"He really misses Karl-Anthony Towns" - NBA analyst on Anthony Edwards struggling to keep Timberwolves in playoff hunt

By several metrics, Anthony Edwards has gotten even better this season. Despite scoring, rebounding and shooting/making threes like he'd never done before, the Minnesota Timberwolves are struggling to secure an outright playoff spot after making the Western Conference finals last year.

According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, that happens because Edwards no longer has Karl-Anthony Towns by his side. On Thursday's edition of "NBA Today," McMenamin explained what Towns meant to Ant-Man on and off the court:

"He really misses Karl-Anthony Towns," McMenamin said about Edwards. "Listen to anything he talks about—what's going on in New York, when he got to see [Towns] at All-Star, how much he misses that guy. I think, sometimes, you don't realize what you have until it's gone."

Though McMenamin acknowledged that Edwards and Towns weren't exactly a perfect pair as far as their playing styles were concerned, he pointed out that KAT getting traded to New York in the offseason placed even more pressure on Edwards to lead the team.

"Now that he doesn't have the automatic 25 and 10 every night, it makes the math a lot different for him," added McMenamin.

In October, Edwards openly admitted that the Towns trade affected him emotionally, as he considered the big man his "brother." Even then, the Wolves guard recognized what he had to do in the wake of KAT's departure:

"I think everybody know KAT (is) my brother, so that definitely hurt. It's a business, so I just gotta roll with it," said Edwards on NBA media day. "We're trying to get back to where we were and go even further." [Timestamp - 0:29]

Anthony Edwards opens up on frustrations with officiating as he reflects on $285,000 worth of fines

While Anthony Edwards speaks in warm tones when talking about his good friend Towns, he revealed a degree of frustration regarding the subject of officiating.

In an interview with Complex, Ant-Man — whose fines for profane language and obscene gestures had totalled $285,000 as of mid-February — gave his candid take on the technical fouls that referees had called on him:

"I just wish we could celebrate without getting a tech,” Edwards told Complex. “Let dudes get in each other face and stuff. Talk a little trash without T’ing them up real quick."

Be that as it may, Anthony Edwards will have to avoid the unnecessary words and gestures as the Timberwolves badly need him for their late playoff push.