Basing how a player or team will fare over the course of a season after the regular season opener is a ridiculous endeavor. With that being said, on October 22 against the Trail Blazers, the Timberwolves will look to win their first season opener in three years. Not only that, but superstar Anthony Edwards hopes to end a trend of subpar shooting performances to begin the year.
Anthony Edwards has struggled from the field in his last three season openers
Just 24 years old, Edwards is truly one of the top young superstars in the game. His end-of-year numbers rival nearly anyone in the league. In an 82-game season, though, it’s hard to expect a player to consistently show out on a game-by-game basis. For the past three years, in the season opener, Edwards has gotten off to somewhat of a rough start, especially with his efficiency.
Last year, the Wolves fell to the Lakers in the season opener by the score of 110-103. While Edwards dropped 27 points in that game, it took him 25 shots to do so. He made just 10 of his field goal tries and made 5 of 13 three-point tries.
In 2023, Minnesota lost their first game 97-94 at the hands of the Raptors. While Edwards went 4-7 from deep, he made just 4 of his 20 tries from inside the arc. Overall, that gave the 6-foot-4 shooting guard an 8-27 night from the field.
The Timberwolves defeated the Thunder in their 2022-23 regular season opener, but it was another inefficient night from Edwards. He finished the outing just 4-17 from the field and 1-7 from 3-point territory.
Do the math, and in the Timberwolves’ last three openers, Edwards is just 22-69 from the field (31.9%). In his first 2 openers, he made 15 of his 33 field goal tries. Not spectacular, but substantially better than his next 3. Portland has some excellent wing defenders in Toumani Camara and Jrue Holiday, who will do their best to make Edwards' night a miserable one.
Rebounds nicely from poor efforts
Obviously, Edwards has rebounded nicely from his last three season openers. There’s a reason that the majority see Edwards as the best shooting guard in the NBA. If he shoots something like 8-23 against Portland, it’s just a one-game blip.
In a world filled with overreactions, though, it would be good to see Edwards have an efficient night come October 22 with the Timberwolves winning their first opener in three years.