Anthony Edwards is the one man the Phoenix Suns have to be aware of in their matchup against the No. 1 seed in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Friday.
Edwards, who is perceived to be one of the future faces of the league, is the Timberwolves' best player and go-to scorer. Here is what three of the Suns' top names said about defending Edwards.
Suns coach Frank Vogel
The Suns have a multiple defensive scheme. Phoenix is looking to eliminate Edwards from taking 3-pointers and instead force him to shoot long twos, coach Frank Vogel said.
“Really improved his passing, playing pick-and-roll, playing in the post, playing off pindowns, playing in the open court,” said Vogel. “Not a whole lot that he can’t do. He defends his butt off, too, and makes superhero type plays that we saw in Indiana a few weeks back.”
Edwards is listed at 6-foot-4, and will likely be guarded by Grayson Allen if he is available.
Edwards' game is predicated on his first step and athletic bounce. He has also improved as a shooter with a 36.0 percentage.
Royce O'Neale could be a primary guard for Edwards
Here is what O'Neale said about guarding Edwards. O'Neale is also listed as the same height as Edwards. O'Neale, who is in his seventh season, is someone the Suns can trust to be a point-of-attack defender since he has guarded Paul George and James Harden, among others, in playoff runs. He has also started 23 playoff games in his career, which is experience that will benefit Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal's unit on the bench.
“Have to make things tough for him,” said O'Neale. “Try to beat him to his spots. Contest every shot.”
Expect the Suns to try to have multiple coverages to stop Edwards since the team is trying to continue beating teams on the offensive side of the ball.
Edwards' best skills, according to Bball Index, include his finishing talent, which ranks No. 65 in the NBA, and overall shot creation, ranked in the 98.8 percentile. Edwards is also a great creator in transition and his rim shot-making rates in the 87.6 percentile.
Bradley Beal is one of the captains of the Suns' defense
Beal joked there's one way to stop Edwards.
“Foul the sh-t out of him,” he said while laughing.
In all seriousness, Beal knows the matchup will be difficult for one-on-one matchups, something he told ClutchPoints is an aspect of the Suns' guarding they struggle at.
“Honestly, be physical with him,” Beal said. “Make it tough. He's a special talent, three-level scorer, huge IQ for the game, great change of pace. We got our hands full, for sure. But we got to make sure we show him bodies, make everything tough for him, force a lot of tough twos.”
Phoenix plays the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by Arizona's Family and NBA TV.
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