As Timberwolves roll past losing teams, a shooting slump hits Anthony Edwards

During his first news conference at media day this season, Anthony Edwards was asked how he would motivate himself to play against teams that were near the bottom of the standings, something he has had issues with throughout his six-year career.

“Try to get a career high in points,” the Timberwolves’ All-Star guard said then. “That’s how I’m going to try to do it, because I usually approach it like, ‘Ah, I’m going to let my teammates get [it].’ Instead, I’m just going to go for a career high. I think that’s how I’m going to stay engaged.”

The last two games were a perfect chance to do that against a shorthanded Dallas Mavericks team and the 1-13 Washington Wizards, the first team he scored 50 points against two seasons ago.

Edwards scored just 13 points against the Mavericks on 5-for-14 shooting and then followed that with 18 points Wednesday night against the Wizards while shooting 6-for-20. The Wolves still won both games.

His three-point shot, which was a revelation a season ago, has left him momentarily. He is just 3-for-30 from deep over his last four games.

Edwards didn’t feel much like discussing how he was playing of late. He declined a formal interview request with reporters after Wednesday’s game, but he was joking around about just how bad he has been of late. The last time Edwards spoke to the media, he was blaming himself for Saturday night’s loss to Denver because he didn’t shoot well enough.

Coach Chris Finch noticed something you rarely see with Edwards — he gave up some open looks.

Edwards came out with more aggressiveness against the Wizards than he did against the Mavericks. On Monday, he didn’t score until late in the second quarter. On Wednesday, he had 12 points in the first quarter, but his three still wasn’t falling. When he tried to get himself going coming out of halftime, he went 1-for-7, and his misses allowed the Wizards to begin a comeback that cut a 27-point deficit to five.

“We continue to call his number, try to put them in different situations. If they’re doubling him, then we try to put them in situations where maybe they’re not doubling him,” Finch said. “... I thought tonight we’d see one of those [big scoring] nights. But again, we got to get him some clean looks and from the three-point line, rather than all these dribble creation threes.”

In other words, more looks in the flow of the offense instead of Edwards taking it upon himself to create his own shots.

This season has been different for Edwards. He has taken on more on-ball defensive responsibilities, the Wolves are playing with more pace, and the team has been asking him to play more point guard. When asked before the game how he believed Edwards has been handling all that, Finch said he would give Edwards an “A” grade.

“He has the ball in his hands, has to initiate a lot of offense, whether it be through set plays or through the flow,” Finch said. “And then, of course, defensively, we’re not going to give him an excuse just because he’s a high usage player, you know. We need what he brings to us defensively.”