Home/NBA

USA Today via Reuters

Draymond Green spotted the major weakness in Anthony Edwards amid the Wolves’ thunderous run. In Game 1 of the Conference Finals, the Timberwolves received a major wake-up call as the 5th-seeding Mavericks cruised past them with a comfortable win. Hours after the game, the Dubs star picked up the mic to reveal the rising superstar’s major flaw that could cost them the series. Notably, it hadn’t anything to do with his game, but an off-court blunder.

In the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show, the 4x NBA Champ had a lot to share about Ant-Man. He even called him a “great young leader.” However, he also shared his thoughts on the exhaustion and fatigue that the 22-year-old had endured in his first-ever deep playoff run. At the same, Dray didn’t like the youngster expressing his exhaustion in the press conference.

Speaking on that, Green said“I’m looking for any little edge I can get… watching one of your interviews to get an edge… One thing that can’t come from watching an interview is spot weakness.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Adding on to the fatigue revelation, the star power forward put things into perspective and revealed the Mavs’ intention going into Game 2. Green added, “If I’m the Dallas Mavericks, I’m watching that and I’m like, ‘Oh, they tired’. Get greedy… We’re coming back for blood.” 

It all caught up when Anthony Edwards decided to speak his mind after the loss. He said, “We were just tired, probably,” after the Game 1 loss. Coming from a player who is constantly compared to Michael Jordan, it’s seemed a little off. However, MJ himself let his guard down in 1992, when he said, “I’m just so tired,” speaking of his mental exhaustion, a few months before his first retirement.

Air Jordan has become the epitome of toughness because of his mental toughness both on and off the court. There are multiple examples of his fierce leadership on the internet. However, behind that tough shell, he also has a human being. It came in 1993 when he announced his first retirement. He lost his father and it took a toll on him. Jordan revealed that he lost the desire to play the sport again in a press statement before announcing his retirement. Nevertheless, he came back to win another threepeat, reclaiming his toughness.

Did the media push the Anthony Edwards fatigue narrative?

Ever since the Game 1 loss at Minnesota, the media has been all over Anthony Edwards. Skip Bayless even called out Reggie Miller, who was calling the game, for pushing the narrative. Bayless took to his X handle and wrote, “Reggie Miller was pushing the narrative that Anthony Edwards was tired in the 4th quarter??? HE’S 22-YEARS-OLD.” 

USA Today via Reuters

At the same time, Ant-Man really seemed to be dealing with exhaustion in the last two games. Despite leading the Wolves with a 28.1 points average this postseason, he could drop only 19 and 16 points in the last two games.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Nevertheless, Draymond Green drove along with the exhaustion narrative and even predicted the team’s grave situation in the series. However, this isn’t the first time he dropped a hammer on the Wolves. After the Game 5 loss against the Nuggets in the semi-final series, he called out Karl-Anthony Towns for not having belief as he limped off. He added“When you lose belief, it’s over. And they don’t believe they can win anymore, which means the series is over.” 

However, the team proved Dray wrong. In fact, it was KAT who showed up in Game 7, dropping 23 points with 12 rebounds. Similarly, Ant-Man also could pull off a similar response in the coming games.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Amid the playoff madness, we have something interesting for you. To follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius and his journey, watch this video.