Carlos Danger wrote:My point stands that offense doesn't seem to be an issue so far (Post DLO). Anthony Edwards is not being shut down by other teams without DLO as some have opined. Maybe it will be an issue in the playoffs - hopefully we get to find out.
That particular verbiage has never been argued here, but I have expressed that Anthony Edwards would be defended differently without another volume scorer in D'Angelo Russell playing next to him, and that his play could take a dip as a result, even if momentarily.
Volume-wise, Edwards is still filling it up. He's expected to shoulder the load, dominate touches, and will inevitably "get his" on most nights. The playmaking and scoring efficiency is where you see the hit (so far), however. Teams are loading up on him every night with 3-5 defenders shading his driving lanes. We already talked about this before, if I remember correctly.
Games With D'Angelo Russell (54 GP):
24.8 PPG, 4.5 APG, (3.4 TOV), 53.5 eFG%, 57.4 TS%
Games With Mike Conley Jr. (11 GP):
25.8 PPG, 3.8 APG (3.7 TOV), 50.0 eFG%, 53.5 TS%
The difference may not appear like much at a glance, but keep in mind that the average eFG% and TS% for shooting guards this season is 53.1 and 56.8, respectively. At Edwards' volume, that is significant. That's the difference between being an above average volume scorer and a below average chucker considering what he's asked to do nightly.
We know Edwards' talent. We know his physical ability. He'll be fine long-term and should eventually figure out how to adjust to any defense thrown at him. There have already been signs of that. But it's clear that the assumed "better fit" of a game manager next to him is forcing more attention on him and there's been some slippage in his game. Perhaps that solves itself with more games. Perhaps Karl-Anthony Towns returns and everything works out swimmingly. That certainly is the hope at this point.
