Not enough good things can be said about Anthony Edwards' play in the Minnesota Timberwolves' second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs. For the series, Edwards is averaging 24.5 points on 51.4/40.9/81.3 shooting splits, and he's now had back-to-back 30-plus point games.
In Game 4, Edwards willed the Wolves to a win with a 36-point performance, which included 16 fourth quarter points. Ant is amazingly doing this after suffering a bone bruise in his knee just over two weeks ago.
By all accounts, this has been a heroic series from Edwards, and frankly, the Wolves would be lost without him. As the Wolves are tied 2-2, a chance to make their third straight conference finals appearance is very much in the cards, and they'll need this Herculean effort from Ant-Man to continue. The Wolves will especially need Ant's play to continue with Victor Wembanyama returning for Game 5 following his ejection in the second quarter of Game 4.
Anthony Edwards' stellar production needs to continue
Ant has been the Wolves' only consistent source of shot creation throughout the series. His co-star Julius Randle has struggled mightily, averaging 14.3 points while shooting 37 percent from the field and averaging more turnovers than assists. Jaden McDaniels hasn't totally found his groove either, averaging 14.8 points on 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Ayo Dosunmu has been hampered by injuries and is averaging 7 points while shooting 25 percent from the field.
Luckily, Naz Reid has stepped up, averaging 14 points while shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from 3-point range. Still, Reid is a play finisher, not a play initiator. As such, in terms of players who are consistently creating and initiating offense for the Wolves at a high level, it's pretty much all been Ant.
Listen, it would be a game-changer if at least one of Randle, McDaniels, or Ayo could suddenly right the ship. Regardless, at this point, that doesn't seem like something the Wolves can count on. As such, the Wolves' most bankable recipe for success is counting on Ant-Man to continue delivering heroic performances.
Frankly, it's remarkable what Ant has been able to do coming off his second knee injury since March. A skeptic might say that continuing to bank on this production from a player who still isn't 100 percent is risky. Nevertheless, Ant has looked much closer to himself in the last two games, and this gives the Wolves a clear blueprint to pull off an upset.
Given what we've seen from him in this series and his track record of elite playoff production, it's fair to expect Edwards' incredible play to continue, which could ultimately flip this series in Minnesota's favor.
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