Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards is feeling healthy and optimistic heading into Friday’s home game against the Utah Jazz.
The matchup will be Edwards’ second game since returning from a strained right hamstring. He scored 15 points against the New York Knicks in his first game back, and he took pride in playing tough defense against the Knicks’ top scorer, Jalen Brunson.
Edwards plans to prioritize defense again when the Timberwolves tip off against the Jazz in an NBA Cup contest on Friday night in Minneapolis.
“Especially because I know they’re probably going to be double-teaming me anyway, so it’s going to be hard for me to hunt shots,” Edwards said. “So, I can affect the game by trying to make it hard on their best player.”
For the Jazz, that could present a tough matchup for players like Keyonte George or Svi Mykhailiuk. George is second on the team with 22.6 points per game and leads with 7.9 assists, while Mykhailiuk averages 9.5 points and recently scored a career-high 28 against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
The Jazz lost 114-103 to the Pistons, but Mykhailiuk’s performance gave a reason for excitement moving forward. The 28-year-old small forward from Ukraine has moved between eight NBA teams but now has a chance to be a full-time starter with the Jazz.
“Desperation is a heck of a thing,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “I think he models really good professional behavior for our young players because Svi is in a moment where, you look at his contract and he’s playing for something.
“The way he carries himself, the way he interacts with all of his teammates, he would never let you know that there’s that desperation. He doesn’t make it about himself. He really gives himself to the group. And I think that’s something that we can all take from Svi.”
Julius Randle leads the Timberwolves with 26.8 points per game to go along with 6.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Edwards ranks second with 23 points per game in four contests, and Jaden McDaniels rounds out Minnesota’s top three scorers with 17.9 points per game.
Utah’s leading scorer is Lauri Markkanen, who is averaging 30.4 points per game on 46.6% shooting from the field. The Timberwolves’ McDaniels, who earned second-team All-Defensive honors in 2023-24, will likely be assigned to guard Markkanen for much of the game.
Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo said he and his teammates can all contribute on defense, no matter who they guard.
“It’s a spirit thing,” DiVincenzo said about team defense. “It’s an energy thing.
“Everybody’s familiar with each other in this locker room. At some point, you’ve just got to go out and do it. You can talk about it until you’re blue in the face, but you’ve just got to go out and do it. Right now, we’re a ‘sometimes’ team. We need to be an ‘always’ team in that regard.”
Minnesota is 1-2 at home this season. Utah is 1-4 on the road.
