“He (Anthony Edwards) is playing with supreme confidence. We know they had their run last year, and they’re a new look with (Julius) Randle, but same Ant, who’s trying to take strides with every opportunity he gets…It’s going to be a tough challenge,” said Stephen Curry during a press conference. Anthony Edwards emerged as a noticeable threat after leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 3-1 record against the Lakers, and emerging as the highest average scorer of the series with his 26.8 ppg. The ‘Playoff Ant’ persona struck fear in the minds of both rival players and fans alike. Despite this, the Warriors were prepared and were able to keep the player at bay during Game 1. Now, they hope to repeat the process, especially since the availability status of the team’s leader is in doubt.

Gary Payton II participated in a presser after the Warriors’ 99-88 win against the Timberwolves. During the same time, he was questioned about his stints with Anthony Edwards and how the Warriors were able to restrict the star’s scoring. Payton revealed the team’s strategy by stating, “Just limit his touches, make it difficult. Send him to crowds and make him finish over at the rim. You know, he missed some easy ones today, figures that he’s going to come out game two more aggressive than he did today. So, just continue to repeat that. Just make it tough for him. Make his catch tougher and limit his touches”.

The Warriors’ strategy certainly proved effective in Game 1. The same Timberwolves player who was No. 4 in the league in scoring average during the regular season scored just a point at halftime, after shooting 0-for-8. This contributed immensely to Minnesota trailing 44-31 at halftime. In fact, Anthony Edwards missed his first 10 shots, not getting a bucket until four minutes into the second half.

In the end, he finished with 23 points, recorded through 9-22 field goals, including 1-5 3-pointers, and 4-5 (80.0%) free throws. When you are not just a starter but the star player, and 22 of your 23 points come in this game’s final 20 minutes, you know that you are being inefficient.

Anthony Edwards is not someone who is easily affected when double teams come to corner him. This was seen as to how the player was able to deflect when the Lakers squad was putting three people on him. As he revealed after Game 4 of that series, “Like, once I drive, they try to trap me. If I get around a trap, it’s the third guy coming up as a low man. So if you just equal out, and the dude, it’s three people on the left side, on the opposite weak side of the ball, and if the middle dude just cuts, then they got one person to guard two people”.

The Dubs would have realized that they cannot do the same thing with the 23-year-old. This caused them to come up with a different game plan, thanks to which they now hold a 1-0 lead. Luck and odds favored the Bay Area franchise during Game 1. However, with Stephen Curry’s availability status for the next game unclear, there is a high probability that Anthony Edwards can successfully extract his vengeance.

Gary Payton II highlights plan for Warriors’ Game 2 without Stephen Curry

“We’re definitely game-planning for him to not be available for game two, but we don’t know yet. With a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play,” said Steve Kerr after Game 1 of the Warriors-Timberwolves series. It became obvious that the Bay Area franchise was entering a period of uncertainty after Stephen Curry was seen repeatedly grabbing his left hamstring before walking off the court.

The sight of Curry limping off left both fans and teammates rattled, and the fact that he did not return after his 2nd quarter exit only raised the concern. While others were able to carry the offensive load in Curry’s place, the question that is being asked now is: can they do it again? Can they do it for possibly the whole series?

Gary Payton II believes that they have to. During the post-game presser, the shooting guard was asked what the mood and atmosphere are like, from his perspective, whenever Steph heads to the locker room after an injury. The player replied that, in such instances, one has to just “hold your breath”. He credited the 3-point leader by stating, “he’s got us out of so many jams this season. So for us just to have his back for this one game. Uh, hopefully it’s one game. Um, you know, guys just stepped up and made plays”.

The Bay Area squad was prepared to handle things for Game 1, and won’t back down for Game 2 either. “Take care of the ball, get stops, rebound and run, try to get easy wins,” said Payton II, when asked the offensive things to bear in mind if the team is without Steph for a game or two.

Gary Payton II himself wasn’t able to contribute anything extraordinarily beyond his regular-season average. However, once again, Buddy Hield took the offensive charge by making 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green added 20 and 18 points, respectively, to ensure the team did not falter.

With any hope, they carry the same offensive load for Game 2, too, with Gary Payton II also making a noticeable dent.