Can these Timberwolves keep pace in the West without Anthony Edwards?

It was working.

The whole idea behind the Minnesota Timberwolves’ massive summertime pivot — out go Julius Randle and Naz Reid, in comes LaMelo Ball — was to find a way to reduce the ball-handling and shot-creation workload on Anthony Edwards, and allow the four-time All-Star to do what he does best: put the ball in the basket, again and again and again. And through four games of the 2026-27 NBA season, it was working.

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Edwards opened the season on fire, scoring more points per game than anybody besides Luka Dončić, while shooting 54% on 2-pointers and 40% from long distance. He’s been at his most efficient with Ball setting him up, posting an absurd 75% true shooting percentage (which factors in 2-point, 3-point and free-throw accuracy) with Ball on the floor, 20 percentage points above his career average; LaMelo-to-Ant has produced more baskets (10) than any other assist combination in the league thus far.

The Wolves enter Wednesday’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors owning the NBA’s No. 4 offense and leading the league in both pull-up field goal attempts and pull-up shooting efficiency, with Edwards and Ball leading the way. Minnesota is scoring a scorching 126.8 points per 100 non-garbage-time possessions with its new-look backcourt on the floor, opening the season with three blowout wins and an overtime loss against a Cleveland Cavaliers squad that just made the Eastern Conference finals.

The vibes between LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards were strong early on. (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

(Erick W. Rasco via Getty Images)

This, broadly, is the formula that the Wolves believed would give them the brand of firepower necessary to be able to more effectively stand toe-to-toe with the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, who have eliminated them from the last two postseasons. It’s a formula, however, that requires Edwards to remain upright and ambulatory … and, as we learned on Tuesday, that’s something he’s not going to be for a while.

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Just four games into the season, Edwards needs arthroscopic surgery on his right knee —…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/can-these-timberwolves-keep-pace-in-the-west-without-anthony-edwards-184634178.html

Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2026-10-28 18:46:00

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