"Ain’t been doing it" - Anthony Edwards makes his feelings clear on T'Wolves standards slipping in key area

Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves had what appeared to be their breakout year in 2024, reaching the Western Conference finals. The team, fuelled by their energetic defense, looked set to be a threat in the West for years to come but has been disappointing this season. Edwards believes their regression this season concerns one key area — defense.

Edwards' shooting struggles have also contributed to the team's dropping in offensive ratings, but falling from No. 1 in defensive rating to the bottom half of the league has arguably hindered the team more throughout the season.

"Of course, sometimes I might take hero shots because I’m good," Edwards said. "I should be able to take those shots. I work for it. So sometimes it’s not going to go our way because I might miss those, but we just gotta hang our hat on the defensive end and get stops. That’s what we usually do, and we just ain’t been doing it."

Edwards was quoted in Friday's article of The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski. The Timberwolves star commented after a disappointing loss to the 19-51 New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Minnesota Timberwolves defend Nikola Jokic during their Western Conference Semi-Final upset - Source: Getty

Wednesday's. 119-115 loss saw Minnesota drop to eighth in the West, two and a half games below sixth-placed Golden State Warriors.

Anthony Edwards' comments highlight a defensive drop-off from the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024-25

The Minnesota Timberwolves had Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels in the All-Defensive teams for 2023-24 and held the best numbers in the league for defensive rating and opponent points per game, standing out as one of the best defensive units. Gobert also secured the DPOY award.

The fact that they managed to win 56 games and made their way to the conference finals despite being in the league's bottom half for points scored per game and offensive rating further highlights how the team's defense anchored their success.

The Minnesota Timberwolves key defensive players celebrate their series victory against the Phoenix Suns in the 2024 NBA Playoffs - Source: Getty

This season, the team has dropped to sixth in both statistical categories, where they led the league in 2023-2024 — opponent points per game and defensive rating. While this doesn't suggest a major drop-off, the more concerning statistic pertains to their defensive rating in the clutch, where they find themselves at No. 18.

Shooting inefficiency from their stars, combined with their inability to maintain their defensive solidity in the clutch, have led to the Wolves losing multiple games, and Anthony Edwards and his team would want to fix this fast, with only 10 games left.