Yesterday's regular season, the Timberwolves won 109-107 away to the Blazers, the first two quarters of this game were also suppressed by the Blazers, the Timberwolves fell behind 55-63 at the end of the half, and in the third quarter, the Timberwolves played a wave of 29-19 in the single quarter, successfully surpassing the opponent by 2 points.
In the crucial fourth quarter, the Timberwolves led the Blazers by 9 points at 106-97 with 3 and a half minutes left, but in the following 3 minutes, the Blazers played a 10-1 wave to chase the score to 107 draws again. Until 10 seconds left, Russell's layup was interfered with by Simmons, and the Timberwolves completed the quasi-kill.
In this game, the Timberwolves' three core performances are quite good:
—Towns, who shot 4-of-7 and 3-of-4 from three-point range, had 17 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks
Russell, 7-of-16 shooting and 5-of-6 from the free throw line, had 22 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists
— Edwards, who shot 14-of-27 from the field, 5-of-13 from three-point range and 7-of-11 from the free throw line, had 40 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks
Among them, Edwards' performance is undoubtedly the most eye-catching, he scored 19 points in the first half, the key fourth quarter, he single-handedly scored 14 of the team's 25 points, the whole game, Edwards played a total of 39 minutes, the plus-minus value reached +14, in other words, he was not on the court for 9 minutes, the Timberwolves net loss of 12 points.
Counting this game, Edwards has scored 40+ 4 times in his career:
- Against the Suns, 42 points (mid last season)
- Against the Grizzlies, 42 points (end of last season)
— Against the Warriors, 48 points (at the beginning of the season)
- Against the Blazers, 40 points (this game)
Edwards thus became the fourth player in NBA history to have won at least four 40+ times before the age of 21, the previous three were James (8 times), Durant (4 times), Andrcic (4 times) - half a year before Edwards' 21st birthday, he still has a chance to surpass Durant and Doncic.
So far this season, Edwards has played in 41 games, averaging 22.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 35.1 minutes per game, shooting 44.6%/37.6%/79.3% from three fields and shooting 56.5% from the field.
For comparison, Edwards averaged 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season, shooting 41.7%/32.9%/77.6% from three fields and 52.3% from the field.
Compared to the rookie season, Edwards' stats have improved, efficiency has improved, and the impact on the team is more different:
— Edwards was present last season, the Timberwolves lost 5.0 points per 100 rounds, Edwards was not present, and the Timberwolves lost 6.8 points per 100 rounds
— This season, Edwards was present, the Timberwolves scored 5.2 points per 100 rounds, Edwards was not present, and the Timberwolves lost 5.3 points per 100 rounds
In terms of stats and influence, Edwards is already an All-Star player, but it's not easy for him to be an All-Star — the Western Conference backcourt has always been full of talent, Curry, Morant, Paul, Booker, Doncic, Mitchell, Edwards squeezed any of the above is a bit difficult.
Still, Edwards was confident in himself, and after scoring 40 points in this game, Edwards was asked about his potential and said: "If not this year, it's next year, absolutely, I will compete for MVP next year." ”
Sounds like an exaggeration?
Indeed, but Edwards is such a confident player, which can also be seen in his previous interviews, and to be honest, don't underestimate potential new stars like Edwards - look at Morant, who was suspected of not improving last season and played directly at the best team level this season, and then look at Rose, who is not even an All-Star in the second grade, and directly got the MVP in the third grade.
Of course, now Edwards and timberwolves should be more of a goal in the playoffs, after winning the Blazers, the last 11 games the Timberwolves 8 wins and 3 losses, currently 24 wins and 23 losses, the record of the West seventh, very promising to return to the playoffs, as for Edwards, he really has the potential of superstars, I hope the Wolves must be well trained.