Anthony Edwards has been out for four games now with a knee injury. At the time of this writing, it's unclear when Ant-Man will return to the court, but it's widely expected that he'll be back before the playoffs. The Minnesota Timberwolves are 3-1 without their best player. During this stretch, the Wolves' ball movement and commitment to pushing the pace have stood out.
Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland have done a great job of taking on increased offensive duties without Ant. During this stretch, Ayo is averaging 19 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on 50/47.4/90 shooting splits. Bones is averaging 20 points with 52.9/44.8/92.9 shooting splits. Jaden McDaniels has also found his groove, averaging 17 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the past four games.
These past few games should remind the Wolves of their overall scoring talent, and when Edwards returns, this increased ball movement should continue. To this end, Dosunmu and Hyland have initiated more of the offense, which is a trend that must continue. Moreover, the Timberwolves must keep pushing the pace when Edwards returns.
All of these fairly minor changes would benefit Ant and the team as a whole.
Tweaking Ant's role has clear benefits for the Timberwolves
Throughout the season, it's been clear that the Timberwolves are better when Ant scores a bit less, and everyone else is more involved. Notably, the Wolves are 15-13 when Edwards scores 30-plus points and 26-14 when he scores fewer than 30 points.
I want to be clear, none of this should be a knock against Edwards. He is a top-five-level player in the league, and the Wolves won't win anything substantial without him. Nevertheless, the Wolves have often been too dependent on Ant as the team's lone offensive initiator. This has made the Timberwolves' offense predictable at times, and it's limited the effectiveness of Minnesota's complementary players.
Allowing Ayo (and Bones) to initiate more of the offense and utilizing Ant off-ball more would benefit all parties. Outside of giving the team's complementary talent more scoring opportunities, Edwards would benefit from playing off the ball more often. He is one of the league's best off-ball shooters, netting 50.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. Yet just 26.7 percent of his 3-point attempts are off catch-and-shoot looks.
In addition to giving Edwards some high-percentage shots, playing off the ball is a clear way for him to negate double teams.
The other small tweak for Edwards would be getting out in transition more often and pushing the pace. Ant has done a much better job of this throughout the season. He currently ranks in the 84th percentile for transition scoring per NBA.com, which is the best mark of his career. Still, I think there's room for improvement, and the recent play of Ayo and Bones should reinforce this idea. Edwards is one of the league's best athletes, and there's no reason he can't thrive in transition at an even higher rate.
None of this is a massive overhauling change, and it shouldn't be -- the Wolves are a proven team, and Ant is an elite player. Regardless, utilizing Edwards a bit more off the ball and having him push the pace in transition more would help the team's all-around strengths shine through.