Timberwolves are wasting Anthony Edwards’ massive growth area

Throughout his career, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has struggled with clutch play. However, Edwards has emerged as one of the league’s best clutch time players. Notably, Edwards had never shot higher than 43 percent from the field in clutch minutes before this season; this year, however, he’s shooting an absurd 69.4 percent from the field in the clutch.

No other player with at least two clutch-time field goal attempts can match this elite shooting percentage. Unfortunately, this seismic leap from Edwards hasn’t translated into a win for the Wolves as they are just 7-5 in the clutch-time games Ant has played in. They are just 9-7 in total clutch games.

Thursday’s 142-138 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets is a prime example of the Wolves’ inability to capitalize on Edwards’ time brilliance. Edwards scored 24 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a three-pointer in the corner to force overtime.

I admit that there are many factors at play. Nikola Jokic also scored 24 points in overtime in the fourth quarter. The Wolves also fell behind by 15 points, but came back with six minutes to go. Minnesota’s inability to defend without Rudy Gobert is another major season-ending issue. Still, it’s a shame not to be able to capitalize on Edwards’ greatness and not have a new story for the Wolves.

Anthony Edwards’ greatness isn’t enough for the Wolves to consistently close out games

In addition to his growth in clutch time, Edwards is having his best all-around season, averaging a career-high 29.4 points.

On the one hand, it’s an undeniable advantage that the Wolves are getting this great production out of Edwards. At the same time, it is a concern if they cannot take advantage of this incredible game. In Edwards’ six 40-point games on the season, Minnesota is just 2-4. Furthermore, in one of these games, Edwards played every second of the fourth quarter and overtime to beat the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.

Minnesota’s offensive rating drops from 118.3 overall to 111.3 in the clutch. Ironically, though, this is Wolves’ best net rating in the Edwards era, thanks in large part to Ant’s leap as a clutch time player. But as great as Edwards is, it doesn’t matter for the Wolves overall.

The Wolves have found few sources of reliable offense outside of Edwards. Julius Randle (33.3 percent from the field) and Donte DiVincenzo (35.3 percent) are the Wolves’ next two contenders in the clutch.

I’d like to see Jaden McDaniels, one of the few efficient sources of time offense (53.8 percent from the field), get more involved. Either way, the Wolves need to figure out their time offense outside of Ant or it will hurt them big time.

On the plus side, Edwards’ growth as a time scorer has been notable, and if they can find more consistency outside of him (which is possible), the Wolves could become a truly elite pair time team.