Analyzing Anthony Edwards: The Next Dwyane Wade? Offensive and Defensive Breakdown

2023-11-09 11:11:12

After shocking everyone with his skills in the first round of the playoffs last season, plus being selected for the United States team, and after being baptized in the FIBA World Cup, the NBA seems to have officially regarded Anthony Edwards, a shooting guard with both offense and defense, as the next American player in the league. Facade representation.

His combination of speed, athleticism and scoring firepower reminds many of the former league’s No. 2 representative and Hall of Fame star Dwyane Wade; however, apart from the similarities in skills, the last Edwards we saw last season , there is still a way to go before reaching the level of this “one of the best in history” senior.

After the start of the new season, Edwards has a strong opportunity to narrow the gap between himself and the Hall of Fame level. Below, we will dismantle Edwards’ style of play and take a look at what aspects the former No. 1 pick still needs to improve to become the contemporary American Flash?

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offensive efficiency

Last season, Edwards posted a career-high true shooting percentage of 56.4%, but even so, this number was still lower than the league average of 58.1%. In fact, in the first three seasons of Edwards’ career, his offensive efficiency has never been able to exceed the league average.

Compared with his predecessors, Dwyane Wade scored slightly higher than the league average when he entered the league, and then at his peak, his true shooting percentage was 3-4 percentage points better than the league average (in percentage terms, “Lightning” The scoring efficiency of “Xia Xia” in his peak period was approximately between PR70-80).

A big difference in the efficiency of the two scorers lies in Wade’s touch at the end of the offense. According to Cleaning the Glass’ advanced data: Between the 2004-2010 seasons, Wade’s finishing touch among players at the same position was better than 81% of others in the league; however, in the same data items, Edwards never Not better than 52%.

Almost from the moment he entered the league, Wade has mastered his lightning-fast cutting and layup skills. He combines speed, strength, control, footwork, dribbling ability and vision, and can use these all-round skills at will to become a player. A historical scoring champion.

In contrast, Edwards still needs to figure out how to adjust his speed, know when to cut his way out of the crowd, absorb collisions and complete offensive actions-rather than just fall to the ground easily and have to rely on whether the referee blows the whistle.

These details create the difference in offensive efficiency between the two, but the good news is that young ball-handling attackers like Edwards will mostly grow in their offensive finishing touches starting in their 20s (Donovan Mitchell of the Cavaliers is A perfect example).

Another factor that drags down Edwards’ offensive efficiency is his free throw rate: His free throw rate last season (2022-23) reached a career-high 7.1 free throws per 100 possessions, but this number is consistent with Wade’s peak season of his career. (14.8 free throws per 100 possessions, 2006-07 season) pales in comparison.

Part of this is related to the control ability we talked about earlier. Under normal circumstances, if you cannot firmly control your movements and wrists when challenging the basket, it will be more difficult for the referee to favor you in the call- —After all, he can’t determine whether it is the defender that affects your balance, or whether it is your own body that is out of control first?

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Wade can draw a lot of fouls even on his jump shot. His mid-range accomplishments have always been recognized (especially short-mid-range jump shots), so when he fakes shots in the shooting hot zone, it is easy for defenders to fall into the trap, allowing him to easily stand for free throws. Lines are used to score points, like in the following video:

This is not Wade’s personal patent. Many great scoring aces in history such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and DeMar DeRozan are also familiar with this technique to improve their scoring efficiency. However, Edwards’ current mid-range performance is still not good enough. (better than only 28% of the other forwards in the league last season), this is something he must improve if he wants to significantly improve his scoring efficiency.

passing ability

In addition to being a great scorer, Wade is also excellent at passing the ball. He uses himself to penetrate the opponent’s defense and create offensive opportunities for his teammates. Between the 2004-10 seasons, Wade accumulated the eighth-most rim assists in the league (1,115 times).

According to Ben Taylor’s “Passing Rating” (Passer Rating) metric (a scale that rates a player’s passing ability on a scale of 1-10), Wade’s passer rating during this period ranged from 5.9 to 8 (PR fell between 80 and 97 ); Edwards only scored 4.8 points (PR 50) last season, and since he entered the NBA, his number of assists at the basket has only exceeded 53% of other players.

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However, when Wade first entered the league, he was not immediately proficient in passing skills. In his rookie season (2003-04), his passing rating was only 4.6 points (PR 57). He was 22 years old at the time – exactly the same as Edwards is the same age now. In addition, most young ball handlers in the league will grow in their ability to organize offense as they gain experience.

Ability without the ball

The most common criticism surrounding Edwards is that while he has what it takes to be a good off-ball player (he has a good catch-and-shoot ability), he often sits on the sidelines and watches the play when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. ——The data also confirms this. As long as he sits on the court with high-usage stars (such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley and D’Angelo Russell), his efficiency will significantly decrease.

As a result, it is difficult for Minnesota’s offensive efficiency to be effectively improved. Last season’s Timberwolves, even when Edwards was on the court, the overall offensive efficiency was only the league’s PR 57 level.

Let’s look back at our predecessors: In the glorious 2005-06 season, Wade played for the Miami Heat. When he played, the offensive efficiency was among the top in the league, PR 95. Part of this was due to the excellent Heat team. Personnel, but at the same time, a big reason definitely comes from Wade’s ability to achieve the perfect balance between holding the ball and off the ball and integrating into the offense.

He may not be able to shoot three-pointers like Edwards and open up the space on the court, but he relies on constant movement and top-notch decision-making ability to keep the entire team’s offensive momentum flowing.

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In this video, we can see that before Wade catches the ball, he sets up a screen for his teammates, and then he plays a pick-and-roll. After holding the ball and cutting down and finding that there is nothing to play, he immediately hands the ball over and runs without the ball. After the move, he handed the ball again, and when he finally succeeded in attracting two defenders, he immediately handed the ball to the hard-working screen sinker (yes, it was Captain Ha!), easily creating an open shot. opportunity.

The quicker you can read the situation around you, the easier it will be for you to execute a high-level offense. In his heyday, Wade was the East End’s best. Manu Ginobiliin addition to attacking with the ball, his accomplishments in cutting without the ball, attacking forward and defending, and silkily passing the ball under the basket are all master-level.

defensive ability

Edwards has a body that is not inferior to any perimeter defender in the league: he is tall and fast enough and fast enough to “engulf” attackers when defending and force the ball away from the opponent; in addition, he is also One of the best position players at intercepting (PR 85 in the 22-23 season) and blocking (PR 90 in the 22-23 season). He’s no different than Wade, who in his prime was one of the best defensive players of the mid-2000s.

So what is the biggest difference between the two on the defensive end? It lies in their awareness of off-ball defense. The evaluation of Edwards last season was that when he is in front of a strong-side attacker, he can give 100% investment and concentration; however, if the offensive action is far away from his defensive zone, he often loses focus; for ” “The Flash”, this is not a problem.

Yes, the above clips are independent incidents. It is not difficult to find a clip in the sea of videos to prove it; but even when comparing their individual defensive data and the relationship between defensive plus and minus values, the data also shows that Wade’s The defensive ability is obviously better than Edwards last season.

Edwards looked like an All-Star at the end of last season, there’s no doubt about it; but if he wants to elevate himself into an annual MVP candidate (like Wade in his prime), he You must strengthen your scoring efficiency, playing style, off-ball offense and off-ball defense concentration.

Of course, it is not impossible to achieve this kind of progress, as we said above: Edwards is only 22 years old now, and Wade’s peak periods mentioned above were all in his mid-to-late 20s. Time is still on his side, if he can do it After these changes, he will become the league’s history-level offensive and defensive shooting guard, the latest torch bearer. (SB Nation)

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