For the last two years, Timberwolves fans have simply wanted to see some semblance of direction.
What’s the plan? Where is this going? What does the future hold? It couldn’t have been more clear Thursday in Phoenix.
The plan, future — all of it — is Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards.
And it’s not a bad plan.
Minnesota rode those two young stars to a 123-119 upset of Phoenix — one of the hottest teams in the NBA.
The Timberwolves’ tremendous tandem combined for 83 points — a career-high 42 from Edwards and 41 from Towns. It was plain to see the franchise’s vision formulating on the floor as the two worked in near perfect unison.
“Unbelievably special,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “They were carrying us.”
Between the pick and rolls and the two-man game run out of a set in which the two worked from opposite elbows, Phoenix (26-13) simply didn’t have an answer for Edwards and Towns.
Finch: "It's tight to the basket, it's a tough place to switch and bring help to. Both of them are 1 dribble from the rim, 1 dribble from the 3-point line, and they're very comfortable playing from there. It shortens the runway for Ant, and KAT is an elite player at the elbows." pic.twitter.com/UX4B8lGTxK
— jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) March 19, 2021
The chemistry between Minnesota’s two most important players continues to grow.
“We love to play off each other. We’re always talking and seeing what each other want,” Edwards said. “Third quarter … he was telling me like come get the ball. I was like, ‘No I’m going to cut and watch. I’m going to tell somebody else to cut and I’ll be open.’ So when he seen them cut, he saw I was open and got an and-one. I was like ‘I told you.’ We just be talking out there trying to find easy ways to score.”
And succeeding, particularly Thursday. Towns was in disbelief when he saw the two combined to take 55 shots in the victory, but there was no reason to go away from it. Both players were delivering efficient, explosive offense.
“We kind of just play off each other,” Edwards said. “One got it going, we feed him. If the other got it going, we feed him. It’s kind of fun playing with Kat, not going to lie. It was extremely fun.”
It was fun for Wolves’ fans, as well. Finch and Co. have unleashed Edwards, so to speak, since coming out of the all-star break. The rookie is playing about 38 minutes a game and the offense is running through him just as much as it’s running through Towns.
No D’Angelo Russell, no Malik Beasley, no problem. Towns’ running mate is on the floor, and he’s 19 years old.
“We know that part of our approach now is our future success starts now,” Finch said. “We’ve got to try to put these guys into a position to grow into their role, what we think their ultimate role will be. We love Ant’s fearlessness. He has the ability, and playing next to KAT, they’ve got a nice little combination going, and we’re down some bodies … so we’ve got to ride our guys, and he’s blooming for us at the right time. It’s not going to be expected that he has this type of night every night, but he certainly has it in him.”
Edwards has now scored 105 points over the last three games, making him the first teenager in NBA history to do so.
The oft-thought logic surrounding the Wolves (10-31) for a while has been, if the team wants to ascend, it has to find a perimeter player who at least matches Towns’ quality.
Enter Anthony Edwards.
“Just the way he’s scoring the basketball, how aggressive he’s being, finding his spots, shooting better shots we would like,” Towns said, “I mean it’s just coming together for him, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch, and it’s a beautiful thing to be a part of.”
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March 19, 2021 at 01:49PM
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‘Unbelievably special’: Edwards and Towns each score 40 as Timberwolves’ vision comes into focus - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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