Throughout the regular season, Anthony Edwards was tremendous as a scorer, setting the Timberwolves franchise record for points per game in a season. His playmaking, though, left a lot to be desired. At times, he handles double teams poorly and can be prone to some pretty unforced turnovers.
There was worry that these trends would continue in the playoffs, but through one game, he looks to have leveled up in that department. He finished Game 1 with seven assists and three turnovers. He had a few nice skip passes and a few good feeds to Rudy Gobert in the pocket. While his passing answered the bell, his scoring was uncharacteristically off.
Edwards' knee clearly limited his scoring in Game 1
It could be that his knee is hobbling him, or it could simply be the fact that this was his first time playing an extremely meaningful basketball game in a while. Nevertheless, his scoring output wasn't what we were accustomed to seeing throughout the season.
He finished with 22 points on only 7-for-19 shooting. Lots of the jump shots he missed seemed short, which makes me think it could be more rust and less a lingering injury. Ant also didn't attack the rim with his typical force.
If this is the case, that is good news for the Wolves. Denver's defense isn't very strong, so once Ant is hitting shots at his usual clip, the results could look a lot different for Minnesota, in a good way.
Regardless, his passing was extremely encouraging and something that the Wolves will surely be able to build upon.
Edwards will need to continue limiting turnovers and getting his teammates involved
One of the few issues with Edwards' game during the regular season was his occasional tendency to devolve into hero ball, forcing many of his teammates to stand and watch as he went to work in isolation.
This can work in small stretches, but when it goes on for long periods, it makes it tough for anyone else to catch a rhythm in the game.
In Game 1, it was a lot different, though. Edwards came out of the gate looking to get his teammates easy scoring opportunities, knowing that Denver would be blitzing him right away. It started great.
The Wolves got off to an early double-digit lead, and even though they didn't keep it, there are pieces to pull from this game that provide hope for the Timberwolves as they look to break Denver's hearts, again.
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