Anthony Edwards is officially out for up to two months, undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday. This is a massive hit to Minnesota, putting serious pressure on them to stay in the playoff race without their superstar scorer. We just watched Ant-Man drop 45 points in the season opener, then follow it up with 47 in Monday’s overtime loss to Cleveland. The guy was on fire, averaging 26 shot attempts a game in those first four outings. How do you even begin to replace that kind of offensive firepower?
The Ant-Man Void: Who Fills It?
Losing Edwards for so long, especially after the start he had, is brutal. The Wolves have been here before, kinda. Last season, Edwards hyperextended his left knee in Game 4 against Denver in the first round. He missed Games 5 and 6. The team actually split those games, eliminating the Nuggets in Game 6 even without Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ayo Dosunmu. That’s when guys like Jaden McDaniels and TJ Shannon stepped up big time. McDaniels went off for 32 points on 13 of 25 shooting, and Shannon scored 24, just tearing up the defenseless Nuggets at the rim. Julius Randle and Naz Reid helped back then too, but they’re both gone from the squad now. That means a new crew has to shoulder the load.
A Collective Effort to Replace a Superstar
So, with Edwards sidelined, the baton is passing to LaMelo Ball, Dosunmu, McDaniels, Shannon, and Jonathan Kuminga. The source article points out Edwards was averaging 26 shots per game, and no one else was even close, with the next highest at 12.3. That’s a huge void. Ball, who averaged 25.3 points per game with Charlotte two seasons ago, has experience as a number one option, though he’s probably better as a secondary guy who runs the offense and creates for others. McDaniels, in his last 10 games without Edwards last season, put up 18.5 points on 14.8 shots per game. He’ll definitely be asked to do more, but his style isn’t a seamless fit for Edwards’ role.
Then there’s Dosunmu. His play style is the closest thing to Edwards on the team. He’s not Ant-Man, sure, but he’s a fantastic three-point shooter who can create his own shot off the dribble. Last season, in eight games without Edwards, he averaged 18.6 points on 14.1 attempts. Shannon’s an interesting case, too. The Wolves only really figured out how to use him late last season, but in a small sample of four games with big minutes when Edwards was out, he averaged 24.5 points on 15.5 shots. These guys are going to have to collectively step up and fill those 26 shot attempts a night.
Edwards is expected to miss about 30 games. Minnesota needs to pull together and keep themselves in the hunt until Ant-Man is back on the court for the final 40-45 games of the regular season. It’s going to be a tough couple of months, but if these guys can collectively fill the scoring gap, they might just stay afloat until their star returns.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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