ORLANDO – Anthony Edwards scored 35 points in the Timberwolves' win over the Magic on Wednesday, and if the Wolves have designs on beating Philadelphia on the road Saturday, they certainly could use another night like the one Edwards just had.
But what version of Edwards is going to show up?
Even Edwards knows he can be prone to letdowns and inconsistent nights after he puts up strong numbers in the previous game.
"I'm still figuring it out, man," Edwards said Wednesday. "Year 3 for me. I should be a little better as far as trying to be more consistent game by game. I'm still figuring out routines, habits, trying to find ways to continue to dominate every night."
This is the next step in Edwards' maturation. Anyone can see Edwards is capable of All-Star level production on any given night. But to be an All-Star means to do that almost every night, not just once every few games. Wolves coach Chris Finch spoke often last season about that being the trajectory for Edwards' career, to stack these kind of nights on top of one another and not just be satisfied with the occasional good game.
"It's mindset, approach," Finch said. "How do you recover quickly? How do you restock the energy needed?
"It's also recognizing that every game is a little bit different, and doing the things that are necessary in that game, but also playing to your strengths and also imposing yourself onto the game, too."
For instance, Finch said Edwards did a good job of recognizing that screen and roll wasn't going to work as well against the Magic because Orlando was switching almost everything on defense. Instead, Edwards would drive after the Magic switched, and he was able to pile up those 35 points along with six assists thanks to his playmaking off the drives.
