Anthony Edwards once again proved that he hates to miss games by coming back earlier than expected from his strained right hamstring suffered on October 26. The 24-year-old superstar missed four outings altogether due to the injury.
Perhaps the allure of playing at Madison Square Garden was extra motivation for Edwards to return. In the end, the final result wasn’t close to what the Timberwolves were looking for. A dominant second half led to a Knicks 137-114 win, and Edwards was a game-worst -25 in his 29 minutes.
Anthony Edwards has nondescript outing on Wednesday
One of the top scorers in the game, it was great seeing Edwards back in the fold. Wednesday’s loss to New York though wasn’t close to his best action, as he never fully got into the flow of the offense.
The 2020 first overall pick finished the outing with 15 points, two rebounds, and five assists (along with the aforementioned +/- of -25). He shot 5-13 from the field, 3-7 from 3-point range, and 2-3 from the foul line.
It seemed in the first half that Edwards mostly stayed out of the way to allow Julius Randle to do damage against his former squad. Randle had twice as many shots (10 to five) as Edwards over the first 24 minutes.
It was the third quarter where Edwards began to look more for his offense. He went 2-6 in that stanza, converting an and-one, but he also saw Mitchell Robinson get a hand on a long jumper.
Game shouldn't be of much concern for fans
Fans shouldn’t be all that discouraged by Edwards’ game (maybe a bit discouraged with how easily the Knicks scored on the Timberwolves in the second half). With Edwards returning after missing 4 games, it was evident that there was rust that needs to be shaken off. He may not be 100% either since the injury was expected to keep him out at least two weeks (he returned in 1.5).
Minnesota is entering a stretch of its schedule where it should stack up wins, especially if it wants to be considered a contender. Eight of their next nine contests are against teams currently under .500. Thus far on the season, the Timberwolves are 3-0 against teams under .500 and just 1-4 against teams with a winning record.
During that stretch, it should be fully expected that Edwards will again look one of the best scorers in the league.