took 4 midrange 2s last night out of 31 shots. So roughly 13% of his shots were shots the coach hated. Second, Ant took 13 3s last night, hitting roughly 31% of them, consistent with his average on the season. Finch has talked about Edwards not being elite from 3 and shooting consistent with his season percentage. If you can honestly tell me you think Finch was happy with 17 of the 31 shots being outside the paint then I think you kidding yourself.

Do you expect Edwards to cut out all mid-range shots?

[KGdaBom]

Since this is the OFFICIAL Anthony Edwards thread are we as a group OFFICIALLY glad we selected him #1 overall?

[KGdaBom]

First, Ant took 4 midrange 2s last night out of 31 shots. So roughly 13% of his shots were shots the coach hated. Second, Ant took 13 3s last night, hitting roughly 31% of them, consistent with his average on the season. Finch has talked about Edwards not being elite from 3 and shooting consistent with his season percentage. If you can honestly tell me you think Finch was happy with 17 of the 31 shots being outside the paint then I think you kidding yourself.

Do you expect Edwards to cut out all mid-range shots?

Great point. Shots outside the paint and inside the 3 point line are not going to completely disappear. They should be taken judiciously and in a game where Ant took 31 shots 4 of them being from the in-between range seems judicious.

[winforlose]

First, Ant took 4 midrange 2s last night out of 31 shots. So roughly 13% of his shots were shots the coach hated. Second, Ant took 13 3s last night, hitting roughly 31% of them, consistent with his average on the season. Finch has talked about Edwards not being elite from 3 and shooting consistent with his season percentage. If you can honestly tell me you think Finch was happy with 17 of the 31 shots being outside the paint then I think you kidding yourself.

Do you expect Edwards to cut out all mid-range shots?

Great point. Shots outside the paint and inside the 3 point line are not going to completely disappear. They should be taken judiciously and in a game where Ant took 31 shots 4 of them being from the in-between range seems judicious.

I expect them to last resort rather than a desired outcome. I just don’t get why you guys don’t seem to care that he only shot 5-17 from outside the paint. Look at his season averages and the numbers are clear. The jump shot is not his forte. Why you encourage a player who sucks at jump shooting (yes he sucks at jump shooting,) to keep doing it (often without passing or even trying to find a better shot,) is beyond me. Is it just because this is the Wolves and your happy for any degree of competency? You just seem to hold Ant to a different standard than anyone else in the team. Part of that is the rookie of it all, but at the same time it’s even more important for the rookies to make good decisions. If they learn to play the wrong way then it is that much harder to adjust to the right way. Ant taking a lot of jump shots is the wrong way.

[Klomp]

Look at his season averages and the numbers are clear. The jump shot is not his forte. Why you encourage a player who sucks at jump shooting (yes he sucks at jump shooting,) to keep doing it (often without passing or even trying to find a better shot,) is beyond me.

Not encouraging someone not to do something is not the same as encouraging someone to do something.

[_AIJ_]

Edwards criticism right now is absurd.

My god.

Wolves fans have endured garbage for so long many of us don’t know how to appreciate stellar play or even recognize what it looks like.

RIGHT??? Getting very annoying already. People cant just get excited man. They always want a perfect player.

[_AIJ_]

Since this is the OFFICIAL Anthony Edwards thread are we as a group OFFICIALLY glad we selected him #1 overall?

Sadly, not everyone here.

[Klomp]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

[_AIJ_]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

Numbers please? I dont know where to look.

[Klomp]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

Numbers please? I dont know where to look.

This was posted after our previous game

Read on Twitter

[winforlose]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

I am including a link to a podcast on CanisHoopus that addresses his time with Finch. You will like it, it is very complimentary of Ant and provides great insight into what is causing the improvement. I think Finch deserves more credit then we realized. Also it’s only 17 minutes long.

https://www.canishoopus.com/2021/3/19/22339697/paynt-points-what-do-those-stats-mean-anthony-edwards-edition-podcast-timberwolves

[kidfozzy]

If Finch was our coach day 1 and Edwards was playing the way he is post-ASG from the jump? We’d be seeing possible all-star selection from him in the first season. His dunking, his highlights? Even with a slightly losing record, NBA casual fans would take notice.

[Dewey]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

But but but... if ant would just get a head nod approval from the fan in the stands before taking each shot he could be more efficient ...

[winforlose]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

But but but... if ant would just get a head nod approval from the fan in the stands before taking each shot he could be more efficient ...

Dude seriously. How hard is it to admit you are flat wrong. Everyone and there mother knows he is better from inside than outside. His coach made the number 1 emphasis of his work with Ant attacking more. He shot 13 free throws last night and none of them were off of jump shots. WTF is it going to take for you to admit he needs to attack more and jump shoot less. Since 10-14 in the paint and 5-17 outside the paint isn’t enough proof. But of course it’s all fan nonsense with no basis in numbers or facts.

[Domejandro]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

But but but... if ant would just get a head nod approval from the fan in the stands before taking each shot he could be more efficient ...

Dude seriously. How hard is it to admit you are flat wrong. Everyone and there mother knows he is better from inside than outside. His coach made the number 1 emphasis of his work with Ant attacking more. He shot 13 free throws last night and none of them were off of jump shots. WTF is it going to take for you to admit he needs to attack more and jump shoot less. Since 10-14 in the paint and 5-17 outside the paint isn’t enough proof. But of course it’s all fan nonsense with no basis in numbers or facts.

He dropped 42 points, mate. Out of his jumpers, maybe four or five of them were bad looks, most were pretty much open. These are NBA defenses, they have to be kept honest, or he wouldn’t be able to drive into the paint as well.

[winforlose]

But but but... if ant would just get a head nod approval from the fan in the stands before taking each shot he could be more efficient ...

Dude seriously. How hard is it to admit you are flat wrong. Everyone and there mother knows he is better from inside than outside. His coach made the number 1 emphasis of his work with Ant attacking more. He shot 13 free throws last night and none of them were off of jump shots. WTF is it going to take for you to admit he needs to attack more and jump shoot less. Since 10-14 in the paint and 5-17 outside the paint isn’t enough proof. But of course it’s all fan nonsense with no basis in numbers or facts.

He dropped 42 points, mate. Out of his jumpers, maybe four or five of them were bad looks, most were pretty much open. These are NBA defenses, they have to be kept honest, or he wouldn’t be able to drive into the paint as well.

I hear your point, I disagree about the number of bad looks, and I, like you, appreciate the end result. But, if instead of bringing the ball up and launching a three he worked it around to guys like MCD, Nowell, Rubio, can you honestly say he wouldn’t have had opportunities from running the offense? As for keeping them honest, other teams want him shooting pull up jumpers and will give it to him all day long. It’s one thing if he can nail them like Dlo, but in this case it’s a win for any team that can lure him into taking them. He is much better off attacking and kicking or attacking and drawing the foul when they try to guard him then he is pulling up.

[Jedzz]

He's got competition in that arena, I don't mind saying. I don't think winforlose is hating at all. He's just wary given some of Ants antics if you will. Same as I do I would think.

He's already somewhat proven he might end up a person that never listens to anyone. They call that uncoachable and it's risky sinking all your eggs into a basket like that. Especially when he's shown gameIQ is where he needs instruction.

But of course I can't claim that's his future. He could yet become coachable. It's just that he keeps showing there is a risk there and too many just act like it's just a positive confidence. Talk is cheap man. When he starts to show us a 20 game average of >35% from 3 than maybe he can call himself an average shooter. Until then he's earning a chucker label from me already.

He's already learned that 29% in college was enough for a #1 overall pick. Which was enough for starting 16 games into his NBA career. He's just gotten himself up to 31% and that's apparently enough for confidently letting 14 3s fly a game. Who's to say he even knows how much he needs to improve yet?

His last 15 games he's shot 39% FG and 31.1% 3FG, with games of 3pA as high as 9,10,10,11,14. During the last 15 games, in the games where he attempted 6 or more 3s, he's averaged 32.9%.

I can see the possibility of the Coach's comparison to a mix of two players. Sure. I said he was Harden-lite long before the draft, and he shown he can bring real gravitas to driving the net. But if he thinks what he's been doing has been good enough to hog the ball that much I wouldn't mind the coach actually comparing his numbers to someone like Harden so he knows how much he's got to learn and improve yet to deserve such ball time. it can be argued that he's being developed just like Wiggins was, with red carpets and swooning over any cracked smiles. But at least we had a coach already call attention to something openly. That never happened with Wiggins. So maybe there is hope. Not sure.

One thing to add. There is difference between smiling because you love the game, and smiling when you should be mad as hell. It’s okay to smile after posterizing someone. It’s not okay to smile when you just blew another defensive assignment and your losing by 20. I want my stars to care about winning and have enough pride to get mad and fight harder. Wiggins was too disengaged, and Ant smiling and celebrating regardless of what is happening is not swagger, it’s just another form of disengagement. Beyond that point, I agree, he needs to be coachable, and he needs to want to get better not just get by.

Smiling doesn’t have to mean disengagement, it can mean being constructive about a loss and being able to learn from it while remaining positive. Players shouldn't have to be forced to try to look pissed because fans are pissed about a loss, they shouldn't submit to your immaturity.

Please stop with this, nobody’s buying that you’re sincere with your nit-picky criticism towards Edwards anymore. You're literally nit-picking guy's behavior and making dumb conclusions that portray him in negative light right after the guy had a 40+ point game on a decent efficiency in a close win against the 2nd team in the West, and all that while being 19. Zero sense in what you're doing.

I think his response to me was before that game, I think. My post certainly was. But one game doesn't erase him being a 30% chucker. He did it again last night. Thankfully Finch pulled him off for a few minutes when he started jacking more shots and he had dropped what had been a good percentage down to 30%. Maybe it was 4 and 13 or 4 of 15 from 3 at that time. That allowed Juancho to get a couple makes and others and start a come back. Ant came back in and they continued better for the win.

The smile thing is maybe overthinking it. But when I brought it up I did so because I'm commenting on how the fans see him with this ultra confidence and that goes with the smiling.

[Jedzz]

Since this is the OFFICIAL Anthony Edwards thread are we as a group OFFICIALLY glad we selected him #1 overall?

Do we have to be, officially or not, just to post here according to you? I'm not sure the reason behind the question. Maybe it's just late and I shouldn't be reading still.

[Jedzz]

But but but... if ant would just get a head nod approval from the fan in the stands before taking each shot he could be more efficient ...

Dude seriously. How hard is it to admit you are flat wrong. Everyone and there mother knows he is better from inside than outside. His coach made the number 1 emphasis of his work with Ant attacking more. He shot 13 free throws last night and none of them were off of jump shots. WTF is it going to take for you to admit he needs to attack more and jump shoot less. Since 10-14 in the paint and 5-17 outside the paint isn’t enough proof. But of course it’s all fan nonsense with no basis in numbers or facts.

He dropped 42 points, mate. Out of his jumpers, maybe four or five of them were bad looks, most were pretty much open. These are NBA defenses, they have to be kept honest, or he wouldn’t be able to drive into the paint as well.

17 shots were to keep them honest? Maybe if you have to be the only one touching the ball on 35 possessions. But you can use your team a little to keep teams honest and create space for you.

[Jedzz]

Edwards already has more 20-point games under Finch than he had under Saunders. Let that sink in...

But but but... if ant would just get a head nod approval from the fan in the stands before taking each shot he could be more efficient ...

Dude seriously. How hard is it to admit you are flat wrong.

*raising hand*

Spoiler:

impossible

I think we just got another notch in comparing him to Wiggins.
40pt game with Kat 40pt game. Check.
All the things making that possible one game vanish the next. Check.
Inefficient chucker outside a couple huge games each season? Let's hope not.

Dude shot 10% on 10 2s Friday. Afraid to drive hard at rim Friday.

Friday really surprised me from him and that's coming from someone who didn't cherish his 30% from three the night before, but loved the 61% from 2 in that game.
From 61% on 18 2s to 10% on 10 2s.

Young players are inconsistant. I get it. But these are swings reminiscent of something.

Reminds me of nearly every Timberwolves player for the last 20 years.