Official Anthony Edwards Thread

[Calinks]

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[Klomp]

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[Dalvin]

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I can't believe it's only been a year! Feels like a lifetime ago.

[Klomp]

He tends to get a lot of criticism around his 3-point volume, but looking at his numbers, I think he keeps defenses honest enough to where the volume is warranted or at least excusable.

Edwards has made 35% of 3-pointers in 8 of 16 games.

[Dewey]

He needs better balance … simply cutting off ball, getting to the line, etc… he just seems to abandon parts of the game at times.

[winforlose]

He tends to get a lot of criticism around his 3-point volume, but looking at his numbers, I think he keeps defenses honest enough to where the volume is warranted or at least excusable.

Edwards has made 35% of 3-pointers in 8 of 16 games.

In 8 or 9 of the first 10 (I think it is 9 but I need to go back and check,) Ant shot around 25% from 3. He had a solid first game and then a miserable chunk. Now I am very glad he is making them in the last 2 games, and I am very glad it is buying him more room to operate, but a hot streak does not a turnaround make. Ant needs to be consistent at a minimum of 36% to justify his volume, and even then I don’t it is good enough. More importantly, he needs to use the 3 as a last option not a first. When he chucks them without moving the ball he cools down and demotivates his teammates. Even Curry and Harden move the ball and they are two of the best offensive players in the generation. The difference between the good and the great players is the good make themselves look good, the great make everyone look good.

[Domejandro]

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[winforlose]

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Honest question, how many guys take over 80 pull up 3s in 18-20 game season so far? That is a lot of pull up 3s in a small number of games.

[FinnTheHuman]

Man I remember how many people trashed Edwards at around this period in the season last year. I promised I'd pull up all those quotes from that period, because it was painfully obvious that you guys should've believed in Ant based on how fluid and smart he looked despite the missed shots and some poor defensive possessions. The only reason I don't is not that I'm better than that but that I'm too lazy to do it.

[winforlose]

Man I remember how many people trashed Edwards at around this period in the season last year. I promised I'd pull up all those quotes from that period, because it was painfully obvious that you guys should've believed in Ant based on how fluid and smart he looked despite the missed shots and some poor defensive possessions. The only reason I don't is not that I'm better than that but that I'm too lazy to do it.

I will save you some time with regard to me. I said he shoots too many 3s needs to drive more, reminds me of Wiggins, plays lazy D, disappears from games, ect… Every single comment was true, is still true (his defense is not lazy now but was then, it shows what he can do when he wants to, the key is wanting to,) and I still believe he can improve. Ant has been shooting more efficiently from deep recently, after a start so bad he made JO look like Curry from deep. If he keeps it up then I will become more comfortable with his high volume from beyond the arc. That said, he is natural born slasher and by not slashing he is denying his potential. He is doing serious damage to the offense and his teammates as well. Drive and kick is the name of the modern game and he is our best and primary drive guy. When he refuses to do it he sabotages the offense and makes it much easier to guard everyone. The biggest test for Finch is can he save Ant from becoming Wiggins. So far there is reason for optimism, but look at Wiggins numbers and ask yourself where he went wrong before celebrating Ant. Finch was right about 2/3rds 1/3rd and Ant just won’t do it.

[FinnTheHuman]

Man I remember how many people trashed Edwards at around this period in the season last year. I promised I'd pull up all those quotes from that period, because it was painfully obvious that you guys should've believed in Ant based on how fluid and smart he looked despite the missed shots and some poor defensive possessions. The only reason I don't is not that I'm better than that but that I'm too lazy to do it.

I will save you some time with regard to me. I said he shoots too many 3s needs to drive more, reminds me of Wiggins, plays lazy D, disappears from games, ect… Every single comment was true, is still true (his defense is not lazy now but was then, it shows what he can do when he wants to, the key is wanting to,) and I still believe he can improve. Ant has been shooting more efficiently from deep recently, after a start so bad he made JO look like Curry from deep. If he keeps it up then I will become more comfortable with his high volume from beyond the arc. That said, he is natural born slasher and by not slashing he is denying his potential. He is doing serious damage to the offense and his teammates as well. Drive and kick is the name of the modern game and he is our best and primary drive guy. When he refuses to do it he sabotages the offense and makes it much easier to guard everyone. The biggest test for Finch is can he save Ant from becoming Wiggins. So far there is reason for optimism, but look at Wiggins numbers and ask yourself where he went wrong before celebrating Ant. Finch was right about 2/3rds 1/3rd and Ant just won’t do it.

If we want Ant to have a longer career, he absolutely should be jacking 3's up in the regular season. He needs to save his body, no need to do what Rose or DWade did to their knees and their health overall. I'm absolutely sure that every level of the org is fully behind Ant shooting a lot of 3's and developing that aspect of the game, and expecting him to attack the rim more and jack up 3's less come playoff time. He knows how to attack, Wiggins never knew that, so I'm not worried, Ant doesn't have to attempt in order to learn, he's already proven he's capable.

And Ant was 19 when he was getting that criticism. The issue was not criticism, the issue was that people were projecting doom and gloom because of his stats and his style of play back then, when it was painfully obvious that he was a 19 year old in a covid season without a normal training camp, and on the biggest trash of an offensive bench unit in the history of the game, on top of KAT being injured. The bench unit was bad version of Rubio, Okogie/Culver, Ant, Hernangomez, Ed Davis (because Naz had to start instead of KAT), and people were legit calling Ant a chucker because that unit couldn't help him at all offensively. It was pretty disgusting how people didn't have any sympathy for Ant's situation, and I still get annoyed reminiscing that.

edit: When it comes to defense, he was simply gassed/didn't have the ability to hold focus on every possession, like 99% of rookies. Rookies having defensive blunders is a norm, there's rarely ever been any rookie having a positive defensive impact, guys like Duncan or Mobley who are defensive monsters from the start are super rare.

[winforlose]

Man I remember how many people trashed Edwards at around this period in the season last year. I promised I'd pull up all those quotes from that period, because it was painfully obvious that you guys should've believed in Ant based on how fluid and smart he looked despite the missed shots and some poor defensive possessions. The only reason I don't is not that I'm better than that but that I'm too lazy to do it.

I will save you some time with regard to me. I said he shoots too many 3s needs to drive more, reminds me of Wiggins, plays lazy D, disappears from games, ect… Every single comment was true, is still true (his defense is not lazy now but was then, it shows what he can do when he wants to, the key is wanting to,) and I still believe he can improve. Ant has been shooting more efficiently from deep recently, after a start so bad he made JO look like Curry from deep. If he keeps it up then I will become more comfortable with his high volume from beyond the arc. That said, he is natural born slasher and by not slashing he is denying his potential. He is doing serious damage to the offense and his teammates as well. Drive and kick is the name of the modern game and he is our best and primary drive guy. When he refuses to do it he sabotages the offense and makes it much easier to guard everyone. The biggest test for Finch is can he save Ant from becoming Wiggins. So far there is reason for optimism, but look at Wiggins numbers and ask yourself where he went wrong before celebrating Ant. Finch was right about 2/3rds 1/3rd and Ant just won’t do it.

If we want Ant to have a longer career, he absolutely should be jacking 3's up in the regular season. He needs to save his body, no need to do what Rose or DWade did to their knees and their health overall. I'm absolutely sure that every level of the org is fully behind Ant shooting a lot of 3's and developing that aspect of the game, and expecting him to attack the rim more and jack up 3's less come playoff time. He knows how to attack, Wiggins never knew that, so I'm not worried, Ant doesn't have to attempt in order to learn, he's already proven he's capable.

And Ant was 19 when he was getting that criticism. The issue was not criticism, the issue was that people were projecting doom and gloom because of his stats and his style of play back then, when it was painfully obvious that he was a 19 year old in a covid season without a normal training camp, and on the biggest trash of an offensive bench unit in the history of the game, on top of KAT being injured. The bench unit was bad version of Rubio, Okogie/Culver, Ant, Hernangomez, Ed Davis (because Naz had to start instead of KAT), and people were legit calling Ant a chucker because that unit couldn't help him at all offensively. It was pretty disgusting how people didn't have any sympathy for Ant's situation, and I still get annoyed reminiscing that.

I think we disagree about how Ant should play going forward. I don’t think attacking always ends with injury or shortened careers. In fact I think the greats like Harden and Curry are only great because they attack and use their skill to create for their teammates. I respect your reasoning (I honestly do,) it is just a fundamental disagreement between two people who are probably both right to a degree and see the game differently.

As for Ant being 19 last year, I made all the same points you made. I never said he couldn’t be salvaged and I argued against the people who did. That said, I was incredibly frustrated by some of the things Ant did and still am to this day. I see the body control and the athleticism and I want so badly for him to become what I see him becoming. That said, patients is required because there is no substitute for age and experience.

I disagree with your third point that you added after I responded. Ant was not gassed nor was he confused. Ant was more interested in offense than defense and figured he could get away with not playing any. Finch changed that to degree by benching him and getting on his case. Moreover this season defense is a priority for the whole team so he is committing to it. He even said he worked a lot more on his defense than his offense this offseason/preseason. Ant was lazy last year and I think it is a good sign he isn’t this year.

[FinnTheHuman]

I disagree with your third point that you added after I responded. Ant was not gassed nor was he confused. Ant was more interested in offense than defense and figured he could get away with not playing any. Finch changed that to degree by benching him and getting on his case. Moreover this season defense is a priority for the whole team so he is committing to it. He even said he worked a lot more on his defense than his offense this offseason/preseason. Ant was lazy last year and I think it is a good sign he isn’t this year.

I don't think he was lazy, I would say he just had no idea about what good defense is and how much it matters. I think it's just your own projection of your values to call him lazy there, he's always had the winner's mentality and he simply had to improve the understanding of how to win in basketball. He probably had thoughts of this kind: "me as our number 1 bench option means preserving energy for the offensive end in order for us to win", "I don't have to go help there, they probably won't pass to that guy anyway and I'll just waste my energy then (they do)" etc. Rookies do this, they don't get it, they're kids, they're not lazy but stupid, I saw basketball this way too when I was 19.

[winforlose]

I disagree with your third point that you added after I responded. Ant was not gassed nor was he confused. Ant was more interested in offense than defense and figured he could get away with not playing any. Finch changed that to degree by benching him and getting on his case. Moreover this season defense is a priority for the whole team so he is committing to it. He even said he worked a lot more on his defense than his offense this offseason/preseason. Ant was lazy last year and I think it is a good sign he isn’t this year.

I don't think he was lazy, I would say he just had no idea about what good defense is and how much it matters. I think it's just your own projection of your values to call him lazy there, he's always had the winner's mentality and he simply had to improve the understanding of how to win in basketball. He probably had thoughts of this kind: "me as our number 1 bench option means preserving energy for the offensive end in order for us to win", "I don't have to go help there, they probably won't pass to that guy anyway and I'll just waste my energy then (they do)" etc. Rookies do this, they don't get it, they're kids, they're not lazy but stupid, I saw basketball this way too when I was 19.

There was a lot of ball watching, a lot of not running back, a lot of other telltales signs of not being interested in playing D (going under screens for example.) Some of it may be inexperience, but he played all 82 games and made the same mistakes in game 80 that he made in game 10. This dramatic a turnaround is about a lot more than an offseason of watching film, this is effort and willingness to commit to defense.

As for the winners attitude. I like that he doesn’t smile as much or look as disengaged when we are losing. You can tell he cares this year, last year I wasn’t always sure. You can call this nit picking but there were plenty of times it pissed JO off as well (many of them caught on camera.)

[Klomp]

Man I remember how many people trashed Edwards at around this period in the season last year. I promised I'd pull up all those quotes from that period, because it was painfully obvious that you guys should've believed in Ant based on how fluid and smart he looked despite the missed shots and some poor defensive possessions. The only reason I don't is not that I'm better than that but that I'm too lazy to do it.

I will save you some time with regard to me. I said he shoots too many 3s needs to drive more, reminds me of Wiggins, plays lazy D, disappears from games, ect… Every single comment was true, is still true (his defense is not lazy now but was then, it shows what he can do when he wants to, the key is wanting to,) and I still believe he can improve. Ant has been shooting more efficiently from deep recently, after a start so bad he made JO look like Curry from deep. If he keeps it up then I will become more comfortable with his high volume from beyond the arc. That said, he is natural born slasher and by not slashing he is denying his potential. He is doing serious damage to the offense and his teammates as well. Drive and kick is the name of the modern game and he is our best and primary drive guy. When he refuses to do it he sabotages the offense and makes it much easier to guard everyone. The biggest test for Finch is can he save Ant from becoming Wiggins. So far there is reason for optimism, but look at Wiggins numbers and ask yourself where he went wrong before celebrating Ant. Finch was right about 2/3rds 1/3rd and Ant just won’t do it.

Efficiency isn't great as a 20-year old sophomore, but he's already the type of player who can go on a run and change a game at any moment. I never want him deferring because you never know when the next shot is going to go in and shift the momentum.

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[winforlose]

Man I remember how many people trashed Edwards at around this period in the season last year. I promised I'd pull up all those quotes from that period, because it was painfully obvious that you guys should've believed in Ant based on how fluid and smart he looked despite the missed shots and some poor defensive possessions. The only reason I don't is not that I'm better than that but that I'm too lazy to do it.

I will save you some time with regard to me. I said he shoots too many 3s needs to drive more, reminds me of Wiggins, plays lazy D, disappears from games, ect… Every single comment was true, is still true (his defense is not lazy now but was then, it shows what he can do when he wants to, the key is wanting to,) and I still believe he can improve. Ant has been shooting more efficiently from deep recently, after a start so bad he made JO look like Curry from deep. If he keeps it up then I will become more comfortable with his high volume from beyond the arc. That said, he is natural born slasher and by not slashing he is denying his potential. He is doing serious damage to the offense and his teammates as well. Drive and kick is the name of the modern game and he is our best and primary drive guy. When he refuses to do it he sabotages the offense and makes it much easier to guard everyone. The biggest test for Finch is can he save Ant from becoming Wiggins. So far there is reason for optimism, but look at Wiggins numbers and ask yourself where he went wrong before celebrating Ant. Finch was right about 2/3rds 1/3rd and Ant just won’t do it.

Efficiency isn't great as a 20-year old sophomore, but he's already the type of player who can go on a run and change a game at any moment. I never want him deferring because you never know when the next shot is going to go in and shift the momentum.

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Gotta be careful he doesn’t get comfortable underperforming. One good quarter is not a good game. Efficiency also matters. There is a big difference between 21 points on 19 shots and 32 points on 22 shots.

[KGdaBom]

Ant is questionable for Wednesdays game.

[winforlose]

[list=][/list]

Ant is questionable for Wednesdays game.

With Flu like symptoms.

[life_saver]

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I find this interesting because even last season, Ant was one of the best pull-up 3 point shooters in the league post-ASB..he seems to be a better in pull-up shooting rather than catch-and-shoot shooting which isn't that common

[winforlose]

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I find this interesting because even last season, Ant was one of the best pull-up 3 point shooters in the league post-ASB..he seems to be a better in pull-up shooting rather than catch-and-shoot shooting which isn't that common

This doesn’t mean much because the minimum is 80 attempts. How many players have taken 80 pull ups at the time of the tweet. In 18 games that number is probably only 10-15 people.