How Anthony Edwards became the most lethal scorer in the playoffs

MINNEAPOLIS — When he takes a free throw, Anthony Edwards takes a small step forward as the ball meets the basket. He's not trying to get a leg (or a foot) up on trying to get the rebound in case of a miss. He also isn't off balance. This step is by design, something he and his longtime skills trainer and coach Kierre Jordan have put in Edwards' routine.

The step is because the Timberwolves' All-Star guard begins the shot in his toes to generate power, along with raising his calves.

"A lot of times he would stay on the line and take his shoulders back instead of making sure his momentum was going forward," Jordan said. "So now to make sure we have your momentum going forward, let's add that step after you shoot."

The step has worked. Edwards' free-throw percentage rose to 83.6% from 75.6% a season ago even as his attempts went up from 5.3 to 6.4 per game. He was also on pace to up his 3-point percentage numbers this season before a late-season slump took it from 37.3% to 35.7% in the past 10 games. He has made up for that in the playoffs by shooting 41.9%.

And Edwards' all-around scoring ability has been the talk of the league as the Timberwolves swept their first six playoff games heading into Friday's Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against Denver at Target Center.

Before Edwards came into the league, one of the knocks on his NBA future was that he would never develop into an efficient shooter, and if there was any criticism Edwards took to heart in his four-year NBA career, it was that one.

Shortly after last season's first-round exit to Denver, Edwards said this in an interview with the Star Tribune: "I'm a scorer. I don't pride my game on just getting to the rim. I hate when people say that. I work too hard to be somebody who finishes at the rim. I can score the ball with the best of them."

About a year after he said that, Edwards is showing the NBA world just how good a scorer he can be — and how good of a shooter he can be. He's averaging 32.3 points per game in the postseason and had three consecutive 35-plus point games, something only replicated at 22 years old or younger by Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

"A lot of work, man. It's a lot of work," Edwards said after a 43-point performance in Game 1. "Super tiring. But it's all worth it when it shows on nights like [Game 1]."

When Jordan, who has worked with Edwards since he was about 15, was asked how often Edwards was working on his mid-range shot this summer, he let out a high-pitched "Oooh." Edwards had four workouts a day over the summer (not all focused on shooting) but he would still put up hundreds of shots per day, to the point he was shooting 2,000 shots per week.

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