The Minnesota Timberwolves have successfully pushed the mighty Phoenix Suns down to a hole from which no NBA team has ever returned. The Suns’ Big Three, assembled for an expected deep run in the postseason, is now shaping to be nothing less than a ‘Big Tease’. Owing to a balanced offensive front from the Wolves’ starters, the Suns are still to get on the board, down 0-3, in their first-round playoff series. And the man of this series, Anthony Edwards, is earning continuous comparisons with the great Michael Jordan, now more than ever.
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In a recent episode of TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’, Charles Barkley was all praise for the Timberwolves starters, despite his Suns being on the verge of crashing against them. Praising Ant-Man, Chuck compared the young guard’s mentality to MJ and Kobe Bryant’s. He said,
“When I saw him on ESPN last night, when he said, ‘I’m just gonna kill everything in front of me, man,’ it reminded me so much of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. They would kill you to win a game.”
Minnesota seems to be out seeking redemption against the Suns in the playoffs, after getting beaten by them thrice in the regular season. Chuck also appreciated Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the three bigs in the Timberwolves team besides Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. As Gobert and KAT start regularly for the T-Wolves, Barkley appreciated how KAT allows Gobert to do his job as the big man while he fulfills the role of a perimeter and beyond-arc shooter.
However, Shaq, being ‘Shaq’, didn’t let it go without reminding Chuck about his previous statements on his Suns. The Suns’ legend earlier believed the ‘Big Three’ had enough firepower to be regarded as “nuclear weapons”. The Big Fella remarked,
“Chuck always brags about the nuclear weapons, I haven’t seen a grenade yet.”
Shaquille O’Neal added that the Suns’ trio had no defined roles in the organization, creating chaos when they ran offense down the floor. On the other hand, the Timberwolves have well-defined roles for their players, knowing Anthony Edwards is the go-to guy for driving the offense.
Shaq’s assessment seems very much on-point in this case as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal have struggled with their varied roles on the floor, especially since their point guard situation is yet to be resolved.
Anthony Edwards and Co. are running a menace in the First Round
The Minnesota Timberwolves truly look like legible title contenders from the West. The Suns seem to have no answer to stop the offensive train run by Anthony Edwards, who is averaging 28 points, a career-high 7.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in the post-season. Even when the opponent tries to blitz or double-team him, he gets his team involved and makes plays. Furthermore, when the defense runs straight at him, he punishes anyone in front of him, as evident from his 36-point finish in Game 3.
The Suns are on the verge of facing a sweep with Game 4 tonight. On the other hand, the Suns’ Big 3 solution doesn’t seem to be working either. Moreover, an NBA insider recently noted how the Big 3 are earning more than the payroll of 14 NBA teams. Perhaps, this offseason, the Suns would have various uncomfortable questions to answer and fix before starting the next season.
