This week, we look at what we've learned about Anthony Edwards' game (spoiler alert: it's special) with Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined, how the Phoenix Suns might be running out of time and why the Houston Rockets would like your attention.
Jump to Lowe's Things:
Ant is special | Suns running out of time
Micic emerging in Charlotte | Here come the Rockets
Does Fultz fit in Orlando? | Wiseman finding some rhythm
Can Ivey and Cade work? | A cool NBA taunt
When jersey colors become too much | LeVert's playmaking
1. Anthony Edwards wants it all
OK, the dunk. My god, the dunk. Edwards planted just inside the foul line. He didn't quite leap over Utah Jazz forward John Collins, but if you freeze the dunk at the right moment, it doesn't look too far from that.
It was an act of thunderous basketball violence that is still reverberating. Every time Edwards catches the ball with momentum, you sense some ineffable danger. The crowd murmurs with a strange mix of excitement and fear. Some opposing players between Edwards and the basket must feel some fear too. Imagine being one of Edwards' teammates and sensing that -- how it would embolden you.
Edwards has breathed fire into the Wolves in the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid.
Minnesota is 4-3 since losing Towns to a meniscus injury. One loss came in overtime. A second came down to the last shot against the Denver Nuggets, with Minnesota splitting center minutes between Kyle Anderson and Luka Garza. These Wolves have resourcefulness and steel to them.
They have wallopped teams by 14 points per 100 possessions in about 550 minutes when Edwards and Gobert play and Towns sits. What was once a feature of their nightly rotation is now their template for survival.
With Towns sidelined, Edwards could have hoarded the offense -- hunted the spectacular while rationalizing that his team needed him to shoot more. Instead, he has put forth some of the cleanest passing of his career.