Anthony Edwards Explains How Wemby's Ejection Made Things 'Harder' on Wolves in Game 4 vs. Spurs

Anthony Edwards told reporters following Sunday's 114-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs that Victor Wembanyama's ejection for elbowing Naz Reid in the face during the second quarter actually made life more difficult for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I dunno, honestly man I think it was kinda harder. Just because—of course they're a really great team with him on the floor, but they play a lot slower when he's on the floor," he said. "Because everything is revolved around him. It's just like when any team's missing their best player, everybody plays free, they get more shots, more confident. So I think it was a lot harder on us. ... Everybody knows the rim's going to be a lot more open when he's not on the floor. But for them offensively, they play a lot more loose when he's not on the floor."

Edwards himself was fantastic in the contest, putting up 36 points as the Wolves evened the series at two games apiece.

After the contest, he dedicated the performance to his mother:

But Wemby's ejection undoubtedly changed the course of the game. The Spurs' superstar appeared to get frustrated with how physically he was being defended in the second quarter, responding by drilling Naz Reid with an elbow.

Officials ultimately deemed it a Flagrant 2 and ejected him.

While Edwards may have preferred Wemby off the court, the Spurs have been fantastic when he's played this postseason, with a plus-17.9 net rating while he's on the court, per NBA.com, and a solid but diminished plus-8.9 net rating when he sits. That primarily plays out on the defensive end—with Wemby on the court, the team has an amazing 95.4 net rating that goes up to 105.4 when he sits.

Their offensive rating goes from 113.3 with him on the court to 114.2 without him, a mild improvement (but certainly not worth the loss of his otherworldly defensive impact).

Either way, Edwards and the Wolves picked up a much-needed win on Sunday, with the series returning to San Antonio on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET (NBC).