On Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves took on the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center. Minnesota entered this game short-handed as they were without their superstar, Anthony Edwards. Minnesota entered this game short-handed as they were without their superstar, Anthony Edwards. The 23-year-old was serving a one-game suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season during Thursday’s loss to the Lakers. This turned out to be a costly affair for him as well as the Timberwolves, quite literally.

As Edwards’ suspension cost, the Timberwolves a whopping $242,393 and to pile up on the misery they agonizingly fell short against the Jazz by just a single point. What makes this defeat more painful is the fact that Jazz is the last seed on the table. It also hurts the Timberwolves’ playoff aspirations as they are now 9th seed in the Western Conference with a 32-29 record. But, what was the cause of this defeat?

Well, head coach Chris Finch thinks it was the lack of intent on his team’s part after an embarrassing loss. “I don’t think it was the effort it was just you know I think it was it’s just a little bit more like there’s effort and then there’s the intention. And you know just Our intention wasn’t there.” Finch said. Well, that’s right, as his team only had a single turnover during the first half of the game. Moreover, Utah ran riot in the third quarter as they went for a 27-4 run and seized a comfortable 83-71 lead.

This leads us to one question— could things have ended differently if ANT was on the field? Coach Finch thinks he could’ve “quite possibly” been the difference maker. However, that wasn’t the case and Minnesota will have to take this one on the chin and move on. Edwards has had several outbreaks this season, and while whether they are valid is open to debate, it is undeniable that it’s something Edwards has to work on.

“He’s got to be better.”: Minnesota head coach Chris Finch thinks Anthony Edwards needs to curb his anger

After picking up his 16th technical foul of the season during Thursday night’s loss against the Lakers, Anthony Edwards triggered a single-game suspension. Now, the 23-year-old shooting guard finds himself in a difficult position with a significant amount of games left this season. Why? You might ask. Well, after reaching 16 technical fouls in a season, each two additional fouls result in a $5000 fine plus a one-game suspension.

This means ANT’s 17th technical foul won’t result in a suspension but an 18th will. This puts him at risk of missing crucial clashes. Naturally, this is something he and his team will need to find a solution to, and coach Finch agrees. “He’s got to be better. He’s had too many outbursts.” the Wolves HC said. While he also noted that “I think a lot of them are deserved” Edwards needs to understand that the officials are going to get a few decisions wrong.

Now, as per Finch, the onus is on the 23-year-old to find a solution. This comes after the team management and Edwards talked about the situation. Thursday’s ejection was the third of ANT’s career and he notably leads this season’s technical fouls list at 17. This is significantly higher than the next player on the list Dillon Brooks who’s at 13. So, this is something that needs to be worked on by Edwards otherwise, it could hamper his team’s playoff aspirations. Whether he takes a step to solve this or not. Only time will tell.