Anthony Edwards will become the face of the NBA sometime in the near future. I truly believe that. That’s because he continues to prove himself on the big stage and now has a roster that perfectly complements his skills, which has allowed him to dominate on both ends of the floor.
The Timberwolves look like they have a legitimate shot at making the conference finals, which would put themon course to a mouthwatering second round showdown with the defending champion Denver Nuggets, who are also kicking the shit out of their first round opposition.
‘Ant’ was up to his usual antics in Game 3 of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first round series against the Phoenix Suns. He was nigh-unstoppable as he took on his idol Kevin Durant and finished the game with 36 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 43 minutes of play. Edwards shot 12 of 23 overall and 11 of 11 from the charity stripe, and his only issue during the game was going 1 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Edwards’ upward trajectory is a boon for Minnesota, who are growing in confidence with every victory in the playoffs. They’ve won their three games against the Suns by an average of 18 points and it now looks like they’re probably going to pull off the sweep.
Sweeping Phoenix is no laughing matter. The Suns aren’t a normal sixth seed and are a superteam in their own right. With a Big Three of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, the expectation before the start of the series was that it would be hard-fought. Edwards made sure that this wasn’t the case.
While the Suns’ stars combined for 76 points in Game 3, the other eight Phoenix players to take the court combined for an embarrassing 23 points. Royce O’Neale and Jusuf Nurkic, the other two starters, had three points between them and shot a combined 1 of 9 from the field.
That’s the difference between the Suns and Timberwolves. The latter have a deep roster that understand their roles and have been happy to allow Edwards to shine while finding their own ways to contribute. Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds in the victory, while Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Mike Conley shot 6 of 11 overall and finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists. Newly minted Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid chipped in 13 points, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker ended the game with 16 points and five assists.
The Suns simply look overmatched in the series, which is a complete reversal from the regular season, where they beat the Timberwolves in all three games by an average of 15.6 points. Even if Phoenix manage to pull off a win in Game 4, I think that’s the last victory they’ll have. If Edwards has to say anything about it, he’ll be sending his idol packing.
