Timberwolves are putting the BB into Anthony Edwards hands

The Minnesota Timberwolves may have stumbled onto a discovery that could alter the course of the team’s future. Of course, it may be a passing phase for the team, a temporary blip to get this roster through a tough trial of battered and bruised players. After all, with both Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert on the bench due to injuries, this is not exactly a team struggling with how to get two bigs to coexist on the basketball court simultaneously.

This is a team fighting to survive without either stepping only the basketball court.

The transformation began in December 2022, when point guard D’Angelo Russell discussed his field general role with Minnesota Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch and the fact that D’Lo struggles with his own game whenever he tries to hold everyone accountable on the basketball court. That resulted in the team freeing up Russell, and repurposing those point guard duties to Point Forward Kyle Anderson.

That was an improvement, setting Russell free to score at will. But it was not quite . . . there.  But it did start the wheels of change into motion. And so, if Kyle Anderson, a.k.a. Slo-Mo, could handle those duties, why not the team’s best remaining healthy player?

PG Anthony Edwards, SG D’Angelo Russell?

And so, Anthony Edwards stepped up in December  2022 as well. In the same span when D’Angelo Russell began to dominate in scoring, Anthony Edwards began to dominate in other ways:

Until the Timberwolves entered December 2022, Anthony Edwards averaged approximately 4.0 assists per game. But without D’Lo handling the role, and Anderson doing his best in his rotations, the team was still in need of a second PG when Anderson was not on the floor. Would the role revert to D’Lo again? That would be counterproductive.

New roles, same great Timberwolves backcourt

And so, the Timberwolves stumbled into these new roles.  We have witnessed how effective the changes have made Russell. But has Edwards suffered from his enhanced responsibility?

The opposite is true.

In the past two games, both wins for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards is averaging: 28 pts / 9 rebs / 9 asts / 0.5 blks / 1.5 stls

Those are stellar numbers. and have come about at a time when the Timberwolves have needed it most. It’s impossible for the NBA to ignore the talent and versatility of the Minnesota Timberwolves backcourt any longer.  Despite the headlines and fanfare of the Timberwolves front court, the true strength of this team has been the resiliency and versatility of the team’s backcourt.  And that is why the Timberwolves’ backcourt should end this season among the NBA’s Top 5 for the 2022-23 NBA season.

There may be more and more projections for the team to trade players, but the Timberwolves roster is transforming rapidly into what this team needs to become. With better perimeter shooting, the team is getting better with each game. When the roster is fully healthy? Look out!