Edwards has the third highest minutes per game going of the players still playing. So it's important what works with him and what doesn't. Or it's important that they correct the issue of him playing too much with someone specific if they are both going to play high minutes. At least I think this makes sense. Now watch what the numbers say. As I've been suggesting, he's the one cutting into the roles of our point guard supposed "leaders' of Dlo/Rubio and messing up organized and controlled play that point guards normally offer.
2 man combinations (
basketball reference)
A. Edwards | J. Vanderbilt +18.3 (33 mins)
A. Edwards | N. Reid +2.0 (48 mins)
M. Beasley | A. Edwards +1.6 (43 mins)
J. Culver | A. Edwards -12.6 (54 mins)
A. Edwards |
J. McLaughlin -13.4 (
48 mins)
A. Edwards | J. Hernangómez -29.9 (43 mins)
A. Edwards |
R. Rubio -30.4 (
47 mins)
A. Edwards |
D. Russell -35.2 (
67 mins)
A. Edwards | J. Layman -40.8 (25 mins)
E. Davis | A. Edwards -78.5 (32 mins)
Green are the typical point guards coming into the season and the pairs' Net points minus Opponent points.
Why is our team struggling to score more points than our opponents when our best points are playing with Edwards?
What I think is important to see is that Edwards playing with our other points is a net negative. I think the reason is because he's not playing a wing role. He's only trying to be the point himself and doesn't know another way to play yet, and he's being allowed to run point with Dlo out there and it's causing a real problem. Dlo and him have played the most as a pair of all the PGs so it stands to reason that there would be the most issues seen in their combination.
The more our PGs need him to play along as a wing in a certain way, the more problem there is going to be.
We know Rubio has the experience leading the offense with many player types now.
We know Dlo is a combo guard and leading from point he only has a few different things he does without a big around.
JMac is a swiss army knife.
The best 5 man combinations with Edwards?
1. A. Edwards | J. McDaniels | J. McLaughlin | N. Reid | J. Vanderbilt
+123 (5 mins)
2. M. Beasley | A. Edwards | J. Okogie | D. Russell |
K. Towns +118 (5 mins)
3. M. Beasley | J. Culver | A. Edwards | R. Rubio |
K. Towns +91 (5 mins)
4. A. Edwards | J. Hernangómez | J. McDaniels | J. McLaughlin | J. Vanderbilt
+40 (7 mins)
5. A. Edwards | J. Hernangómez | J. Okogie | N. Reid | D. Russell
+24.2 (5 mins)
6. J. Culver | A. Edwards | J. McDaniels | J. McLaughlin | J. Vanderbilt
+4.2 (11 mins)
7. M. Beasley | A. Edwards | J. Okogie | R. Rubio | K. Towns
-7.3 (4 mins)
8. J. Culver | A. Edwards | J. Hernangómez | N. Reid | D. Russell
-33.3 (10 mins)
9. E. Davis | A. Edwards | J. Hernangómez | J. McLaughlin | D. Russell
-76.5 (8 mins)
10. J. Culver | A. Edwards | N. Reid | R. Rubio | D. Russell
-76.9 (6 mins)
Towns is in two of the three best producing lineups, but the minutes are real low.
Russell is within that second highest group and Rubio first enters in third goup, but both with Towns playing.
Runio/Russell/Edwards with no Towns is maybe something to avoid.
It is interesting to me as always how much JMacs name enters many of these for how little he has played so far. But that's a pointless discussion since no one respects him as a top two or one PG here. But the Edwards, McDaniels, JMac, Vanderbilt goup of 4 seems like a goodie so far and one of the better ones includes Juancho at #4. So if you ask me, that might be one of the better bench rotations at minimum and maybe were Edwards could get most of his minutes and stay away from our starting possible points of Rubio/Dlo. Just looking for ways to make this trash roster construction work better.