Anthony Edwards has quickly established himself as one of the league's most unstoppable scorers. He averaged 28.8 points per game last season, adding a consistent mid-range jumper to his already stellar outside shooting and finishing.
Stopping the Minnesota Timberwolves star as a scorer was difficult since he could beat you at all three levels. However, the Timberwolves' lack of playmaking and shot creation alongside Ant allowed opposing defenses to send the house at Edwards. As such, there was a legitimate blueprint to limiting Ant-Man despite his greatness.
Now, though, Edwards will be sharing the backcourt with LaMelo Ball. The addition of Ball should be an absolute game-changer for Ant in every way. Simply put, this might make Edwards genuinely unstoppable and game-plan proof. In turn, this could help the Timberwolves reach another level.
LaMelo Ball will make defending Anthony Edwards much harder
Last year, Edwards was often blitzed on pick-and-rolls or doubled when he was taking the ball up the court. Ant still has room to grow as a playmaker, which made this defensive strategy effective. While it was a problem throughout the year, the strongest example of this was in the Wolves' second-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
To be fair, the best playmakers in the league would have trouble dealing with the aggressive defense that Edwards faced on a nightly basis, and his lack of consistent support made matters far worse. LaMelo offers a high-end counter to this problem, and he takes away a ton of the ball-handling duties from Edwards.
Look, opposing defenses are still going to focus on limiting Ant. He's Minnesota's best player at the end of the day. Nevertheless, they won't be able to commit to guarding him so aggressively because of LaMelo's presence.
Furthermore, having a high-level playmaker will open up more off-ball scoring opportunities for Edwards. Last season, he shot a staggering 49.6 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Still, Edwards shot a measly 2.3 catch-and-shoot 3s per game.
By having a roster that doesn't require Edwards to be on the ball so much and an elite playmaker in LaMelo, the Timberwolves can feed Ant open catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in a variety of ways. Likewise, this will make the Timberwolves' offense less predictable.
Throughout his career, Edwards has never played with a point guard who is both an elite scoring and playmaking threat. LaMelo's elite shooting is also worth noting, since the Timberwolves now have four dependable shooters around Ant at all times. From both a playmaking and scoring standpoint, Ball is a game-changer compared to Julius Randle.
Given what Ant-Man has already accomplished with a less-than-ideal roster context and that he's entering his age-25 season, it's easy to see a world in which he levels up further as a scorer.
With LaMelo and Ant, the Wolves now have two perimeter options who can dice up defenses as scorers. Regarding Edwards, in particular, there will be no simple way to defend him. He will surely see more single coverage this year thanks to LaMelo's gravity. And as we all know, Edwards is a lethal isolation scorer at all three levels; thus, he can make light work of this.
If opposing teams do opt to double Ant, the increased spacing and playmaking around him will make it easier for him to find a counter. Plus, as noted, LaMelo will alleviate many of the ball-handling duties off Edwards' plate, so teams will have fewer opportunities to double Ant.
While this shift should benefit the Timberwolves in the regular season, the real benefits will be in the playoffs, when game-planning becomes more important.
My ultimate point is that the Timberwolves' dynamic backcourt will constantly force opposing defenses into difficult decisions, and they will be a matchup nightmare as a result. Even with a subpar roster context around him, Ant-Man was difficult to defend. Now, teams might be borderline hopeless against him.
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