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Portland figures to tout one of the best defenses in the NBA this season. The Blazers are flush with perimeter defenders, highlighted by Toumani Camara — an All-NBA Defense honoree from last season. They have massive shot blocker Donovan Clingan patrolling the paint. Roll it all together and you have what was a disastrous combination for Minnesota’s offense to try to combat in recent seasons. And Wednesday’s season opener was no exception for many of the Wolves. Minnesota struggled against the heavy ball pressure, occasionally failing to even get the ball past half court. The Wolves turned the ball over 19 times in an effort that was reminiscent of their Western Conference Finals failings against Oklahoma City. But Minnesota managed to escape Wednesday’s opener with a come-from-behind, 116-112 victory. The reason? Its best player may have leveled up … again. Anthony Edwards has been bothered in the past by good perimeter defenders backed by quality rim protectors. If you could take away his airspace beyond the arc and challenge him at the bucket, where could the star guard find his offense? The answer hit Edwards in the face in last season’s playoffs, where he watched Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander repeatedly torch Minnesota’s quality defense from the mid-range. This is where he would gain his new ground. Up until this point, Edwards was a non-threat in the area between the paint and the arc. A year ago, he made just 37.6% of his shots from the mid range, while only attempting 2.7 such shots a game. So he dedicated his offseason to the previously undiscovered area of the floor with the same ferocity he attacked the 3-pointer the summer prior. But would this pay the same dividends as the triple — one of basketball’s highest-valued shots? It did on Night 1, and sure looks like it may when it matters most. Edwards rendered Portland’s stout defense moot. He scored 41 points — a new franchise record for the most scored in a season opener. When the Blazers dropped back in coverage as Edwards came off a screen, he buried 5 of 10 triple tries. He attacked the bucket, going 4 for 9 at the rim and 8 for 8 from the free-throw line. But the scoring performance went from good to great because of his new offensive weapon. Edwards went 5 for 7 on mid-range attempts in Portland, with the fifth make serving as the game clincher. “Me and (assistant coach Chris Hines) been working countless hours,” Edwards said on Minnesota’s postgame radio show. “We can’t keep count of how many times we’ve been going to the gym dog tired, third or fourth workout of the day and pushed through it, man. It’s starting to pay off. It’s very fun.” And very promising for the team’s long-term outlook. Minnesota’s late-game offense stunk a year ago. It was one of the main sources of angst throughout a rocky regular season. Frankly, the Timberwolves clutch-time offense hasn’t been good at any point during the Chris Finch-Anthony Edwards era, and the star guard has deservedly shouldered plenty of the blame. End-of-game outcomes are determined by the best players making plays, often out of isolation. On-demand late-game scoring is perhaps the sport’s most valuable trait. There is a video cutup that has frequented social media over the last year featuring all of Edwards’ missed shots at the end of close games. The guard took 13 shots in the final minute of games last season in which the Wolves were tied or trailing by one or two points. He made three of them. Nine of those attempts came from 3-point range, and only one went in. The problem in those situations was the guard never developed a go-to spot from which to fire. Last year, opponents would crowd Edwards around the arc at the ends of games. Rather than go toward the bucket, he’d create an inch of space via a stepback that left him to rise up 27 feet from the hoop. There were times where the ensuing shot attempt didn’t touch the rim. The sweet spot late for the game’s best in often the mid-range, the space on the floor defenses are designed to surrender. Five players in the NBA last season shot 51% or better on 50-plus shot attempts in the clutch — the final five minutes of the game when the margin is within five points. All five of those players shot 43.5% or better from the mid range on the season. It has to be a tool in your belt when the pressure is at its highest and the defense is stacked up to stop you. In the final 10 seconds Wednesday, with Minnesota leading by two and needing a bucket to put Portland out to pasture, Edwards sized up Camara — his college teammate at Georgia — on the wing, took a hard step toward the rim, then stepped back for a 20-foot jumper. Cash, victory. Edwards re-entered Wednesday’s game with 7 minutes, 30 seconds to play in the fourth quarter. He scored 10 points in the final from on a perfect 4 for 4 shooting. Two of those makes came from deep. The other two were a pair of mid-range jumpers. Said Wolves forward Julius Randle in his on-court, positive game television interview: “Ant took us home.” In the way in which everyone had always hoped he would. There was nothing more Camara could do in those closing moments. Edwards now has nearly every option available to him offensively, making him virtually unguardable. Those are the players capable of winning scoring titles and MVP awards and pushing their team through any situation, any opponent en route to a championship. That was Edwards’ end game this offseason. Game 1 was a massive step in that direction. If a charged up, tenacious Portland defense couldn’t contain the guard — not early, not late, not ever — what hope does the rest of the league have? And, perhaps more importantly, what doors does that open for the Timberwolves?
