Anthony Edwards takes accountability after Timberwolves' latest loss
Dec. 4—Anthony Edwards was not good in the Timberwolves' 110-105 loss at Brooklyn on Friday.
The second-year guard committed eight turnovers. Many of them were "just loose and kind of sloppy," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said.
A couple of those, Edwards noted, he dribbled off his foot. Another time he missed Malik Beasley on a cut. Then there was one that involved miscommunication with Naz Reid on a play Edwards said he never should have tried to make in the first place.
"Highly controllable," Finch said. "It seemed like a balance of indecision at times and also out of control."
That performance came after a loss to the Wizards Wednesday in Washington D.C., during which Edwards wasn't good on the defensive end.
"It was not the best road trip," Finch said.
You don't need to tell Edwards that. This might not be true for all 20-year-olds, but Edwards is certainly self-aware.
"I just played terrible," he said. "That's the whole recipe to the entire game. I played terrible."
Anthony Edwards held himself accountable after his 8-turnover performance in Friday's loss in Brooklyn.
"I just played terrible. That's the whole recipe to the entire game."
"I've got to be better and, you know, I'm going to be better." pic.twitter.com/H3F1GxYbIW
— jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) December 4, 2021
There was more weight on Edwards' shoulders Friday with center Karl-Anthony Towns out with a bruised tailbone. Jaden McDaniels missed the game with illness.
Edwards himself battled flu-like symptoms earlier in the week. He admitted he wasn't 100 percent for the loss to Washington, but wouldn't pin any of Friday's performance on his health.
"Nah man. Just terrible game. I'm never to blame anything on why I play like this," Edwards said. "No reason why. I played terrible. It's all on me. No flu. No cough. Nothing. It's on me."
It's encouraging for the Timberwolves to see a player of Edwards' young age and relative inexperience recognize and take ownership of a poor performance.
Towns has taken similar blame in the past, but he would also do so after performances in which he couldn't possibly have been at fault for the loss.
Edwards seems to wisely pick his spots, identifying the correct moments to celebrate, call the team out or simply say "my bad."
"I just played bad," he said. "Ready to forget about it. Next game."
His trainer, Justin Holland, texted him after Friday's poor performance. The message was simple: "Game on Monday. Don't worry about this game. It's game over."
"I can't forget about it," Edwards said, "but I'm trying to forget about it, for sure."
First he'll learn from it, then he'll move on. Edwards noted his team played hard enough to pull off an upset Friday in Brooklyn. The likes of Josh Okogie, Leandro Bolmaro, Nathan Knight, Jarred Vanderbilt and Naz Reid stepped up in a big spot.
"Everybody came in and gave great minutes, did everything that we could do," Edwards said. "Everybody from Nate to Leo to Naz, everybody came in and gave us they all."
The only problem was the team's star wing just didn't quite deliver.
"We don't want to just hang with teams even when we are down people. We want to win, man," Edwards said. "And I didn't come out and give a winning effort tonight, at all. If they don't want to put it on me, put it on me. Everybody put it on me. It's on me. And I'm going to say it with a smile: Put it on me. I gotta be better, and I'm going to be better."
