Anthony Edwards being out changes the math for the Timberwolves, and it leaves LaMelo Ball with the biggest burden on the roster. Minnesota can survive stretches without its star, but only if Ball starts looking more like the scorer the league knows than the player who has opened his Wolves run in a funk.
Through five games, Ball is putting up a career-low 13.4 points per game to go with 2.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists. His shooting line sits at 40/35/55.6, though that free-throw number comes from just nine attempts.
With Edwards sidelined, Minnesota is missing about 30 points a night, and that gap has to be filled by more than one guy. Ball is the one who can swing the offense the most.
That’s because he’s already shown he can carry a huge scoring load. Last season, Ball averaged a career-best 25.4 points while hitting 33.9 percent of his 3-pointers on 11 attempts per game.
The efficiency has never been the cleanest part of his game, and that comes with the territory. His shot diet is tough, but when he’s rolling, he’s one of the hardest players in the league to contain because he can fire from anywhere.
Minnesota does have other options to help ease the pressure. Jaden McDaniels, Ayo Dosunmu, Jonathan Kuminga, and Terrence Shannon Jr. all bring enough scoring gravity to matter. Rudy Gobert, too, would make a bigger impact if he could provide more on offense and become a reliable target near the basket for Ball.
Ball doesn’t seem far from getting back there. The read here is that he’s simply in a shooting slump.
In the Timberwolves’ most recent loss to the Golden State Warriors, plenty of his looks were open, and they just didn’t fall. If those shots start dropping, the ripple effect goes beyond his own numbers.
His confidence grows, and the floor opens up for everyone else.
The schedule gives Minnesota a chance to stabilize. A softer run is coming, with several games against non-playoff teams, and the Wolves have enough talent to stay afloat or even make up ground while Edwards is out. But that path gets a lot harder if Ball doesn’t start playing like the All-Star version of himself.
In Other News...
LaMelo Ball Faces A Real Wolves Test In Bigger Spotlight
LaMelo Ball is about to get a different kind of Minnesota spotlight, one that usually comes with playoff-level scrutiny and very little room to breathe. The discussion around him has centered on how he handles physical perimeter defense, and the upcoming matchup offers a clean test for that part of his game, with the Wolves watching closely to see whether his shooting and playmaking hold up when the pressure ramps up.
Without Anthony Edwards in the mix, the defensive attention on Ball figures to be even sharper, which makes the matchup feel less like a routine regular-season night and more like a preview of the kind of resistance he would have to solve in a bigger setting. For Minnesota, the appeal is obvious: if Ball can keep creating against that sort of resistance, it strengthens the case that his game can translate when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]
LaMelo Ball Is Creating A Problem The Wolves Can't Afford Right Now
LaMelo Balls early run with Minnesota has come with a frustrating pattern the Timberwolves cant really ignore. Through the first seven games, foul trouble has followed him in six of them, cutting into his rhythm and limiting him to an average of 26 minutes a night at a time when the team is already trying to hold things together without Anthony Edwards.
The latest example came against the Spurs, when Ball was whistled early and never fully settled in. Minnesota needs his playmaking and energy on the floor, but the defensive lapses have kept undercutting that value, including a sequence against Victor Wembanyama that summed up the problem: too much contact, too little availability, and not enough margin for error right now. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Suddenly Look Like A Team To Watch In Trade Talks
Anthony Edwards injury is the latest jolt in what has already become a rough early stretch around the NBA, and it lands especially hard for Minnesota. With several All-Stars already dealing with major setbacks, including Jalen Williams season-ending leg injury, the leagues opening weeks have started to feel less like a clean evaluation period and more like a stress test for front offices trying to hold their plans together.
For the Timberwolves, the immediate concern is obvious: Edwards is central to everything they do, and any extended absence changes the tone of the season before it really settles in. Around the league, injuries of this size tend to ripple beyond the standings, and this one could have front offices watching the calendar a little more closely as November approaches and trade chatter starts to pick up. [Read more 🡒]