Bruce Brown names Anthony Edwards his toughest defensive cover en route Denver Nuggets' championship: “Ant was going OD”
Bruce Brown and the Denver Nuggets went on an absolutely sensational run this postseason en route to the franchise's first NBA title. In the NBA Finals, the team stopped a Miami Heat team that had shocked the Eastern Conference in the postseason, eliminating some of the conference's best teams.
In the first round of the playoffs, Bruce Brown and the Denver Nuggets clashed with the Minnesota Timberwolves before then taking on the Phoenix Suns. The matchup was viewed as the ultimate test for the Nuggets given the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker; however, the team passed with flying colors.
In the Western Conference finals, Brown and the Nuggets matched up with LeBron James and the LA Lakers, who had momentum of their own. Again, the Nuggets passed easily, manhandling the Lakers en route to the NBA Finals.
While players like Jimmy Butler and Devin Booker looked nearly unstoppable at points in the playoffs, Bruce Brown thinks another player was his toughest matchup.
On "Ran Your Race," Brown named Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the two toughest players to defend this season:
"Ant was going OD though, Ant is next up. Ant is OD. I would say this year the toughest players to guard was Ant and Shai. (Ant was) cooking. Doing everything though. All three levels."
Looking at Anthony Edwards stats vs. Bruce Brown in the postseason
Although the Denver Nuggets dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games during the first round of the playoffs, Anthony Edwards went off. While averaging 39.7 minutes per game, Edwards led the Timberwolves with 31.6 points per game.
At the same time, he also averaged 1.8 steals per game, the second most of any player on the team. On top of that, the 21-year-old Georgia standout averaged 5.2 assists per game, the second most of any Minnesota player.
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After a rough Game 1 where the Minnesota Timberwolves struggled, Anthony Edwards bounced back in a big way in Game 2, scoring 41 points. In Game 3, he again led both teams in scoring with a whopping 36 points.
Despite the fact that Edwards kept the momentum rolling with 34 points in Game 4 and 29 points in Game 5, Bruce Brown's defense helped calm the storm. With other players on the Timberwolves struggling to match Edwards' output, the former No. 1 draft pick shouldered much of the offensive burden.
As he prepares to compete in the FIBA World Cup, it will be interesting to see he and Bruce Brown match up again this season. Considering Brown is now signed to the Indiana Pacers, and no longer a part of the Northwest Division, the two will likely match up less this season.