Edwards made strides while Towns was out. Now it all needs to come together

Edwards outpaced his season averages in points, rebounds and assists in the 18 games Towns missed due to injury.

The best part about Anthony Edwards scoring a career-high 51 points in a 130-121 home victory over the Washington Wizards back on April 9, according to his coach, Chris Finch, was that all of those points came within the flow of the game. 

Edwards wasn’t forcing shots or chasing points, something he’s shown a propensity to do in his still incredibly young NBA career. He wasn’t playing into a crowd or trying to force things that weren’t there. When the Wizards collapsed on him, Edwards kicked it out and found the open man.

Turnovers were infrequent. Edwards took the right shots and turned in a masterful performance, setting a new career high with the 51 points, not to mention also contributing seven assists and six boards while turning the ball over just twice. A truly incredible game. 

“I know there was a couple (shots) he wanted down the stretch, but he just kept making the right kickout, showed patience, poise, great efficiency, I mean, 17 for 29 (from the field), 6 for 13 from the 3-point line and 11 free throws, I mean, that’s the way you get to 50,” Finch said after the game. “It’s not a volume thing, it’s an efficiency thing. And I thought it was an unbelievable performance with the maturity and great — like I said, staying in the flow.” 

That game was among the 18 games where the Timberwolves were without fellow All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, who was out from March 7 to April 12 after tearing the meniscus in his left knee. During that time, Edwards became even more of a focal point of opposing defenses. 

The results were pretty good, both for Edwards and the Timberwolves. Minnesota went 12-6 over the stretch with Towns out, and Edwards was thrust into more playmaking roles without Towns in the lineup to draw that significant attention he does from opposing defenses.

“I thought it was good for Anthony to face so much attention, which really sparked a lot of great playmaking opportunities for him,” Finch said. 

Edwards averaged 26.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in the 18 games without Towns in the lineup. All of those numbers are a tick higher than his season averages of 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game across the entire season. 

Even better, Edwards’ turnovers were down over that stretch. This season, Edwards is turning the ball over 3.1 times per game; that mark was down to 2.6 in the 18 games without Towns.

“A lot of credit to Anthony because the pressure and attention on him went up, and for the most part, I thought he did a really good job of getting off the ball, using his gravity to create offense for his teammates,” Finch said. 

Now Towns is back, returning just in time to get two regular-season games under his belt before the Timberwolves kick off their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, which begins on Saturday at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis. Grab your popcorn.

Towns had some rust to shake off during those two regular-season games, so it's difficult to gauge what the end results can be with him back in the lineup, considering the steps the players around him have taken during his injury absence. It takes a little time to get that rhythm back and adjust to what the offense is doing now. Fortunately, the Wolves had him back early to shake off that rust.

That means they won't have to start from scratch in the playoffs when it comes to reintegrating Towns into the lineup. They've had the two games, not to mention, they have a week to prepare for a Suns team they've lost to thrice this season, with each loss coming by double digits.

The Timberwolves will need to get their groove back offensively, and Towns should be a boon for Edwards, who has taken that leap as a playmaker during his absence. Towns draws similar attention and will be another focal point of the Suns defense. If Edwards can show the same improved playmaking and decision-making with Towns back in the lineup, the Wolves offense could be scary.

“Now we have another person who draws that type of attention, and KAT’s got to really kind of lean into making that easy, quick play,” Finch said. “And we’ve seen how his teammates — everyone is benefitting from it. … And hopefully Ant can benefit from the gravity of KAT and vice versa, and that we didn’t always have during the regular season. So hopefully now, like, we see it and believe in it a little bit more.”

If they can, the sky is truly the limit for this Timberwolves team. If they can’t, the Suns will certainly make them pay for any discombobulation that may come on the offensive side of the ball.