Sometimes a player says something that sounds like a guarantee, like when Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards told a Denver Nuggets staffer he’d see them back at Ball Arena for Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals last round when the Timberwolves trailed the series 3-2.
Sometimes a player says something that sounds like a guarantee simply because there’s not really anything else you can say.
After the Timberwolves beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals to make the series 3-1 in favor of the Mavs, Edwards saw Micah Parsons wearing a pair of his signature sneakers and promised to bring him back a fresh set for Game 6.
The Denver instance is nothing like the Dallas one. For starters, the Timberwolves had already won two games in Colorado when Edwards made his promise. He also was dominating the series, averaging 27.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists against the defending champions. He earned his bit of bravado.
Naturally, after the Denver quip made for a compelling story, fans and media were all too eager to do the same with Edwards’ promise to Parsons. Which only works if you forget everything else you’ve seen in this series.
Dallas has ground Minnesota’s momentum to a halt. Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are struggling mightily. Rudy Gobert has looked lost at times. That the Timberwolves didn’t get swept is a victory in itself.
So when Edwards says “see you in Game 6”, he’s not uttering it with the same gusto as when he told Denver he’d be back for Game 7. He’s saying it because there is literally nothing else to say.
Q: "Ant you told somebody in the hall you'd see them for game 6, where does that confidence come from"
Ant: "Micah Parsons was rockin' the AE1 and I told him he wear a size 14 I'd bring him back some nice shoes for game 6" pic.twitter.com/lkOxuHqbcU— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 29, 2024
“What am I supposed say?” Edwards said when asked where that confidence comes from. “I’m supposed to say ‘we’re going to lose Game 5’? No, I’m not going to never say that.”
Maybe the Timberwolves win on Thursday and keep the series alive a little bit longer. Maybe not. This isn’t one of those “guarantees” we need to hang on anyone’s career. This is just an athlete trying to keep himself as positive as possible with his season on the line.
No team has ever come back to win a series after going down 3-0 in the NBA playoffs. If and/or when Ant-Man is ready to definitively say the Wolves are going to do it against Dallas, there won’t be any question about his confidence.
