Anthony Edwards has reached new heights on offense this season. The Minnesota Timberwolves star has primarily improved as a mid-range scorer, which in turn has made him less predictable and a more dominant clutch scorer. Ant has shot a career-best 43.3 percent on 3.9 attempts from the mid-range, and his 5.6 clutch points ranked second in the league. This likewise resulted in him averaging a career-best 28.8 points.
Edwards has looked flat-out unstoppable as a scorer throughout the year. As fun as it was to watch Ant-Man cook in the regular season, it's always been clear that these improvements will truly shine on the brightest stage.
Considering how great Edwards has already performed in the playoffs, it's scary to imagine what he could look like with these improvements.
While the Denver Nuggets will likely send the house at Ant, it's fair to expect that he will have some counters. Moreover, the Nuggets' subpar defense can help pave the way for Edwards to have a monster series.
Anthony Edwards' offensive growth could power an otherworldly series
As I've written throughout the week, Minnesota will need a Herculean effort from Ant to pull off an upset. His injury complicates things, but given what we've seen from Ant in the playoffs, this remains a strong possibility.
One of the biggest reasons we could see Ant-Man dominate from the mid-range in this series is Nikola Jokic's defense. Yes, he is a historically great offensive player, and no, he isn't a complete defensive liability. However, Jokic typically plays drop coverage. Thus, Edwards can attack him in the pick-and-roll and drain mid-range shots.
The Wolves will need Ant to be the brilliant clutch player he's proven to be this season. Luckily, the Nuggets' defense can also help with this. In addition to lacking a natural matchup for Ant, the Nuggets rank 28th in clutch-time defense. As such, the runway could be cleared for some classic Ant clutch performances.
And the Wolves will need to match the Nuggets' offensive firepower and execution.
We might be accustomed to Edwards being an elite 3-point shooter. However, let us not forget this is just the second season of Ant being a true 3-point sniper. Edwards' 3-point shooting leap started in the 2024 playoffs. Still, having this be a key part of his skill set entering the playoffs further adds another element to his game that the Nuggets didn't fully see two years ago.
If the Timberwolves can pull off an upset, it will be paired with absurd three-level shot making and clutch time heroics from Ant-Man. There's plenty to be concerned about regarding the Wolves' upset chances. Regardless, if Edwards is at 100 percent, fans should be confident about his chances to dice up the Nuggets' defense.
When it's all said and done, this series (and hopefully future rounds) could show us just how unstoppable of a scorer Ant has become.
Add us as a preferred source on Google