The Minnesota Timberwolves bagged their first win of the season against the Miami Heat at Target Center yesterday. Naz Reid led the scoring for the home side with 25 points and eight rebounds, followed by a strong 19-point showing by star forward Anthony Edwards. During the course of Minnesota’s 106-90 win, Edwards facilitated a brilliant play from outside the three-point line that managed to impress his teammate Mike Conley Jr. The veteran point guard later revealed that the play was so good that he couldn’t decide whether to rejoice or worry about keeping his job.
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Last night, Edwards finished with 19 points, seven assists and two rebounds. While the young forward is not usually known for his crafty passing, he ended up bagging more dimes than Conley during the contest. However, what bothered the Timberwolves’ point guard and playmaker more was Ant’s masterful pass to center Rudy Gobert that led to an easy bucket.
Mike Conley Jr. reveals his mixed emotions after Anthony Edwards’ brilliant pass
During last night’s game against the Heat, Edwards decided to bring the ball forward for a change. While dribbling casually just outside the three-point arc, the 22-year-old started to plot his move. After a few more dribbles, he threaded an accurate pass to Mike Conley’s former Utah Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert, who strolled through the paint to lay it in.
Timberwolves beat reporter Dane Moore had noticed that Conley sprinted towards Ant to bear hug him after the play. Therefore, he asked the veteran guard about his thoughts about the move after the game. Conley replied, “I called him a point guard. I’m like, ‘Man, what are you doing? Are you taking my job?’ Because he just kind of manipulated the play from the beginning.”
“It’s stuff we’ve been talking about a lot over the summer, preseason, last game, pregame and he finally kind of just, you know, took it himself and said, ‘Hey I got it and we’re gonna run this play’…So I was really happy for him and I just wanted to show him that that didn’t go unnoticed, especially from me,” he added.
Noticed Mike Conley sprint over to Ant and bear hug him after this play. Asked Conley about it after the game.
“I called him a point guard. I’m like, ‘Man, what are you doing? Are you taking my job?’ Because he just kind of manipulated the play from the beginning and it’s stuff… pic.twitter.com/mgbQdu8eeP
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) October 29, 2023
Such warm words from Conley is sure to do wonders for the locker room environment of the Timberwolves. However, this is not the first time the 36-year-old has praised Ant for his brilliance. During Team USA’s World Cup stint this summer, Conley had the following to say about Edwards, “He’s working on all facets of his game. He’s hungry, he’s angry, he’s all that at the same time. It’s going to be really fun to see his development and how he comes back this season.”
Steve Kerr’s harsh coaching tactics might have helped Edwards
Edwards revealed earlier this year that Steve Kerr was very hard on him during Team USA’s training for the World Cup campaign. Apparently, Ant giving his everything on the court wasn’t enough to please the Golden State Warriors boss, who let the youngster know that Dubs stars, like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, work much harder than him.
Edwards has never averaged more than 5 assists throughout the course of a season. The 2023 All-Star averaged 4.4 assists last season. Therefore, his brilliant dime against the Heat might be an indication of better things to come in the future.
