Anthony Edwards had a rough night in Los Angeles on Sunday and got rowdy Lakers fans let him know. The former No. 1 pick had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but he shot just 43.5 percent, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Edwards failed to get the T’Wolves over the hump in the fourth with just four points as they lost 120-109 to the ninth-place Lakers.
Edwards suffered the defeat but not the vilification from the opposing team’s fan base outside the Crypto.com Arena. After hecklers got at him, Edwards fired back with a savage response, saying:
“You’re lucky I didn’t break you all**”
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Edward has earned a reputation as one of the best trash-talkers in the NBA. The 22-year-old doesn’t hesitate to start a conversation or go back and forth on or off the pitch.
However, Edwards didn’t have much room to win the war of words after losing the game. The Timberwolves were shorthanded and needed a big game from their stars with Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined.
Anthony Edwards matched his season averages, but it wasn’t enough against a nearly healthy Lakers team.
Anthony Edwards and T’Wolves could face Lakers in first round
The Western Conference is wide open, with teams 1-10 all having the potential to go for the title. The Timberwolves lead the pack with the best record in the conference. However, this only guarantees the field, not a favorable matchup. Minnesota could face the LA Lakers in the first round, one of the few teams that can match his size and physicality.
The Lakers are ninth in the conference with a 36-30 record. They will likely enter the play-in tournament, qualifying as the seventh or eighth seed. The Lakers are coming out of a NBA In-season tournament victory after a 2023 conference final despite a 2-10 start to the year.
LeBron James, 39, shows he still has the courage to turn on the switch at the critical moment and that’s a problem for teams in the top half of the table. Despite Los Angeles’ up-and-down season, many teams wouldn’t be comfortable facing them in the playoffs.
As good as Anthony Edwards and the Timber wolves have been, they are part of it. The Timberwolves lack playoff experience. They haven’t won a series with this group after falling short in the first round for two years in a row.
However, their chemistry with the Twin Towers duo of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns looks much better, while Anthony Edwards has developed into an MVP-caliber player. While it may not be a favorable matchup, Minnesota will be up for the challenge of beating a LeBron James team in the first round.
