Anthony Edwards labeled the Minnesota Timberwolves “soft as hell” as the franchise slipped to a fourth successive loss to slide down the Western Conference standings.
On Wednesday, the Timberwolves fell to 8-10 on the season by losing 115-104 to the Sacramento Kings. While Edwards led the way with 29 points, Minnesota has suffered four successive losses to lose seven of their previous nine contests.
As a result, Edwards couldn’t help but channel his fury into a post-game monologue. He laid into his teammates and his own tendencies, insisting the Timberwolves need to “figure it out” after coming close to reaching the NBA Finals last season.
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“We’re soft as hell as a team,” Edwards said. “Internally. Not to the other teams, but internally, we’re soft. We can’t talk to each other. It’s just like we’re playing with a bunch of little kids, the whole team. We’ve got to figure it out, man, because we can’t go down this road.”
Last season, the Timberwolves clinched the No. 3 seed with a 56-26 record before navigating through the playoffs. Minnesota defeated the Phoenix Suns and the defending champion Denver Nuggets before falling 4-1 to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
Along with Edwards establishing himself as a superstar, the postseason run ultimately led to sky-high expectations for the 2024-25 NBA season. But the Timberwolves made a high-profile trade on the eve of the season; the franchise traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
Since the blockbuster move, the Timberwolves have struggled to find a consistent balance on both ends of the floor. The defense has taken a big step back since being the top-ranked unit in the NBA last season; the Timberwolves have slipped from a 108.4 rating across 82 games to 112.1 through 18 games this year, which is 12th in the NBA.
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Anthony Edwards scored 29 points in the loss to the Sacramento Kings (
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The defensive issues continued to plague the team against the Kings, who outscored the Timberwolves 29-6 in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Edwards is getting tired of it.
“We was down, nobody wanted to say nothing,” the 23-year-old said. “We got up and everybody cheering… We get down again and don’t nobody say nothing. That’s the definition of a front-runner. We as a team, including myself, we all was frontrunners tonight.
“However many of us it is, all 15, we go into our own shell and we’re just growing away from each other. It’s obvious. We can see it. I can see it, the team can see it, the coaches can see it. The fans… booing us. That… is crazy, man. We’re getting booed in our home arena.”
Edwards’ struggling Timberwolves are next in action against the LA Clippers at Target Center on Friday, Nov. 29.
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