Attacking the rim, Wolves guard Anthony Edwards felt like 'no one could guard me'

The numbers from Wednesday night suggest Anthony Edwards should attack the rim as much as possible. Edwards finished three of 10 from three-point range but was eight of 11 anytime he took a two in the Timberwolves' loss to the Clippers.

Six of his made shots came in the restricted area around the basket.

Edwards said he felt like "no one could guard me."

"Get to the rim at all times or shoot my shot," Edwards said. "Whatever I feel I'm going to do. Tonight I got to the rim a lot, because they didn't have nobody that can guard me I don't think."

When asked if Edwards felt that way about every team he faces, he said, "In my eyes, yeah."

The Clippers and Wolves meet again on Friday night at Target Center.

Coach Chris Finch and the Wolves are encouraging Edwards to take it to the basket more often as a way to help open up the offense. When Edwards isn't taking advantage of his athleticism, it can have ripple effects, and the Wolves don't have many other players who are adept at creating off the dribble on a regular basis.

"It's one of the most efficient things that we do, that he can do, too," Finch said. "It creates not just shots for himself at the rim or, hopefully, free throws. But kickout opportunities are wide open. ... It's a huge part of what our offense is about. He is the best at it on our team. When we're not doing it enough it really affects how we want to play."

Karl-Anthony Towns said Edwards' driving ability can help the Wolves take advantage when teams send multiple defenders at him, as the Clippers did Wednesday.

"It's exactly what we need, especially a team that's willing to triple-team me at all times," Towns said. "Ant has to get going. When you have teams like that that are willing to give an empty side or a weak side to Ant, Ant has to take that advantage. He's too talented, too skilled, too strong, too fast for anyone to stay in front of him."

When Finch took over last season, one thing he worked on with Edwards was his shot ratio and trying to get Edwards to take fewer jump shots than he was before Finch's arrival. Finch said the ideal would be for Edwards to drive it two-thirds of the time, shoot jumpers one-third. So far this season, 42.8% of Edwards' shots have come from three-point range. One positive note, Edwards doesn't take many inefficient midrange shots, just 2.3 per game. So most of his two-point attempts happen near the basket — eight attempts per game in the restricted area.

Edwards is shooting 31% from three-point range and needs to show he can hit the outside shot to keep defenses honest.

"If I make it or miss it, they're going to contest it regardless," Edwards said.

But any time he wants to take the ball to the rim, the Wolves won't be complaining.