Everything has its own life cycle, as strong as the Lakers Dynasty and the Warrior Dynasty also have a lonely day, and then ushered in a reconstruction period. Some teams quickly completed the alternation between old and new, just as the Grizzlies rose quickly after getting Morant, finishing second in the West this season. However, even though some teams have won the championship early and introduced famous superstars, they still have nothing to do; just like the Timberwolves, after getting Wiggins and Towns, they have only reached the playoffs once so far, and have been eliminated in the first round. There are incompatibilities in star technology, improper platooning of managers, and fierce competition in the external environment.
If a set of lineups and a set of offensive and defensive tactics have lasted for several years and still cannot get good results, it means that there are great problems, so it is necessary to reform the original lineup, so that it is possible to play a brilliant record. Isn't that? The Timberwolves traded Wiggins to the Warriors, got Russell, who was friends with Towns, and the team won the proud son of heaven - Edwards in 2020, thus completing the core lineup building, and the team once again embarked on the road to rebuild.
After more than a season of tempering, the new Timberwolves played a different spirit, and Towns' style of play became tougher and aggressive. In the 21-22 season, Towns not only won the three-point contest, but also scored a career high of 60 points against the Spurs, why did he only play a little bit of the title this season? In fact, it has to do with who his teammates are. Although Wiggins in the past was also a champion, he still lacked offensive aggression after all, but this time his teammate became Edwards.
Although Edwards does not have the talent to match James, his performance on the field is worthy of the status of the champion, at least the champion is not watery. Judging from his data, he is the most able to show his strong personal ability, whether it is shooting, dunking, attacking and killing, three-point, passing, he is almost an all-round point guard, and his play style is both violent aesthetics. It seemed that Edwards played a personal performance that exceeded expectations, so much so that fans were lamenting that the Timberwolves had finally waited for their savior.
Isn't that? In this game against the Spurs at home, the second-year Edwards once again played a super level: Edwards was 16 of 28 in this game, 6 of 14 three-pointers, 11 of 14 free throws, and slashed 49 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. In just one game, he brushed up eight miracles:
First, 49 points set a new single-game scoring record for Edwards' career;
Second, in the history of the NBA, the four highest players in history before the age of 21 were James, Durant, Anthony and Edwards;
Third, this is the fifth time in Edwards' career that he has scored 40+ points per game, which is also the number of single-game 40+ points in a single game that broke the Timberwolves' career created by Kevin Garnett;
Fourth, it was Edwards' third 40+ point game since the season;
Fifth, Edwards has scored 30+ points nine times this season;
Sixth, Edwards has scored the same 40+ points this season as Jokic and James;
Seventh, the players who can score at least 300 three-pointers before the age of 21 are Lamelo Ball, Edwards and Luka Doncic;
Eighth, james (8) scored the most 40+ points before the age of 21, followed by Edwards (5).
In addition, he not only gave a spectacular burst dunk in the game, but also a variety of three-point goals and fouls. In the third quarter, he was 5 of 6, 2 of 2 of three points, 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists; in the final quarter, he scored 17 points in a single quarter, single-handedly extinguishing the Spurs' counterattack offensive fire, and stabilized the team's seventh place record in the West with the victory of this game. It can be said that Edwards used a tough temperament to drive the team's combat strength, and even awakened the beast that was sleeping in Downs's body.
Maybe we're all marveling at the performances of Doncic, Trae Young, Morante, and the three-goalers, but don't forget the Timberwolves' title Edwards, whose strength should not be underestimated. He has now proved his strength with impeccable performance, his brilliance is better than Downs, and he is the new wolf king who deserves it. There will be such a day, he can do "will draw a bow like a full moon, look northwest, shoot the wolf", you and I just need to wait.