"Ant-Man hurt them with his energy and aggression" - Skip Bayless changes tune on Anthony Edwards after Timberwolves win Game 4
Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards helped fuel a big Game 4 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, keeping the team's championship hopes alive. While no team has ever come back from down 3-0 in a postseason series, Edwards and the Timberwolves will have a chance to take the next step towards becoming the first later this week at home for Game 5.
After struggling in the first two games of the series, and a late-game blunder in Game 3, Edwards put on a stellar performance on Tuesday. In addition to staving off elimination, the performance also silenced his critics such as NBA pundit Skip Bayless.
Amid Edwards' struggles earlier in the series, Bayless criticized Edwards' play, indicating that he doesn't believe the young guard is "that guy." This week, on Wednesday's episode of Undisputed, Bayless praised Anthony Edwards for his aggressiveness in a pivotal Game 4.
As he explained, the Minnesota guard could tell that the Dallas Mavericks came out flat, and wasted no time going to work.
"I was shocked because I thought they would play desperate just to get this thing over with so they could match your Celtics in rest and recuperation and get Luka [Doncic] healthy and [Dereck] Lively healthy for Boston. And it did not happen because Luka, especially on the defensive end, was just resting every possession.
"He was playing no defense. Kyrie [Irving] played a little, but Luka played none. None. And I think Ant-Man smelled that right away. ... Last night, he hurt them with his energy and his aggression. He took it to them."
Looking at Anthony Edwards' play in Game 4 compared to early in the series
As previously mentioned, Anthony Edwards struggled early on in the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks. In Game 2 for example, he shot just 29.4% from the floor while going 2-7 from downtown, marking his worst shooting performance this entire postseason.
At the same time, over the first two games of the series, Edwards had two of his three worst postseason performances, scoring 19 points in Game 1 and 21 points in Game 2.
Then, in Game 3, while Edwards was able to score well, he struggled to facilitate, turning the ball over five times, including a key late-game turnover. His struggles, combined with those of Karl-Anthony Towns who was unable to keep up his impressive play from beyond the arc, saw the team fall into a three-game hole.
A number of critics began to emerge, questioning the Anthony Edwards-Michael Jordan comparisons that had become increasingly common throughout the postseason. Bayless was one of them, both online and on Undisputed, where he critiqued Edwards' play while shooting down the Michael Jordan comparisons.
Heading into Game 4, Edwards explained to media members that he's never been swept before, and he had no intentions of being swept in the WCF. He racked up 29 points on 11-for-25 shooting, including 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, while also grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out nine assists.
With the series going to a Game 5 at home, Anthony Edwards will look to help the team become the first in NBA history to come back from down 3-0.