Who knows what happened behind the scenes in Minnesota that made them think a run to the 2024 Western Conference Finals was proof that they needed to reconstruct the heart of their offense, trading prime Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks and bringing in an aging Julius Randle and a solid player in Donte Divincenzo.
The Anthony Edwards-KAT combo was one of the most lethal in the NBA. While Edwards was getting Michael Jordan comparisons for his dominant performances and impact on winning, KAT accepted his demotion to No. 2 option and, in retrospect, we are all seeing just how much easier he made life for Edwards, including as a vocal leader when needed.
With Minnesota struggling at 17-16 this season, Edwards has been critical of his team and his own performance.
“We have the answers. The coaches give us the answers,” Edwards said. “We just aren’t executing as a team, from one to fifteen. They tell us every night what we need to do to win the game, and somehow we don’t achieve it every night.”
“We have to get back to that. We have to mature, man.”
Charles Barkley Says Anthony Edwards Has Regressed: Jordan Comparisons Unwarranted
On “Inside The NBA,” Hall of Famer Charles Barkley suggested that the 2024 All-NBA guard’s play has regressed, leading him to conclude that the comparisons to Jordan were premature.
“I actually think Anthony Edwards, in my opinion, has regressed because he’s become an outside shooter. He’s not aggressive like he was last year,” Barkley said as video of Julius Randle shooting prior to the game showed on the screen. “Anthony Edwards regressed because he’s taken too many threes, in my opinion — way too many. He’s such a terrific player; if you’re guarding him, you want him shooting threes.”
After attempting 6.7 threes a game last season, Ant-Man went into the offseason intent on shooting more threes, which he has, bumping those attempts up to 9.7 per game. He’s also making an impressive 41 percent of his triples, but his 24.5 ppg scoring average is his lowest in the past three seasons.
The thunderous dunks aren’t accompanied by the clutch late-game performances and he clearly hasn’t been able to find chemistry with his new teammates just 33 games into the season.
While the athletic 6-foot-4 guard is still a nightmare to defend with high energy on both ends, his consistency and efficiency has declined a bit as his reliance on the three-point shot has made him a less impactful player.
Edwards, who’s averaging just 18.9 points per game over his last eight games, says his struggles have come because he’s being double teamed, which is what was going to happen when you trade away a lethal weapon like KAT.
Welcome to the world of carrying the franchise and pressure of being THE GUY.
Charles Barkley Says Anthony Edwards Is Shooting Too Many Three-Pointers
Edwards’ game was compared to MJ because of the way he played. He can take you off the dribble, drive, hit the midrange, dunk and shoot long-range. Edwads also locks in on the defensive end when needed.
Now, with the three-pointer increasingly becoming the weapon of choice for elite scorers, Barkley doesn’t believe that Edwards should be following that trend. Someone as athletically blessed as him is just playing into the defense’s hands by relegating himself to a jump-shooter.
“If he’s going to the basket, he’s dunking on people, he’s getting you in foul trouble, he’s getting you in the penalty sooner,” the one-time league MVP explained. “The one game we watched him early this year, he came out and made like six threes in the first quarter. And I said, ‘I hate the way he’s playing,’ even though he made six.”
With LeBron James in his twilight years and other stars of the past 20 seasons at the final stages of Hall of Fame careers, the fans and younger generation want an American star to ascend to the top of the game.
Edwards Coming Off Worst Game Of Season Against Boston Celtics: Must Grow As Leader
Last season was Ant-Man’s time to get the mantle in the court of public opinion. Now we are seeing how delicate NBA championship teams are and how hard it is for a 23-year-old to exhibit all of the behaviors on and off the court that leaders of championship teams consistently do.
“Last year, we were saying this dude’s like Michael Jordan. They’re just both Black. He’s not Michael Jordan,” Chuck stressed. “He’s got a chance of being a great player. But I personally think he’s regressed to become a jump shooter. He’s not aggressive. He’s going to have to become more of a leader.”
In Thursday night’s 118-115 loss to a Boston Celtics team playing without Jaylen Brown, Edwards had an opportunity to grab a huge win against the defending champs, but instead had one of his worst shooting games of the season, going 5 of 16 from the floor and 2-for-9 from three-point range for just 15 points. If he played anywhere near his capabilities the Timberwolves would have won the game.
When comparing Edwards to MJ, people never take into account that Edwards has plenty of growing to do, and if you want guys who are older than him to respect his leadership, then he has to figure out how to make that work. Being a champion is a full-time job that requires sacrifice, a level head and constant personal and team evaluation.
There’s no compromising that. There’s still time for Edwards to adjust some things entering the second half of the season. He just has to be willing to be led, and with KAT in New York having an MVP-caliber season with a team on a nine-game winning streak, Edwards is going to have to figure it out on his own.
