[Viewpoint] The new generation of American leaders? Edwards is not worthy of his name

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Li Hui

What kind of players are easily overrated? Anthony Edwards like this.

Usually, players who are easily overrated are often those who can be dazzling in the highlights. After all, due to factors such as work, there are still a few people who really have time to watch live broadcasts. Highlights are often the best way for people to peek at NBA stars, but highlights are often deceptive. For example, Howard's violent dunk was released, and many fans thought that Howard could dunk every ball across the game, but in fact, it was not the case. Howard's offense was not top-notch even at its peak. In the 2009 Finals, Howard, as the Magic boss, averaged 15 points per game and made more than 4 mistakes, which is really bad.

For example, players like Lillard and Crawford, the former's highlights are full of final kills, including two playoff wins and finals, but Lillard's performance in most of his career cannot stand scrutiny; Crawford relies on his gorgeous movements and layups to attract attention. However, the reason why the Clippers performed poorly in the playoffs in those years has a direct relationship with the mediocre performance of Crawford, the "Best Sixth Man". Looking at Crawford's career data, his shooting percentage in the playoffs was 40%, which was already above the passing line, not to mention his poor defense beyond the data. Therefore, although Crawford won the Best Sixth Man more than once, his achievements are far less than Ginobili, Terry and others who also won the Best Sixth Man but had the championship.

Edwards is naturally the kind of player who is enough to gain fans in the highlights. He can shoot three-pointers and complete dunks across the board. Among the new generation of players, he can easily attract attention.

In addition to this, Edwards was gradually overrated because the object he compared was hated enough: Alexander. Because of the many free throws, Alexander has become a new generation of villains in the league. Therefore, as his competitor, Edwards naturally became a popular target for people.

However, cruel facts prove that Edwards is underestimating the responsibility, and for fans who are trying to suppress Alexander with Edwards, the Timberwolves star obviously cannot get them what they want.

Last season, Edwards reached the Western Conference Finals with the team and finally stopped. In the entire Western Conference Finals, he only led the team to one victory. This year, Edwards seems to be repeating the same mistake. In the fourth game of the most critical series, Edwards was completely lost. He only made 13 shots in the whole game, scored only 16 points, and made 1 of 7 shots from outside the three-point line. After the game, Edwards once again said incredible in the interview, "I can't find a chance to shoot." Similar words were said in the first round against the Lakers that in the face of the Lakers' joint defense, Edwards once lamented that he had never seen such a defense, but in that round of the series, the Timberwolves finally advanced, but in the advancement battle, Edwards was not the team's number one hero. On the contrary, his three-pointer with 0 of 11 shots in the game reflects his unstable offensive performance.

Edwards is indeed a potential player, but it is still a bit difficult to compete with Alexander, who has now won MVP. Even if Alexander is not so good at organizing offense, Edwards also has a gap. In fact, after eliminating the Lakers and Warriors in succession, many people praised Edwards' organizational ability for a significant improvement. However, when facing a defensive team like the Thunder, Edwards proved with his performance that it was not how much his organizational ability improved, but that the defense of both the Lakers and the Warriors really had fatal flaws.

For Edwards now, he is still quite different from a real superstar player. Although he has reached the Western Conference Finals as the number one star for two consecutive years, his teammates have often performed well in these two seasons. In contrast, Edwards' performance is not stable enough, which is related to his lack of stable scoring methods. He does not have good ability to read games. His mid-range shooting and low-post offense are either unreliable or close to 0. His three-pointers may surpass Curry (total hits) in the future, but his three-point efficiency has never been enough. So far in his career, his three-point shooting percentage is 36.4%, 39.5% this season, a career high, but still has not exceeded 40% of the seasons.

If Edwards and Alexander's performance can be compared in the previous three games, then G4 highlights the gap between the two. One has not talked much outside the court but can maintain stability, and the other has better popularity but not actually performed well enough. This also reflects the embarrassment of American basketball today. Looking at the entire league, Edwards is considered the best in the new generation of the United States. However, last year's Paris Olympics, from a high-profile star who was highly anticipated to becoming a spectator around Jenkudu in the knockout stage, winning gold medals, and then unstable performance in the regular season and playoffs, the gap between the best players in the new generation of American basketball and some of the best players in the league today is obvious.

After Alexander won the MVP trophy this season, the MVPs of the past seven seasons have been won by international players (born outside the United States). Edwards is regarded by many as a popular candidate with the opportunity to break the monopoly of international players. However, under the current circumstances, if Edwards wants to compete with Alexander, Jokic, and Doncic in the future, Edwards still has a long way to go if he wants to carry the banner of American basketball revival. To be even exaggerated, if American basketball tries to use Edwards as the leader, then they may really be "finished".