The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t have a good night on Wednesday, falling to the Utah Jazz by 32 points. That didn’t stop Anthony Edwards from conducting yet another informative and entertaining postgame interview.
The second-year star had a thoughtful response to his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns’ need to be more aggressive instead of inviting double teams, stating it was “disrespectful” that Utah kept Bojan Bogdanovic on him as Towns’ primary defender all of the time. Edwards wasn’t finished there; he was also asked about Rudy Gobert’s influence as a rim protector, to which he said that Kristaps Porzingis is a stronger rim protector than Gobert and that the three-time DPOY approaches the paint without fear.
After the game, Edwards wasn’t the only one who had some pointed comments about Gobert; noted instigator Patrick Beverley also tried to poke the bear a little harder, pointing out how Gobert wasn’t guarding Towns for the Jazz and questioning his DPOY credentials if he wasn’t taking on the toughest matchups each night.
All of this is made much funny by the fact that these remarks were made after the Jazz won by 32 points. Beverley lists three players he guarded on the night who scored a total of 67 points, which isn’t something you’d generally brag about. Edwards’ comments aren’t quite as provocative, but they’re more of the forthrightness we’ve come to expect from the second-year swingman, who just states that he doesn’t know why he isn’t more fearful of Gobert around the rim, but that he isn’t.
This is nothing new for Gobert, who isn’t exactly a popular person in the league, or the Jazz as a whole, who, while usually placing around the top of the Western Conference, aren’t considered major title contenders. The solution, of course, is to win a ring, as the Bucks did last year after being in a similar situation and quelling doubts about being a great regular season club but a vulnerable playoff team. Until then, I suppose even the teams they dominate will poke and prod at their credentials.
