Anthony Edwards' Effort Called Out By Wolves HC After NBA Playoffs Loss to Warriors
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch suggested that superstar guard Anthony Edwards fell short in the leadership department during Tuesday's 99-88 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Speaking to reporters following the defeat, Finch said: "It starts with Ant. I thought he struggled, and then you could just kind of see the light go out a little bit for a while."
Finch expanded on his thoughts, noting that he shouldn't have to go out of his way to get players up for such a huge game, particularly when it comes to a player of Edwards' caliber:
"What is there to talk about? You're the leader of the team. You've got to come out and set the tone. If your shot is not going, you still have to carry the energy. If I've got to talk to guys about having the right energy coming into an opening second-round game, then we're not on the same page."
While Edwards did finish with a team-high 23 points and 14 rebounds, he went 0-for-8 from the field in the first half and had only one point at halftime, which is a big reason why Minnesota faced a 44-31 deficit that it was unable to overcome.
Edwards pushed back a bit on Finch's comments, noting that he was engaged defensively in the first half, as he had two steals and the normally explosive Warriors were on pace for only 88 points.
Still, he suggested he was fine with taking responsibility for the loss, saying: "People are going to try to blame whatever, blame whoever; they can blame me. [But] we just didn't play good enough."
Although he is still just 23 years old and only in his fifth NBA season, Edwards is the unquestioned face of the franchise, meaning much of the praise and blame typically lands on him depending on how the T-Wolves fare.
The three-time All-Star averaged a career-high 27.6 points per game during the regular season, and he led the way as Minnesota upset LeBron James, Luka Dončić and the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
Edwards' performance in that series was a carry-over from last season when he averaged 27.6 points per game in 16 playoff contests, as the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals.
Tuesday's game perhaps should have been an easy win for the T-Wolves since Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry was limited to only 13 minutes due to a hamstring strain.
Curry still managed to score 13 points in those 13 minutes, though, while Buddy Hield stepped up with a game-high 24 points and Jimmy Butler added 20.
The biggest difference was the three-point shooting disparity between the teams, as Minnesota made only five of its 29 attempts from deep, whereas Golden State shot a strong 18-for-42 from long range.
Edwards made only one of his five tries from beyond the arc, and no other Timberwolves starter made a triple in the game.
Finch will likely try to hang his hat on the idea that Edwards and the team as a whole learned something from Tuesday's loss, which can help turn things around in Thursday's Game 2.
