The Timberwolves Rely On Edwards and Randle's Playmaking

Any team that plays against the Timberwolves has to worry about Edwards dominating the game. His growth as an offensive player has been impressive over the past five seasons. 

Ant is not only a slasher because he has grown into a tremendous shooter, proven by his league-leading 320 three-pointers in the 2024-25 season. At the same time, Edwards has also grown with his playmaking. This was evident in Game 1 against the Lakers, as he dished out nine assists.

The Timberwolves' Offense Is Much Better Than You Think

Some people are misguided when they discuss the Timberwolves' offense. They get too caught up in calling it an Ant-centric team because the squad is more versatile than most.

With Edwards, Randle, and Jaden McDaniels, they have reliable slashers. Combine that with being one of the NBA's best three-point shooting teams, then Minnesota keeps being a tough matchup.

The Timberwolves' offense becomes even better when Edwards and Randle are firing on all cylinders. The defense will focus on them, which opens the door for them to be playmakers. 

This happened in Game 1 against the Lakers, which led to other players like McDaniels and Naz Reid scoring 20+ points because Los Angeles was too focused on stopping Minnesota's two stars.

Randle Knows He Can Still Be A Better Playmaker

Randle might have had five assists in Game 1, but he had seven turnovers. It was the worst tally among players from both teams, which leaves some room for improvement. By toning his turnovers down like Edwards, who only had one, the Timberwolves' offense could become even scarier.

Julius knows that if he and Ant create more scoring opportunities, the Timberwolves are hard to beat. However, he also said he wanted to take care of the ball.

"For myself, I had way too many turnovers. As well as we played, for myself individually, that's where I can clean up," Randle said in his interview after Game 1. "We knew how they were going to defend us. I knew when Ant had the ball, where to be, and he did a great job. He had like 8 or 9 assists. That's what coach said he needed."

As long as Edwards and Randle are scoring and creating, the Timberwolves might be too tough a matchup for the Lakers. Of course, that was only Game 1, so Minnesota must not be complacent because they need to cement their dominance in Game 2, which will be at the Crypto.com Arena again.