The Los Angeles Lakers do not have an easy first-round opponent in the playoffs. Minnesota is one of the teams that has a real shot to make noise because of what Anthony Edwards can do.
Edwards has proven to be one of the best young players in the league. He is likely going to make an All-NBA team this year because of what he has been able to do.
The Lakers are certainly going to pay a lot of attention to him in this series. He is one of the best players that Los Angeles will have to face in the entire playoffs.
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Los Angeles has some concerns on defense, especially on the interior. Edwards loves to drive to the basket, so that’s going to be a concern for them.
One NBA executive believes that Edwards is going to be a serious problem for the Lakers. Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times talked to an anonymous executive, and that executive has some serious questions.
“Who is going to guard (Anthony Edwards)?” the West exec said. “I think the Lakers’ lack of perimeter defense has been masked because they can be big, but Minnesota is big. But when you slow down and seek out matchups, they’ll target Austin (Reaves) and go at him.”
With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves as the starting backcourt, there are certainly concerns about the Lakers’ perimeter defense. Neither one of those guards are considered good defenders.
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Edwards doesn’t just attack the basket. He attempts a ton of 3-pointers as well. He’s shooting more threes this year than at any other point in his career.
The Lakers won’t be hurting for offense, but defense has been a massive question mark for the Lakers after trading away Anthony Davis. He was their anchor that was able to clean up a lot of mistakes.
How JJ Redick schemes up the defense is going to be a massive key in this game. Swarming Edwards with different looks is going to be a massive key to the Lakers advancing.
In the regular season, Edwards averaged 27.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
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