Don’t worry about Anthony Edwards first preseason game
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ first overall draft pick had a shaky performance to start his career.
Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards had an inconsistent performance in his first NBA preseason game – but there’s nothing to worry about for Timberwolves fans.
On Saturday against the Grizzlies, Edwards finished 2-of-9 from the field, 1-of-5 from three, with four rebounds, one assist, three turnovers, and five fouls – but there is no reason to worry about this performance.
Firstly, it’s only preseason. I know – I know, this is said a lot, but preseason is really, really overanalyzed. It, quite simply, does not matter. There are so many instances of rookies struggling in preseason but going on to having really long and productive careers. Devin Booker, for instance, only averaged eight points on 38-percent from the field. Jayson Tatum posted eight points per game on 37-percent from the field.
Second, there was only a single month which Edwards has been on an NBA roster, and only a week or so since training camp has begun. Edwards has had virtually no time to get used to his teammates and prepare for NBA-level basketball so throwing him in a preseason game for over 25 minutes, of course, is not going to go well initially.
Finally, we’ve only seen Anthony Edwards play for a total of 26 minutes. While, yes, he did struggle, the worst analysis that can be made is judgement after one preseason game with a historically short offseason.
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Edwards was the first overall pick for a reason. He’s a tremendous scorer, especially at the basket. The Timberwolves have a lot of wing depth this season, so the expectations should not be tremendously high for the Edwards. Regardless, though, it will be fun to watch him play and grow as the season progresses, and the Timberwolves future will almost certainly be effected by his career trajectory.