Anthony Edwards did not sound particularly surprised that his Minnesota Timberwolves struggled to score on Thursday.
“We’re not an offensive team,” the star guard told reporters after the Timberwolves’ 133-107 loss against the New York Knicks. “We’re a defensive team, so I don’t think there’s going to be too much change. I think we just gotta play defense better.”
Twenty-six games into the season, Minnesota’s offense ranks No. 21 in the NBA. The team had won six of seven games before the ugly performance against New York, but that was a result of stingy defense. During that 6-1 stretch, which followed Edwards calling the team “soft,” the Wolves scored just 105.7 points per 100 possessions. (Only the Washington Wizards have scored less efficiently than that on the season.) That is not a sustainable formula, so Minnesota has to hope that Edwards is wrong about the offense.
Early on against New York, it didn’t seem like the Wolves would have any issues scoring. Julius Randle started the game with two straight jumpers against his former team, then Jaden McDaniels made a 3 and a runner on their next two possessions. Randle put up 13 points in a little more than six minutes, and Minnesota had a 33-32 lead going into the second quarter.
The Knicks went on a 37-8 run in the first nine minutes of the second quarter, though, and Randle cooled off significantly. Edwards, who is averaging 25.9 points per game, finished with 17 points on 7-for-16 shooting. The Wolves trailed by as many as 36 points.
Asked about Minnesota’s identity on offense, Edwards said: “Yeah, we don’t have shit on offense. We don’t have no identity. I mean, we know I’m going to shoot a bunch of shots, we know Ju going to shoot a bunch of shots and that’s all we know. We don’t really know anything else. I mean, it’s not on the coaches at all, it’s on us. We’re out there playing. But we gotta make it easier for each other. Coach has put us in great positions, too, man. We just don’t do it.”
Asked what he wanted to see from the team offensively, Edwards said: “They’re not…
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