A former NBA player has called out Anthony Edwards for shifting away from his game and taking too many three-pointers.
In the Minnesota Timberwolves’ most recent game against the Indiana Pacers, Anthony Edwards scored 17 points and shot only 36.8% from the field.
He shot 1-11 from three point range, which are not a great numbers, considering Edwards is shooting a career-high 39.5% from beyond the arc this season.
The Timberwolves lost the game 103-119 against the Pacers and are now eight seed in the West with only nine more games left to play.
Discussing about the game, former NBA player Lou Williams stated Edwards was making it easy for the opposition by taking as many threes as he did in the game against the Pacers.
Edwards is one of the most explosive players in the league and his strength lies in getting to the rim.
Williams stated Edwards going against that and just settling for threes would make things easy for the opponents.
“I don’t love it, you are bailing teams out. Especially when you are 1-11 in that game. Sometimes being a young guy you can get caught up in ‘I got to make the next one, got to make the next one, and before you know it you are 1-11 from the field, from the three-point line,” said Williams on ‘Run it Back.’
He added: “But if you are Anthony Edwards this is a bailout for other teams, you are making their job easy, you are not using your sharpest weapon.
“Your sharpest weapon in your arsenal is your ability to get to the rim.”
Edwards is one of the most athletically gifted players in the league and his ability to dunk the ball is among the very best.
Williams further added: “The moment he gets back to using his size, he’s going to put pressure on every defense that they run into for the rest of his career if he makes a conscious effort in that, so I don’t love the fact that he’s shot 30 plus threes in three games.
“Especially losses, this is telling you that this is a recipe that isn’t working.”
The T-Wolves were expected to come into the current NBA season as contenders as they made it to the Western Conference Finals last campaign.
However, after they made some big trades that saw Karl-Anthony Towns move to the New York Knicks and Julius Randle come in return to Minnesota, things changed a bit.
As good as Randle is, Towns’ ability to stretch the floor is something that not a lot of centres can showcase.
Towns has thrived in New York and is delivering performances that people did not expect from him, while Randle has had a below par year and is only getting used to life in Minnesota.
This puts all the pressure on Edwards and the team will only go as far as he leads them.
He is currently one of the best young players in the league and if he has another great season, Edwards would have a strong foothold in face of the league conversations, although the 23-year-old has mentioned that he does not want that.
The T-Wolves will need a strong finish to their regular season if they are to get directly into the playoffs.
They have some tough matchups against teams like Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons, but with Edwards on their side, they have a great chance to close the season on a high note and avoid the play-in altogether.
