Things have not come easy for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Making a significant last-minute change to the roster right before the season put the Wolves behind the eight ball from jump street, and the growing pains have been significant.
Minnesota's defense has still thrived, but their offense has been quite the project to figure out. Chris Finch and his entire staff have certainly been earning their paychecks. But while the whole team has tried to figure things out offensively, perhaps the most frustrating thing to see has been Anthony Edwards' individual struggles.
It is becoming evident that Edwards does not look like his typical self as of late. Over the last eight games, Ant is averaging just 18.8 points and shooting only 39.8% from the floor. Scoring was already more difficult for him before that stretch due to spacing issues and the team's other problems on offense, but now his raw numbers are really taking a hit as well.
Overall, winning is what truly matters for this group, and Edwards averaging a certain number of points is not going to get the Timberwolves more numbers in the win column. But Ant knows as well as anyone that him not being able to play his game is not optimal, especially when he remains the driving force behind Minnesota's offense. Edwards opened up about his struggles after Thursday's loss to the Boston Celtics.
Edwards has not been able to play his game
We have seen Ant draw a considerable amount of double teams recently, leading to him having to give the ball up quite a bit. In the third quarter against Boston, Edwards was passing more than he was scoring. "That was a good brand of basketball, but it's not how I want to play of course," Ant said. "I mean, I'm only 23. I don't want to just be passing the ball all night. But the way that they're guarding me, I think I have to."
When asked how hard it is to remain engaged when he is being taken out of his normal rhythm, Edwards did not hold back. "Super hard," he said. "Because I'm wired to score the ball ... I don't know if their plan is like, 'let's mentally take him out,' because it doesn't take me all the way out the game, but it definitely frustrates me a little bit."
Edwards reiterated how much the double teams throw him off. He explained that it can be hard to find a balance, because he doesn't want to simply give the ball up and essentially let the double team win, but he also doesn't want to be running around chasing the ball constantly after giving it up either.
It can certainly be discouraging to see Ant taken out of his normal flow and ultimately not look like himself. But while the challenges he's facing right now are significant, he has more than enough talent to find a solution and bounce back. Once more things are making sense for the Wolves' offense as a whole, it stands to reason that Edwards should get back to his normal play style far more frequently.