Anthony Edwards Went Nuclear To Put The Wolves Up 3-1 And The Lakers On The Brink Of Elimination

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Last year, Anthony Edwards had a bit of a coming out party when he and the Wolves took down the reigning champion Nuggets in 7 games. That was probably what I would consider his "I've arrived" playoff moment, and it's partially what factored into his expectations heading into this season. 

In this year's playoffs, he now has LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the 3rd seeded Lakers on life support. After protecting home court and taking a 3-1 series lead, Anthony Edwards is backing up every single thing we saw from him last postseason. He was a complete monster in this win

Make no mistake, in a game that included both LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the floor, Anthony Edwards was the best player on the court. Even with Luka dropping 38 and LeBron turning back the clock, it wasn't enough. This is what makes the development of Anthony Edwards so exciting. There may not be a series out there that he can't play to the level of the best player in the game. The shotmaking down the stretch, the growth as a passer, the clutch FTs, it's exactly what you're hoping to get in that spot as a Wolves fan with the chance to go up 3-1. Now, all the pressure in the world is on the Lakers to keep their season alive, and I'm not exactly sure if they have the answers to figure out their matchup problems in this series.

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Playing everyone 46+ minutes with this type of roster probably isn't the way. The Lakers only had 19 points in the 4th quarter and were clearly gassed. You get why JJ Redick did it, but the Wolves are too young and too athletic. That's a losing battle every single time. Even if you think LeBron might be built for it, Luka sure as shit isn't. And I will say, the Lakers did get boned when it came to that trip at halfcourt with around a minute left. That was definitely a foul. Another classic NBA ref fuck up in a huge spot to impact a game. Imagine that! Granted I also don't feel bad for them so it's whatever for me personally, but that was bullshit.

The story though, is Ant and the Wolves. A 6 seed taking down a 3 is a pretty big deal, and looking ahead it means we're one step closer to a MIN/GS second round matchup which would be fun as hell. Ant vs Steph? Sign me up for 7 of those without hesitation.