Anthony Edwards: Timberwolves Weren’t Ready To Play In Opening Loss To Lakers

The new-look Timberwolves opened the NBA season with a thud. At least, they sure did in the first half, when they looked like they were opening the preseason in the early weeks of camp.

Turnovers. Ugly missed shots. Bad transition defense. You name it. The result was a 110-103 defeat in a game where the Lakers were rarely challenged, sans a small stretch in the second half when Minnesota cut it to four.

“We wasn’t ready to play,” star guard Anthony Edwards told reporters, via Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “So I agree with (coach Chris Finch) on that part. We came out too relaxed, like people respect us. We got to bring more. Sacramento, we’ll be better.”

The game will go down in NBA lore, as Lakers star LeBron James and son Bronny James took the court to become the first father-son teammates in league history. But it was a forgettable night for the Timberwolves.

Edwards finished with 27 points, newcomer Julius Randle scored 16 and Rudy Gobert went for 13 and 14 rebounds. But it wasn’t nearly enough as this one became the Anthony Davis Show. Overall, Minnesota was destroyed in the paint.

Granted, it’s just one of 82 and this goes all the way until April. The Timberwolves will almost certainly be in the mix — not just to return to the Western Conference finals, but to emerge from them. It’s never easy opening on the road — and the Wolves showed that on this night.

But Edwards still has a valid point. In a race expected to be as tight as the West will be, Minnesota has to show up and be ready to play.

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