The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t have the best night on Wednesday, losing by 32 at the hands of the Utah Jazz. However, that didn’t stop Anthony Edwards from having another enlightening and entertaining postgame interview.
The second-year star gave a thoughtful answer about his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns needing to be more aggressive instead of inviting double teams, saying it was “disrespectful” that Utah put Bojan Bogdanovic on him constantly as Towns’ primary defender. Edwards wasn’t done there, as he also got asked about Rudy Gobert’s impact as a rim protector, to which he asserted that Kristaps Porzingis is a better rim protector than Gobert and noted that the three-time DPOY doesn’t put any fear in his heart when he attacks the paint.
Anthony Edwards said the best rim protector in the league is Kristaps Porzingis. On Rudy Gobert, Ant was honest …
'Anytime I go against Porzingis, I don’t get no layups. I don’t get why we couldn’t finish on Rudy Gobert. He don’t put no fear in my heart. I don’t know why."
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) December 9, 2021
Edwards wasn’t alone in having some, well, pointed commentary about Gobert after the game, as noted instigator Patrick Beverley also sought to poke the bear a bit more, calling out how Gobert wasn’t guarding Towns for the Jazz and questioning his DPOY credentials if he’s not taking on the toughest matchups each night.
Patrick Beverley on Rudy Gobert, the Defensive Player of the Year, not taking the challenge of guarding the Timberwolves best player, Karl-Anthony Towns: pic.twitter.com/HKlPUna8cu
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 9, 2021
What makes all of this funnier is that these comments are coming after a game the Jazz won by 32. Beverley lists off three guys he guarded on the night who combined for 67 points, which might not be something you would normally puff your chest out about. Edwards comments aren’t quite as inflammatory, but more of the honesty we’ve come to love from the second-year swingman to just note that even he doesn’t know why he isn’t more afraid of Gobert at the rim but stating matter of factly that he’s just not.
This isn’t anything new for Gobert, who is not exactly a beloved figure around the league, and the Jazz as a whole, who despite consistently finishing seasons at or near the top of the West, aren’t discussed as top title contenders. The fix for that, of course, is to do what the Bucks did after finding themselves in a similar position last year and quieting the questions about being a dominant regular season team but a susceptible playoff team by winning a ring. Until then, I guess even teams they dominate are going to come out and poke and prod at their credentials.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/anthony-edwards-rudy-gobert-rim-protection-no-fear/