Anthony Edwards defended his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns from the narrative that the center has been a stat-stuffer for most of his career for his big numbers but minimal defensive success before this season.
“He was never viewed as a stat-stuffer. He was never viewed as that, especially when I got here. I always thought he was a great defensive player. He just had to put his mind to it.”
Edwards made it clear that Chris Finch’s defensive influence on the team has impacted every player, with the team especially motivating Towns to be a major defensive contributor.
“When Finchy got here, man, Finchy put emphasis on, ‘Hey, Ant and KAT, if we wanna go somewhere, we gotta defend’. And like he said, that’s the head of the snake. And hearing that from him, it pushed KAT. And I tell KAT, we need you to defend. Corliss tells KAT, we need you to defend. The whole team. And ever since he’s been back, this whole year, man, since he’s been at the 4, he’s been defending his ass off.”
Anthony Edwards went a little “Mama Bear” when @JonKrawczynski asked KAT about his capabilities and not being a stat stuffer.
Ant: He was never viewed as a stat stuffer. He was never viewed as that. Especially when I got here, I always thought he was a great defensive player, he… pic.twitter.com/ZEgf6T39Kl
— Nadine Babu (@NadineBabu) May 7, 2024
Karl-Anthony Towns has been one of the most talented players in the NBA since being drafted in 2015 but has been regarded as one of the worst big man defenders in recent memory. He’s shattered that reputation by holding his own defensively as the Wolves look like one of the greatest modern defenses in NBA history.
Minnesota ended the regular season with a defensive rating of 109.0, a mark that’s 2.3 points better than any other team in the NBA. For context, teams that finished two through nine on the defensive rating rankings are separated by 2.1 points.
If Towns was still as bad a defender as people claim, the Wolves wouldn’t be so much better than every other team when it comes to defense. He’s averaging 20.7 points and 9.0 rebounds this playoff run, returning from a torn meniscus a week before the playoffs and continuing to excel while on the court as a secondary option behind Edwards.
Anthony Edwards Will Not Underestimate Denver Heading Into Game 3
Anthony Edwards is ready to face the challenge the Nuggets will pose in Game 3, not underestimating his opposition and stressing the importance of his team needing to be ready to handle whatever Denver throws at them as well as throwing punches of their own.
“That’s the defending champs over there. They’re not gonna come out and play like that again in Game 3. We gotta be ready to take their punch. I always tell the team when we huddle up, and (Chris Finch) say, ‘We gotta be ready to take they punch’, I say, ‘We gonna punch too’. S***, they not the only one punching in the fight.”
Edwards made it clear his mentality will stay the same even if the Wolves win Game 3 and have a chance to sweep Denver.
“I don’t give a damn if we go up 3-0. For Game 4 we gonna come out punching, too. So they gotta be ready to take our punch and we will be ready to take their punch. I don’t see any slippage in their games. They just missed shots tonight. They’ll be ready to go (in) Game 3 and we will be.”
His growth as a leader has been remarkable to see, as everyone can tell Edwards is more than just the vocal leader of the team. His teammates look at him as the team’s superstar and he has delivered so far in the Playoffs.
Edwards is averaging 32.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists through the five wins the Wolves have enjoyed so far. He will be looking to make these numbers look even more impressive as the Wolves look to seal their first Conference Finals appearance since 2004.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
