Great article with lots of quotes from the players
It focuses on
1. Growth through struggle 2. KAT’s grace in embracing his role and playing ego-less basketball 3. Ant’s two-way mentality and Gobert holding him accountable as a defensive mentor
Loved this quote from Gobert:
>Gobert, for one, points to a game against Brooklyn last preseason as the first time he saw Edwards as a legitimate wing stopper. In a game that didn’t matter, and with the Timberwolves already down 18 points, Edwards guarded the great Kevin Durant on the left elbow and somehow managed to block the midrange jumper that had evaded defenders the vast majority of the previous 15 seasons. **For Gobert, that play inspired him to become a defensive mentor of sorts for Edwards.** > >“When he was guarding a really good player, he was taking that challenge,” Gobert said. “But then when he was guarding another player that’s maybe not as much of a big name or not as much of a big threat, he would relax. He was on and off. I was trying to push him, telling him that it’s not easy. Everyone knows you can be really good. You can score 30 points a game and you will get paid and be an All-Star and all that, **but if you want to be great and win a championship and be different than all of these guys, (you have to guard). … I made my focus on just holding him accountable on that end.** > >**“I thought to myself, ‘’Man, I’ve got to figure out a way to get him to have that mindset on everybody.’** And I told him, I said, ‘Bro, it’s tough.’ A lot of guys want to guard. But do they choose to just (focus) on offense? The average fan is not gonna care about you boxing out or you running back or chasing off a screen. **They’re not gonna care about that**, **but (defense) is gonna make you a champion. And I want to be part of that. So yeah, we have a great relationship. I really love him. He’s a very honest guy, very genuine, and he wants to win.**”
Gobert must love Ant bc he can hold Ant accountable and Ant is offensively gifted like Mitchell but actually cares about defense.
1 Comment
Great article with lots of quotes from the players
It focuses on
1. Growth through struggle
2. KAT’s grace in embracing his role and playing ego-less basketball
3. Ant’s two-way mentality and Gobert holding him accountable as a defensive mentor
Loved this quote from Gobert:
>Gobert, for one, points to a game against Brooklyn last preseason as the first time he saw Edwards as a legitimate wing stopper. In a game that didn’t matter, and with the Timberwolves already down 18 points, Edwards guarded the great Kevin Durant on the left elbow and somehow managed to block the midrange jumper that had evaded defenders the vast majority of the previous 15 seasons. **For Gobert, that play inspired him to become a defensive mentor of sorts for Edwards.**
>
>“When he was guarding a really good player, he was taking that challenge,” Gobert said. “But then when he was guarding another player that’s maybe not as much of a big name or not as much of a big threat, he would relax. He was on and off. I was trying to push him, telling him that it’s not easy. Everyone knows you can be really good. You can score 30 points a game and you will get paid and be an All-Star and all that, **but if you want to be great and win a championship and be different than all of these guys, (you have to guard). … I made my focus on just holding him accountable on that end.**
>
>**“I thought to myself, ‘’Man, I’ve got to figure out a way to get him to have that mindset on everybody.’** And I told him, I said, ‘Bro, it’s tough.’ A lot of guys want to guard. But do they choose to just (focus) on offense? The average fan is not gonna care about you boxing out or you running back or chasing off a screen. **They’re not gonna care about that**, **but (defense) is gonna make you a champion. And I want to be part of that. So yeah, we have a great relationship. I really love him. He’s a very honest guy, very genuine, and he wants to win.**”
Gobert must love Ant bc he can hold Ant accountable and Ant is offensively gifted like Mitchell but actually cares about defense.