The Minnesota Timberwolves Basketball team had been overlooked for the holiday games in the past years due to undisclosed decisions made by the NBA. However, after the Timberwolves turned things around and became one of the ten best teams in the NBA, they were chosen to participate in the Christmas Tournament. The Timberwolves played on the league’s signature day for the third time in thirty-six seasons. The Christmas Tournament is where ten teams were chosen by the NBA to play against other teams until one team is the winner.
Among the members of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards was seen as one of the most marketable young players in the league by the NBA, and the next face of the league after Lebron and Steph, when fans saw Edward’s skills. The NBA couldn’t get enough of him, as he had one of the best-selling basketball shoes in the game, and was a player on the Olympic Basketball Team last summer. His presence was enough to captivate the audience during his games, or in his interviews after the game.
Despite the praises Edward receives, he and his teammates still have flaws that they could improve on. Edward and his teammates are inconsistent in taking shots, which is one of the reasons why the opposing team always takes the lead in the first quarter of any game the Wolves play in. A teammate of Edwards, Julius Randle, has a habit of not passing the ball to his teammates, contributing to the halt of the Wolves offense at the beginning of any game the Wolves participate in. Edwards’ stats have dropped during his last season in November, as his assists went from a 5.1 to 4.0, and only 15.5% of his shots have come to the rim after taking 28.5% from the same position he shot it at. Edwards’ drop in assists and shooting accuracy was most prevalent after Randle played his first game in the Minnesota Timberwolves after being traded by the Charlotte Hornets.
Edward commented about him and his team to a reporter from “The Athletes” that asked for Edwards thoughts about his team’s performance during games, he responded, “Sometimes it looks good, sometimes it looks bad and we’re still trying to figure it out…Once we figure it out, we’ll be alright.” The Minnesota Timberwolves improved their team’s coordination skills by helping Randle acknowledge his habit of not passing. Randle expresses gratitude to the Wolves for helping him by saying, “ I love playing with my teammates, but finding what helps the team and what the team needs the most on a night-to-night basis has been the harder part. But everybody has been great with me, coaches included, helping me adjust and figuring things out”.
After eliminating Randle’s problem of keeping the ball to himself and improving the team’s playmaking skills, this allowed the Wolves to get a lead on the Mavericks during the first quarter of their Christmas game. The cooperative passes from the Wolves kept the Mavericks on their toes and led the Wolves to victory with a score of 105-99.
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