Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards delivers perfect answer to Mike Conley motivation for Game 7 vs. Nuggets

“I want to win for myself,” explained Edwards. “I wasn’t with Mike whenever he was playing Game 7, so it has nothing to do with me.  Yeah, I wanna win for myself.”

Conley lost three Game 7’s with the Memphis Grizzlies and one with the Utah Jazz. Additionally, his only Conference Finals appearance was when the Grizzlies got swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2013.

This is the type of scenario where youth pays off. Edwards is too young to care about the Wolves’ or Conley’s traumatic playoff history. The 22-year-old is here to forge his own path.

What are Minnesota’s chances of pulling off an improbable upset of the defending champions?

Anything is possible, but the Wolves will have their work cut out for them

Edwards proved he could step up in an elimination game on Thursday, leading all players with 27 points on 8-of-17 shooting, to go with four rebounds and four assists across 34 minutes. The Wolves dismantled the Nuggets 115-70, forcing the Game 7 at Denver’s Ball Arena.

Nuggets coach Micah Malone sounded off on Edwards’ greatness, via Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports.

“He’s proven to be unguardable,” Malone said simply.

Outside of his subpar Game 5 performance, Edwards has been consistently dynamic. The Georgia alum has two 40-plus point games in this series alone, and he may need to do it again on Sunday.

Denver will not only have the support of its home crowd, but the squad can also lean on its balanced offense. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. are all capable of going off when it matters most. Conversely, Edwards is the only major threat off the dribble for Minnesota, although center Karl-Anthony Towns is a decent second option, averaging 18.4 points per game in the playoffs.

Towns shared his thoughts on the unusual trajectory of the series, via NBA.com’s Shaun Powell.

“This series has been weird for the both of us,” said Towns. “We take two on their court, they take two on ours, they hold on their court in a big win, we win big on ours. Someone has to break the trend in Game 7.”

Edwards’ contributions on defense will also be vital, especially if it’s a tight game down the stretch. The 2020 first-overall pick successfully contained Murray last game, helping to hold him to 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting. However, Murray could easily flip the switch and score 30-plus, and he has a penchant for hitting clutch buzzer-beaters in crunch time. The Canadian international made two game-winners against the Los Angeles Lakers last round.

Will the battle-tested defending champions take care of business? Or will Edwards and the upstart Wolves begin writing their playoff legacy?