Anthony Edwards looked rusty in his on-court return for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as he only had 15 points, five assists, and two steals on 5-for-13 shooting from the field during the 137-114 road loss against the New York Knicks yesterday.
However, considering he only missed four games due to a serious hamstring injury, Edwards, who missed only three games each of the previous three seasons, views last night’s match as a small victory on his end.
“It felt like forever,” Edwards told Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I was happy to be out there, for sure. (I was worried for) a little bit because you don’t want to move too fast, go out there and try to do too much.”
“But I felt great tonight. I was ready to ball out tonight. Basketball gods had other intentions,” he concluded.
Minnesota Timberwolves News: Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle evaluate Anthony Edwards’ first game back
Anthony Edwards may have felt that he didn’t play well against the New York Knicks. But for Minnesota Timberwolves teammates Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert, they’re just happy to see their leader back in action.
“He did a great job not forcing the issue,” Randle said of Edwards via The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “He had like five shots at half, which is not normal for him. I told him I’d rather him be aggressive than, you know, kind of deferring. This is his team, and we’re only going to go as far as he goes.”
“Obviously, being who he is, we always need that force, that talent, that energy that he brings to our team,” Gobert said. “And just him being focused on the little things like we’ve been focusing on. Our defense, ball pressure, competing, running the floor. All these little things. I think, when he does these things, it just takes our team to another level.”
