The Play-In Tournament is over, and now the brackets are set for the NBA Playoffs.
Round one of opening matchups starts Saturday as the Minnesota Timberwolves battle the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 p.m. on ABC at Crypto.com Arena in L.A. LeBron James leads the Lakers as the No. 3 seed, while Anthony Edwards carries the T’Wolves as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Los Angeles are a 4.5-point favorite to win game one at home via oddsmakers in Las Vegas, but Edwards relishes that. “Ant-Man” loves the underdog role and is excited for the opportunity to take the Lakers down.
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Anthony Edwards on if he likes the national media picking the Lakers to win
Yea(smiling) I just love it, it’s dope. I love the fact that everybody wants the lakers to win. That’s how it’s supposed to be, they don’t want the Timberwolves to win. I get it” pic.twitter.com/PUOHWWrs5a
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) April 16, 2025
“Yeah,” Edwards said smiling on if he likes the fact the Lakers are picked to win the series over the Timberwolves. “I just love it, it’s dope. I love the fact that everybody wants the Lakers to win. That’s how it’s supposed to be, they don’t want the Timberwolves to win. I get it”
Edwards is oozing with confidence and he should be as one of the elite young faces in the league.The 23-year-old finished the regular season ranked fourth in scoring, averaging 27.6 points a game. He accomplished a career-high in scoring and three-point shooting, draining the 3-ball at 39.5 percent. Edwards totaled 30-plus points per contest in December (2024), January, February, and April. He had a pair of 40+ point games this month, including 43 points on Sunday in Minnesota’s 116-105 win over Utah.
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It will be interesting to see how the Lakers go about defending Edwards in this series.
He could have multiple 40-point games, but will he get help? Edwards is going to need Julius Randle and the rest of his supporting cast to come up big in moments versus James, Luka Doncic, and the Lakers to capture this series.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.
