A super giant has to hit a hero s ball? The evolution of Huazi s key ball starts with studying Kobe Jordan s pass

(The original article was published on May 14, and the author is Dave McMenamin from ESPN website. The content of the article does not represent the translator's views)

Edwards called it the "most important game" of his career. In the second round of G2, he led the Timberwolves to defeat the Warriors, avoiding the series 0-2 behind. Two days later, the supernova once again ushered in a tough away game in the series G3. When Jimmy's firepower was on the verge of being ace scorer in the Heat, Edwards, fourth in the regular season scoring league, was brewing an explosion. Butler scored 18 points in the first half, leading the Warriors who lacked Curry to a 2-point lead.

In contrast, Edwards made only 3 of 12 shots in the first two quarters of the game, 1 of 6 three-pointers, and scored only 8 points. In the 20 minutes he was present, the Timberwolves lost 11 points. But then the 23-year-old All-Star showed his killer nature as usual, and his top football skills and athletic talent always make 38-year-old veteran Conley amazed. "Sometimes when I get home I think, at this moment I'm playing alongside one of the best players in history," Conley told ESPN.

Edwards not only scored 28 points in the second half, but also dominated the game in a gorgeous way. The highlights of the second half of this 1.93-meter-102-kg strong shooting guard are easy to understand why he has been compared with Jordan. When the Timberwolves fell 5 points at the end of the third quarter, Edwards took off from the semicircle within the free throw line, and his right-handed tomahawk dunk turned the Warriors' 2.06 power forward Looney into a worm corpse on the windshield. When the Timberwolves were 6 points behind in the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Warriors defender Podjemsky pressed closely, Edwards stepped back and jumped to the highest point to complete a three-pointer.

The next is the most critical round.

When Butler, Looney and Pojemsky were double-teamed on the left wing, it would not be surprising if Edwards, who had entered the attack mode, chose to make a strong shot. But he chose to pass the ball to Randle at the top of the arc, and then quickly transferred the ball to the right wing to create an open three-pointer for McDaniels. This offense helped the Timberwolves take a 6-point lead in 3 minutes and 20 seconds before the final game, and the Warriors have failed to narrow the gap to within 4 points.

Although the technical statistics attribute this assist to Randle, this offensive choice vividly shows that Edwards is evolving into an all-round threat. It is this improvement in decision-making ability that has driven the Timberwolves to transform from one of the worst teams in the league's key goals into the most reliable team. According to ESPN statistics, the Timberwolves maintained 4 wins and 0 losses at critical moments this year (within 5 points in the last 5 minutes), with a net victory over their opponents by 29 points. Edwards scored 15 points in 4 of 7 shots in the 14-minute critical moment, and scored 5 assists and 0 turnovers, leading the league's performance at critical moments in the playoffs in zero turnovers.

"My trainer Haines always says 'Jordan has Cole'," Edwards told ESPN. "He always uses this kind of example to wake me up. Now I have learned to trust my teammates."

And behind this ease is the evolutionary journey that runs through the entire season.

Five months ago, Edwards stepped into the Chase Center and ushered in a second back-to-back battle with the Warriors. The Timberwolves finally lost 106-114, with a season record falling to 12 wins and 11 losses, and Edwards' performance was the main reason for the loss. He scored 15 points in 6 of 8 shots in the third quarter, and even made a three-pointer in the final quarter with 4 minutes and 47 seconds. However, he missed all 6 shots and a mistake at the subsequent critical moment. The Warriors took the opportunity to end the game with a 9-0 attack wave.

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are no strangers to the Timberwolves.

"In the last five minutes, he (Edwards) just wanted to score, score, and score again because he wanted to prove to the Warriors that he could finish the game." Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch told ESPN, "After the game, he took the initiative to apologize to the whole team and admitted that 'the responsibility is on me.' From then on, he no longer focused on personal offense at critical moments."

What frustrated Coach Finch was that in the game where the Timberwolves beat the Warriors two days ago, Edwards had just given a perfect performance of 30 points and 9 assists. "He played impeccably," said Coach Finch.

Edwards trainer Haynes regarded the defeat as a turning point. "He's like the kind of kid who just warned not to steal chocolate and turned his head and looked full of chocolate scum." Haynes described to ESPN. "You asked him, 'Did you steal it?' He even said 'No'. We've just emphasized don't happen to chocolate! This is the true portrayal of Edwards."

Although Edwards' performance at a critical moment was indeed bad, his teammates would still be attracted to him. "This is part of our team's growth," Randall told ESPN. "It's not entirely his fault. His idea was to 'go to him and let me lead the team to win'. Edwards is the ultimate contender, but he can also be aware of 'Brother, I have to do better'. This is his essence, never shirking responsibility, and of course he deserves praise and always pursues progress."

trainer Haynes revealed that Edwards regards himself as a natural leader and admires killer competitors like Jordan and Kobe. However, Edwards was not born when Jordan won the six-time championship, and he was only two months old when Kobe won the second championship in his career. So Hines is still teaching Edwards the deep wisdom of these legendary stars, far from the overflowing dunks and final hits on social media.

"Jordan has Cole around," Haynes said. "There is John Paxson. James also trusts Gibson at critical moments, and there are key men like Horry in history. If Edwards doesn't study these, he will keep hitting walls. These cognitive changes are crucial to him. When we see Kobe's pass to Rick Fox, Edwards will ask, 'Who is this guy?' He doesn't know Rick Fox at all. But when he sees the ball in, he gradually understands that the history of the game is being repeated in him.. ”

Edwards admitted that he had been deeply involved in the hero ball thinking and was difficult to break through: "I always wanted to solve the problem by myself when I played in the critical moments of the playoffs in the past few times. Since I was a child, I felt that ‘superstars should shoot key balls’, but sometimes the most correct choice is those passing balls. ”

According to ESPN's statistics, Edwards' regular season equalized/overtaken 0 of 15 shots (0 of 10 three-pointers) in the fourth quarter or the last 10 seconds of overtime, and only 1 of 18 shots were included in the playoffs. This season, the Timberwolves achieved 20 wins and 26 losses in a stalemate, and lost at critical moments. The second most games in the league were in the league. Edwards equalized 7 times/overtaken over and all shots were hit. This data is not only the worst in the league this season, but also tied the worst record in the past five seasons.

The Timberwolves' coaching staff and teammates did not want to kill Edwards' killer instinct, but wanted to help him expand the dimension of the game, and Edwards has been learning.

"This is the balance Edwards must find, after all, he is born to be a perpetual motion machine for offense. "Conley explained, "We keep emphasizing that we should always keep our scoring aggressive and never think about 'I have to pass the ball to Conley'. Once this thought arises, his rhythm will stagnate and he becomes a pure passer. The key is to make him understand that while maintaining the attack mode, he also needs to make quick decisions. When you see the moment of assisting defense coming, can you find the ball point immediately? He is now mastering this ability. "

This kind of evolution cannot be achieved overnight. "I set rules for myself now that I must take action every three rounds. "Edwards said," especially at critical moments. ”

There seemed to be a metronome in Edwards' mind reminding him: pass, pass, shoot, or shoot, pass, pass, or pass, shoot, pass. This change also stems from his hard practice of receiving and shooting skills. Not only should he be a passer of Cole, but he should also become a Kohl-style ending point.

When he followed Cole Cole to the Olympics last summer, Edwards benefited a lot from playing side by side with Curry, James and his idol Durant. "Durant told me that improving his ability to catch and shoot will be my most critical evolution. "Edwards recalled.

Sometimes, the key is who conveys this message. "We have advised him to play more without the ball for years because the data proves that he is extremely efficient in receiving and shooting. "Coach Finch said, "But he is used to holding the ball and finding the rhythm, and is used to combining game and shooting. So even though he knew it was effective, this style of playing still made him uncomfortable at first. "

Timberwolves' teammates believe that the gold medal-winning experience at the Paris Olympics last summer completely changed Edwards. "He mentioned the US men's basketball team more times than anything else, you should know that this guy usually talks a lot. "Conley smiled," this experience opened the door to a new world for him. "At the same time, this experience also strengthened his belief. "In his heart, he formed the perception that 'these super giants are almost the same as myself, and I can even be stronger than them'. "Trainer Haynes revealed.

With the continuous evolution of personal games, Edwards has led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals for the second consecutive year. In the last 1 minute and 22 seconds of the first round, he assisted Conley to hit a key three-pointer to end the Lakers; while G4 scored 16 points in the third quarter of the second round, helped the Timberwolves lead the Warriors 3-1.

The Timberwolves always believe that the young man in front of him will eventually bring the team the first championship trophy in 36 years of team history.

"I have partnered with many great players, but Edwards' confidence... reminds me of Kobe, I am a person who has played with Kobe. Randall told ESPN, "He never fears any moment, but rather desires big scenes." As a player, he is the strongest I have ever seen. ”

When Edwards learned to trust his teammates, his teammates responded with absolute trust.

"We always emphasize 'making the right choice,'" Coach Finch recalled, "Once Edwards said to me, 'Maybe I was the right choice myself. ’”

The coach paused for a moment: “He was right. ”

Original text: DaveMcMenamin

Compiled by: Li Taibai