What's behind Anthony Edwards' increased 3-point shooting? | The Kevin O'Connor Show
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor is joined by Dane Moore to discuss the Timberwolves guard's boost in shots from behind the arc earlier in the season. Hear the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Now, I mean, I think with finch, I believe that I, I think like, maybe it is more of guideline than, you know, mandated structure, as you said with ANT.
It's interesting to me with him specifically because like, he, he kind of fell to a little over a third of his shots were from three in the last two years earlier in his career.
It was over 40%.
Like he was a kind of a higher volume guy from three ha.
Has he always like, has he always wanted to be one of these very high volume three point shooters?
Has there been an indication from him?
Anything he said about like, hey, I'm gonna shoot a hell of a lot of threes this year and I'm not gonna stop because you said earlier, you don't think it's gonna go away.
You think this is gonna continue?
I think it's new though, Kevin and I think a lot of it was playing with Steph this summer.
He's talked a lot to us in, in training camp about like the idea of being moving without the ball and repositioning.
And I know what, where Finch wants his volume to uptick from three is in the catch and shoot opportunities.
That's a much better off the catch than off the dribble always has been since he was a rookie.
He was better at it.
Yeah.
Well, and welcome to basketball, that's just like you would be too, you know, like those are, those are, those are easier shots to take.
I think part of it is though too.
I think he tweaked his mechanics a good amount.
Like he always kind of had one of those like raise up and then um it was like a two part mechanic at the top of the jumper and that's less pronounced now and it really just sitting there, you know, like watching a pregame or at practice or whatever, there's a lot more like zip on the shot.
So I think, I think it's less so like Ant has always wanted this.
I think it's, it's classic Ant and he's like, found something that works.
I'm gonna do like more of that.
He's learning as he goes in, in this whole process while becoming a better three point shooter.
So, yeah, I think he's gonna shoot more.
There is a delicate balance though here too.
Like it's kind of driving me crazy in the first half of the matchup against the Kings.
Like it's a bonus at the rim, man.
Like what was shooting like eight threes and you got to the rim twice, you know, there's, there's a balance and you're gonna figure that out over the, over the course of the year.
Uh But I don't know, I don't think Ant has honestly earlier in his career, I think he wanted to be a midrange guy.
And, you know, Kobe and I think Finch has been working with him to not delete that because we know that's an important part of the game too.
But to, again, a guideline of not of not prioritizing it.
I think that makes sense.
It's, it's, and for him that Sacramento game is a good example or sometimes it's like, really like, what, what are you doing?
Like, why not drive to the room and attack the rim and that, I think over the course of the season.
That's right.
But they were blitzing him, you know, like, so I get it a little bit and man, we should talk about a little bit too like Rudy on the short roll or they're blitzing him in that.
Like Rudy's.
Rudy's looks like he's got something there, man.
So it's, it's all a balance.