Anthony Edwards’ heroic shots get Timberwolves out of trouble

A year ago Anthony Edwards was required to sum up what happened in Minnesota s blowout Challenge loss at the hands of Dallas to end the Timberwolves season in the Western Conference Finals Luka Edwards declared referencing Luka Doncic by first name only It s that simple He hit like three shots from the logo pretty much Nothing we can do about it Indeed Doncic splashed a number of kill shots early that evening at Target Center that sapped the life from Minnesota and effectively ended the series on the spot There is a powerless feeling that overcomes a association when an opposing competitor hits a series of laborious shots for which there is no defense It breaks your spirit Fast forward to the postseason and the Timberwolves are back in the Western Conference Finals the first crew to repeat the achievement in consecutive seasons since in large part because the soul crushee has become the crusher Minnesota won its first two playoff series each in five games setting itself up well in terms of maximum rest and minimum wear and tear ahead of Competition of the Western Conference Finals which will be at p m Central on Tuesday in either Denver or Oklahoma City After Minnesota dispatched the Lakers in Encounter the superstar guard strutted through the hallways of Crypto com Arena shouting Ant-Man Batman Superman Wolves in five Fitting As Minnesota s sailing has only been this smooth in these playoffs because whenever Minnesota has revealed itself in danger Edwards has put on his cape and come to the rescue with heroic -balls Which yeah is otherwise known as hero ball But that word often carries a negative connotation For Minnesota this postseason perhaps savior ball is a better term Trailing by in the fourth quarter of Challenge against the Lakers Minnesota was staring down a - tie with the series heading back to Los Angeles for Battle Edwards had other ideas On the first possession of the final frame Edwards held the ball feet away from the hoop with Doncic of all people directly in front of him After a brief hold the guard decided to rise and fire Splash https www twincities com wp-content uploads ScreenRecording - - - - - mp Minnesota was now within seven but only briefly Austin Reaves answered with a triple of his own on the other end of the floor No matter Edwards came down on Minnesota s ensuing possession came off a high screen and again shot over the outstretched arm of Doncic Same product https www twincities com wp-content uploads ScreenRecording - - - - - mp Minnesota was still down seven with fewer than eight minutes to play when Edwards sized up Reaves on the perimeter He took a hard step at the Lakers guard before executing his go-to step-back jumper Reaves delivered a commendable contest https www twincities com wp-content uploads ScreenRecording - - - - - mp It didn t matter The Wolves were within four and Target Center was rocking Minnesota went on to win the tournament to effectively end the series Fast forward to Challenge of the Western Conference semifinals which was tied - and a Steph Curry-less Golden State group was fighting tooth and nail to claim a contest to re-claim the series lead and buy time for Curry to get healthy Golden State led by six with minutes to play and Minnesota couldn t buy a bucket for much of the night This specific possession was going no better for the Wolves Edwards came off the screen with the shot clock dwindling Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski switched onto Edwards and removed his air space to force Edwards to take a prayer with the shot clock set to expire He drained it https www twincities com wp-content uploads ScreenRecording - - - - - mp That shot gave Minnesota life Three minutes later the Wolves were down one Edwards caught the ball at the top of the floor with Gary Payton II guarding him closely Yet Edwards didn t hesitate for a moment right away rising for the shot when he touched the ball https www twincities com wp-content uploads ScreenRecording - - - - - mp Good again this time giving Minnesota a lead it never relinquished Credit to the Warriors they came back out in Match and gave it another honest effort in the first half in an attempt to stay in the series Again Golden State out-played Minnesota for much of the first half and had a five-point lead to show for it with seconds remaining in the second quarter Edwards dribbled down the floor crossed over Payton and shot from roughly feet over the arms of Payton and Draymond Green as the buzzer sounded You already know how this story ends https www twincities com wp-content uploads ScreenRecording - - - - - mp The shot brought Minnesota within two at the half and the Wolves ran the Warriors out of the building coming out of the break Edwards has consistently sensed the moments when his organization has needed a boost This year he s armed with a lethal -point shot capable of delivering whenever called upon We re lucky with him Wolves coach Chris Finch admitted Because there merely aren t several players capable of hitting the shots Edwards takes Per NBA Com material players across the league are shoot on closely guarded -point attempts in these playoffs where a defender is within two to four feet of the shot taker Edwards is for on such attempts The rest of the Wolves are for The -year-old is Minnesota s only real option when it s in a tight spot and demands points in bunches to create the mere chance for a comeback And Superman is hopping into the booth to answer the call every time the phone rings in these playoffs with zero hesitation Just trusting the work man I trust myself And I tell my teammates It s time It s time for that Edwards commented So they already know They know what it is When I get in that mode get me the ball Try to get me open I tell them all the time You set a good screen we gonna result I promise you Rudy Gobert was sitting next to Edwards at the press conference table when the topic was discussed and he noted it s a balance in his mind He s a believer in organization basketball with the right play being the pass to the open man There have been times in the past where Edwards forced shot attempts have been a cause for frustration for Finch and fellow teammates But they ve all appreciated how the young guard has been more deliberate about picking his spots of when to swing for the fences this season And when he s squaring it up and tallying far more home runs than strikeouts there is little about which to complain He s such a unique scorer and high confidence performer Gobert declared Sometimes you ve just got to let him do his thing Sometimes he s going to make it miss it but you ve got to let him do his thing Especially in the playoffs where defenses are all carrying out intensely-detailed gameplans with maximum effort There will be several possessions where try as you might you aren t going to generate anything resembling a good shot It s a near requirement to have a cheat code sportsman who s invariably holding a get out of jail free card in his back pocket to win your group the games in which the chips seem to stacked heavily against you Everybody demands one of those guys or multiples of those guys Finch noted This time of the year sometimes it just comes down to that Related Articles The stomach is not full Timberwolves won t be satisfied with less than NBA Finals Frederick Can the Lynx be the Spurs If so look out Mizutani All aboard the Julius Randle bandwagon From Are we even going to have a chance to make the playoffs to another West Finals for Timberwolves Frederick Timberwolves bypassed lottery balls in are better for it