Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards knows his team can’t afford to spot the Los Angeles Lakers any free points in their first-round playoff series. As the NBA’s leader in technical fouls during the regular season, he has a game plan to guarantee that.
Anthony Edwards’ Simple Tech-Avoidance Strategy
“Yeah, I won’t get no techs,” Edwards assured during a press conference, as posted on X by Andrew Dukowitz. “I won’t say anything, I’m going to stay super quiet, 100%.”
Edwards racked up 17 technical fouls this season, a career high. He picked up an 18th in the team’s penultimate game of the season, which would have earned him a suspension for the team’s critical final game. However, the NBA rescinded the tech, helping Minnesota ultimately secure the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and automatic playoff qualification.
Technical fouls don’t carry over to the postseason, but the threshold for suspension is lower: seven accumulated techs in the playoffs earn a one-game suspension. Every two additional techs earn another suspension.
A suspension for Edwards is something the Timberwolves can’t afford, as the star guard led the team with 27.6 points per game and added a career-best 4.5 assists per game during the regular season.
If Edwards’ strategy is the same as what he’s employed in playoffs past, the Timberwolves should be in business. The No. 1 overall pick in 2020 has zero career playoff technical fouls in 27 playoff games. Compared to this season’s rate of one tech in every five games, Edwards is locked in for the playoffs, where he led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals last season.
Edwards, Timberwolves Locked In vs. the Lakers
Keeping the Lakers off the free-throw line could make or break the series for the Timberwolves. Los Angeles finished the regular season 50-32, the team’s best record since winning a championship in 2020.
The Lakers are especially suited to capitalize on fouls, technical or otherwise, as they led the league in free-throw rate, made free throws per 100 shots, and have finished in that category’s top three for the last three seasons, according to Cleaning The Glass.
Minnesota, meanwhile, ranked in the top 10 in keeping teams off the line; winning the free-throw battle over the Lakers could give the Timberwolves a real edge in the tight playoff series.
It remains to be seen if Lakers superstar Luka Dončić will employ the same strategy as Edwards. Dončić accrued 13 technical fouls, just four fewer than Edwards, in 50 games this season. Both stars also draw fouls at a high rate: Dončić’s 5.9 fouls drawn per game far outpaces his average 2.5 personals, while Edwards incurs 4.3 compared to his 1.9 committed per contest.
The sixth-seeded Timberwolves visit the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers beginning on Saturday, April 19.