Anthony Edwards says the Minnesota Timberwolves were short on energy in their loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday.
Minnesota was coming off a taxing Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets in the previous round.
“I don’t know, I think we just came out flat today,” Edwards said. “We found our energy then we went back to being flat. I think it was just on us. Everything was on us today. I didn’t get downhill as much. Just stuff like that, we were probably just a little tired probably.”
Edwards’ comments were then criticised by Draymond Green, who is doing TV with TNT during the playoffs.
Green perceived Edwards to be making excuses, which he went on to say was not the right thing for a leader of a team to be doing.
“I’ve said a lot about Anthony Edwards interviews all playoffs long, and that was one of my least favorite interviews,” Green said. “Saying ‘we’re tired, we didn’t know what to expect…’ The same way that those guys have followed you to this point, they will follow that as well.”
It was a tough shooting night for Edwards, who finished with 19 points on 6-16 from the field. He did at least manage to add 11 rebounds and eight assists.
But recently, scoring hasn’t come as naturally to him as it usually does, with sub-20 point performances in three of his past four games.
Edwards will get the chance to make amends when Game 2 tips off in Minnesota on Friday.
READ MORE: Kyrie Irving Responds to Anthony Edwards’ Viral Comments About Him