Why Is Anthony Edwards Making The NBA All-Star Game So Important?

Jan 27, 2023 - 4:00 PM

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On today’s show, Dane is joined by Kyle Theige from SKOR North to take another look at Anthony Edwards’ complicated case to making the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Then, Dane and Kyle go through the rest of the current starting lineup, looking not only at the impact Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson, Jaden McDaniels and D’Angelo Russell each had in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 111-102 crucial road win against the New Orleans Pelicans, but also how those four players have been impacting winning of late.

— Evaluating Ant’s All-Star case. Should he make the team in the Western Conference over De’Aaron Fox or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? (Because that’s the question). If so, why? Do better performing teams automatically deserve multiple All-Stars over a deserving player on a team that isn’t quite as good?

— Can McDaniels continue to punish opponents who hide weak defenders on him? How is this a sign of his growing confidence? Is Edwards pushing him to do more of this? Will he have more opportunities to do this once Karl-Anthony Towns (Grade 3 right calf strain) returns?

— What might McDaniels’ contract extension look like this summer? How much longer can we expect Jaden to stay in Minnesota?

— The chemistry and impact of the Anderson and Gobert pairing, and trying to sustain that impact once KAT returns. Does Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch need to get creative with his rotations in order to keep that pairing out there once Towns is back in the lineup? If so, how might those rotations look different from before Towns’ injury?

(If you can’t access the Spotify player above, click here to listen to the latest episode on Spotify).

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