The Timberwolves left their preseason matchup with the Pistons on the wrong end of a 128-106 score, but Anthony Edwards still had plenty to say afterward. Edwards logged only three quarters, finishing with 20 points, three assists, and two steals while shooting 5-15 from the field and 1-5 from three.
In the locker room, Edwards focused on how his own attention on defense opens things up for Jaden McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga. With the best defenders often gravitating toward him and LaMelo Ball, Edwards said that creates cleaner looks for the other two.
“Just being aggressive. Exploiting the mismatches.
They can’t really guard ’em. They try to put the worst defenders on ’em, so just trying to give it to them and let them play in space,” said Edwards on how the Timberwolves approach using Jaden McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga when the best defenders gravitate towards him and LaMelo Ball.
“Just trying to get them the ball, put them in actions, ball screens, clear sides to let them be aggressive and attack,” he further added.
Kuminga made the most of his minutes, scoring 16 points with four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He was efficient all night, going 5-6 from the field and 2-3 from deep.
McDaniels also filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. He shot 2-6 overall and 1-2 from beyond the arc.
There’s more expected of McDaniels this season than just his defense. The Timberwolves have viewed him as a locker room leader, and McDaniels has already said making the All-Star team is one of his goals this year.
Edwards believes that growth should show up in the offense. He said he wants McDaniels to be more involved and sees a much bigger scoring ceiling for him.
“Just him being more involved in the offense. I think Jaden is one of the best two-way players in the NBA, if not the best… Just him getting more touches in ball screen actions, being more involved, I think he’s gonna average 20, 25 points easy because he just knows how to play the game,” Anthony Edwards added in the locker room.
McDaniels has drawn even more attention since last season’s playoffs, when he called the entire Nuggets team a bunch of bad defenders. From here, the spotlight is clearly on what he does on the floor for Minnesota.
With Julius Randle’s iso-ball style out and LaMelo Ball’s eccentric playmaking in, Edwards believes both McDaniels and Kuminga could be positioned to push their games even further.
The bigger question is whether Ball can help McDaniels make the jump to All-Star status this season. Edwards’ view is simple: if McDaniels gets to 25.0 points per game, it becomes awfully difficult to keep him out of the conversation.
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Chris Finch singled out Kumingas quick decision-making, a promising sign for a player still settling into a new role with a new club. Minnesota will need that adjustment to keep moving in the right direction, especially with Kuminga expected to be one of the key starters, and the preseason is already offering an early look at how much his blend of speed and simplicity can matter. [Read more 🡒]