Anthony Edwards was so dominant at times early in the playoffs that he was getting compared to Michael Jordan, but such talk has quickly come to a halt early in the Western Conference finals. Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves lost the first two games at home by a combined four points in large part because of his' poor performances.
Ahead of what is essentially a must-win Game 3 in Dallas on Sunday, Edwards told reporters at shootaround that he plans to get himself and his team back on track by changing his approach.
"Y'all gonna see tonight," Edwards said. "It's gonna be a lot of shots. I'm gonna be super aggressive. I haven't took more than 16 shots in each game, so I'm gonna be ultra aggressive coming out."
Edwards has scored 40 points on 11-of-33 (33.3%) shooting in the first two games. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, he had three 40-point outings in 11 games and was averaging 28.9 points on 50.4% shooting, while attempting over 20 shots a night.
The Timberwolves' offense is built around Edwards, who is responsible for a majority of the scoring and playmaking. During the playoffs he has a 29.0 usage rate, and is leading the team in both scoring and assists. In fact, he's the only one averaging at least 20 points. When he has an off night, it's often hard for them to win. The fact that they still had a chance to take Games 1 and 2 only makes those results more frustrating.
There was no better example of Edwards' recent struggles than his turnover in the closing seconds of Game 2. With the Timberwolves clinging to a two-point lead, Edwards drove on Mavericks rookie big man Dereck Lively II, pivoted a few times, then threw the ball out of bounds. One possession later, Luka Doncic hit the game-winning 3-pointers over Rudy Gobert.
When Edwards is at his best, he's either getting downhill to finish at the rim or draw a foul, or pulling up for a jumper. Normally so self-assured, he looked hesitant on that key possession.
"I probably been getting away from having fun out there," Edwards said. "Just letting my misses and stuff get in my head. I just got to get back to having fun, playing with joy, with a smile on my face."
The Timberwolves need Edwards to be better if they want to get back in this series. So far, he's saying all the right things. Can he back it up on the court?
