The Athletic NBA Daily
Anthony Edwards’ big game + All NBA Defensive Perimeter Teams
Fri, 11 Apr 2025
Anthony Edwards scored 44 points to lead the Timberwolves to an important win over the Grizzlies. Dave DuFour and Zena Keita discuss the Wolves big win, the problem with the Grizzlies’ bigs, and who the Bucks should want to face in the playoffs. Then, the Athletic’s Fred Katz joins the show to discuss his perimeter defense teams, what makes a good defender, and the Thunder defense.Host: Dave DuFourWith: Zena Keita & Fred KatzExecutive Producer: Andrew SchlechtAudio Producer: Grayson Moody Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Chapter 1: What were Anthony Edwards' key contributions in the Timberwolves' recent game?
No, I mean, it was talk about the Grizzlies not meeting the moment. They were back and forth for a moment to the point that we were saying, you know, it's great to see how many big game players are available for us to watch, especially this late in the season. Yeah. John Morant, Desmond Bain, both going back and forth with Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards.
I mean, it was really exciting to watch, but it was very clear that the difference became that the bigs for Memphis could not keep up with what the guards were trying to do. I mean, there were several plays in which you saw John Morant, Scottie Pippen, Desmond Bain, deciding, Santee Aldama even, like, we're just going to go do this on our own right now because Jaron Jackson Jr.
is still coming up the court. Zach Eaddy's still coming up the court. And don't get me wrong, those two guys can run the floor. It's one of their most underrated skills, particularly for Zach Eaddy. But
Chapter 2: How did the Grizzlies fail to meet expectations against the Timberwolves?
After the game just started going back and forth and it was bucket for bucket for bucket, you saw Memphis bigs get exhausted and that caused silly fouls and that slowed the momentum down for Memphis and it ultimately derailed them and Minnesota took advantage.
Yeah, the game changed in that third quarter. You had both Jaron Jackson and Zach Eady pick up their fourth fouls. And as soon as that happens, I mean, this is kind of the same old story with Jaron Jackson. As soon as he picks up that fourth foul, especially if it's early in the third quarter, you know you're going to get soft defense until the fourth because he wants to be out there to score.
You know, he averages 29 minutes a game. And this is a big reason why. Zach Eady, look, he's big. He's going to pick up a bunch of fouls, and I think the expectation that he can maintain the pace that Memphis plays with for four quarters is probably unrealistic.
I don't know how they figure that out here in the next week, week and a half, although they may now be in the play-in because they do not have an easy path to the playoffs at all. This loss really sets them back. They've got to fly from Memphis to Denver. for a back-to-back against Nikola Jokic. And by the way, it's a must-win for Denver, too. So every game now is just a playoff game, Zena.
For the Timberwolves, you know, this was... This was one of these games where we're going to say, why are they like this? Like, what is wrong with the Timberwolves?
You know what I mean? Right.
They blew the big lead against the Bucs. They have a 52 point quarter. They've got this, you know, excellent defensive effort. And then they start kind of giving it up in the fourth. Had John Morant not picked up that tech. And it kind of killed their momentum, right? Like, I think that that technical really stole their momentum.
Chris Finch actually drew up a really nice out of bounds off a timeout. And, you know, so that was that kind of steadied the ship. But the Timberwolves, like they're confusing.
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Chapter 3: What challenges does the Timberwolves team face heading into the playoffs?
They are. I mean, you talk about that 52 point quarter and you also talk about the Bucs in that game against the Bucs in the fourth quarter. They scored 13 points. That's the lowest in the fourth quarter they've had all season. Like, this is just the ups and downs of this Minnesota Timberwolves team. And it's so frustrating because you know what they're capable of.
I mean, you saw the way Julius Randle came out last night against Memphis, quickly finding his shots, quickly getting to his spots. You know, also finding his teammates really well, too. Yeah. there's times where there's no point of attack defense. And, you know, the Memphis Grizzlies or whomever can just get right to the paint.
And it's like, if I'm Chris Finch and you saw him on the bench last night, just... Rubbing his chin. Like, how are we going to get some consistency? I don't want to see Anthony Edwards in the playoffs because he blacks out, as he mentioned in his postgame interview. But it's the consistency of the team effort. Right. Like, can you get 44 points out of Anthony Edwards in a series every game?
Maybe not. Maybe I wouldn't. I wouldn't put it past them. Right. But it's a matter of can you make sure that, you know, Rudy Gobert doesn't get in foul trouble and get tangled up with the wrong folks? Or can you make sure that Mike Conley is more than just a passing point guard and make sure that the pace is good and all the spacings?
Can you get Randall to play like he did last night where he is correct? Like point five decision making is the biggest difference for Julius Randall when he's just quick to it, you know, moving the ball, taking a shot or driving. It's a it's a game changer. But, you know, sometimes he gets a little dribbly. So, you know, look, there were other games that have playoff implications.
The Pacers and Cavs. Had a fun game. Now, the Cavs, they weren't really playing anybody. They played some guys in the first half. Ty Jerome has just had a ridiculous stretch of games here heading into the playoffs.
He's had a ridiculous season. Let's just put this out there. He's had a ridiculous season. And if it wasn't for DeAndre Hunter joining this Cavs team, the clear sixth player of the Cavs was Ty Jerome and potentially of the league. But also, there was a statement mentioned on the broadcast. People, don't be surprised. by what Ty Jerome is doing.
Like when you think about Kenny Atkinson said this after the game, he hasn't had a body of work to be able to prove that he's capable of this. When he was with the Warriors, 45 games, didn't spend a day in the G League or maybe like a few days in G League. Average seven points was coming off the bench behind Steph Curry. And so it makes sense that people are like, eh, Ty? No, he's competitive.
He's tenacious. He's capable of scoring. He's capable of getting to his spots. Like he has had a season.
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Chapter 4: Who should the Bucks prefer to face in the playoffs, Knicks or Pacers?
Chapter 5: What are the playoff implications for the Timberwolves this season?
He's tenacious. He's capable of scoring. He's capable of getting to his spots. Like he has had a season.
Yeah, and the Cavs and their bench, they just kind of stayed hot in the game, and it wound up being pretty fun. The Pacers wind up winning. I mean, talent in the NBA usually wins. The Pacers needed to get the win. They clinch home court for the playoffs. They do have a chance. They could pass the Knicks for the three seed, but the Knicks would have to lose to Brooklyn on Sunday, and that's...
unlikely to happen but it could the the milwaukee bucks also uh you know they win their game but it didn't really matter so now the the bucks are in a bit of a pickle here xena okay they go into the weekend they play two games against the detroit pistons they currently have a two-game lead Over the Detroit Pistons. So if they win one game, they stay ahead of the Pistons. They are the five seed.
They would go on to likely face the Pacers. But if they were to lose both games, they drop to the sixth seed. And all of a sudden, the Milwaukee Bucks are facing the New York Knicks. Now, that's a different world if you're the Bucks. Let me ask you, Zena. Just for the Bucs. I think if you're the – look, the Pistons, they're trying to win.
They do not have any excuse to play around with any seeding. They should want to win both of the games against the Bucs regardless. They should want to be the five seed. So we won't even ask about that. But with the Bucs, you could make this argument. Look, it's a more veteran team. They have to pick their spots a little bit. They need to be smarter about it. No Damian Lillard maybe.
Right. You know what I mean?
There's a lot of question marks for them. So I think if they're playing the seeding game, the basketball gods might not punish them. So who would you rather face if you were the Bucs? Would you rather play the Knicks or the Pacers?
So there's a few ways to look at this. One, if you compare how the Knicks did against the Bucs or how the Pacers did against the Bucs, Pacers only won one game of four against the Bucs this season, whereas the Knicks won all their games so far against the Bucs. So you're like... OK, don't want to match up against the Knicks for that reason.
But if you look at how the Pacers have been playing their eight and two in their last 10, they're on a roll and they're also picking up their defensive efforts. Top 15 in the league in terms of defense, but also top 10 in offense. And they're clicking on all cylinders right now. And sometimes that momentum is a thing that you don't want to face heading into the playoffs.
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Chapter 6: How do defensive strategies impact NBA playoff success?
Anything really could happen.
What are the Warriors going to do?
That's what I'm thinking about mostly. I'm thinking about the Clippers and the Warriors because right now the Clippers are scary. And after that terrible loss the Warriors just had, I feel as if they're going to be galvanized to step up and close out the season. But... The biggest thing that the Warriors struggle against is tall, athletic, long teams.
And that is exactly the epitome of what the Clippers are. So I genuinely don't know, Dave. I don't know. It's kind of crazy. How many spots did you say are up for grabs this weekend?
15 spots still up for grabs. I mean, it can fluctuate. Oh, that's crazy.
crazy very fun i still how dare any of you say this season was boring or the nba is no absolutely not take it all back anyone that said it take it all back because this is crazy this is exciting it is uh speaking of exciting fred katz guys stick around after the break he's here to talk about his all nba defensive perimeter team
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I'm Dane Brugler. I cover the NFL draft for The Athletic. Spending the whole year working on a draft guide, I'm looking at thousands of players, putting together hundreds of full scouting reports, all the nitty-gritty details, the testing data, the stats, but extensive background research as well. Every journey is a little bit different. I'm on the phone with a lot of these guys.
Hey, when did you start playing football? What other sports did you play? Tell me about your family. You know, learning more about these guys as people. Our draft guide picked up the name The Beast because of the crazy amount of information that's included. I have no idea how to quantify the hours I've spent putting it together. I've been covering this year's draft since last year's draft.
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