Four straight losses have Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards fed up with his teammates.
Edwards has been upset with the childish brand of basketball that Minnesota has been playing, something he hopes the Timberwolves can shed when they face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night in Minneapolis in West Group A action of the NBA Cup.
Minnesota is only six months removed from a Western Conference finals appearance, but there’s a growing disconnect in the locker room in Edwards’ eyes. The Timberwolves lost 115-104 to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday to fall to 8-10, leading the two-time All-Star to call for immediate change.
“We soft as hell as a team, internally. Not to the other team, but internally, we soft. We can’t talk to each other,” Edwards said. “Just a bunch of little kids. Just like we playing with a bunch of little kids. Everybody, the whole team.
“We just can’t talk to each other. And we’ve got to figure it out, because we can’t go down this road.”
Getting back on track against Los Angeles will be no easy task, though. The Clippers have won six of their past seven games, most recently beating the Washington Wizards 121-96 on Wednesday.
James Harden led Los Angeles with a season-high 43 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field. He was also efficient from deep, knocking down 7 of 11 3-pointers.
Unlike Edwards, Harden hasn’t had any complaints about those around him.
“These guys — I’m not old, but they make me feel young,” Harden told FanDuel Sports Network following the victory over Washington. “They push me. We work together. It’s a real team. … I’m proud of the guys and the way we approach each game differently, in a great way.
“We’re professional about it. And so, a lot of games are gonna be different than others, but the mindset and mentality that we have as a unit is very special.”
The Clippers could be even stronger on Friday if Norman Powell suits up. The veteran guard/forward is averaging a team-high 23.3 points per game this season but hasn’t played since Nov. 18 due to a hamstring injury.
During his time with Los Angeles, Powell has averaged 16.5 points on stunning shooting splits (53.6 percent overall, 59.4 percent from distance) in six games vs. Minnesota. He could cause havoc for a team in the gutter that seemingly has Mike Conley as its only optimist.
“Trust me, we’ve spoken through the last three losses as a team, as players,” Conley said. “And at the end of the day, man, it comes down to us believing, believing again, believing in what we do.
“It’s not about you in the big game. It’s not about if you’re making shots, missing shots, if you turn it over. We have to live with each other’s deficiencies. We have to live with each other’s mistakes and pick each other up.”
Conley went for 16 points to complement Edwards’ game-high 29 in the setback against Sacramento. Julius Randle contributed 21 points and nine rebounds, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker netted 17 points off the bench.
Friday marks the final game of West Group A play for the Timberwolves, who are 1-2 in the in-season tournament. The Clippers are 1-1 and wrap up group action against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
The Houston Rockets have already clinched West Group A thanks to a 3-0 record.
–Field Level Media