Dave DeFore (3:03)

I'm just hanging on Zena's coattails, you know, I'm just trying to catch, you know, I'm riding in her little draft shout out to Michael Jordan, by the way, winning the Daytona 500 pretty amazing casually. Yeah, he had a pretty good weekend. You know who else had a great weekend? NBA All Star MVP Anthony Edwards. How about this? This guy and Victor Wimanyama really set the tone for the All Star game from a competitive standpoint. Literally from the opening tip, I texted with our group chat with Xena and S and Andrew Schleck, and I said, guys, I think Anthony Edwards is lining up for the jump ball with. With Victor Women Yama. And this was, I think, before they showed it on camera. And he was kind of like, making the joke like, oh, I'm gonna jump. I'm gonna jump. And he did. This guy is built different than what we're used to right now.

John Krasinski (3:53)

Yeah. You know, and I'll be honest, guys, like, I was surprised to see him play that hard because I had been at his other All Star appearances. He was one of the guys who just wasn't really wrapped up in the whole competitive juices part of that event. He really looked at All Star weekend as this kind of celebration. You get people together, you have a, you know, a fun time, you party a little bit and you hang out and you kind of really advertise and grow the game. But as far as the game itself, he had never really shown a big kind of willingness to really get after it. But I do think, to your point, Dave, that, you know, there was that. That clip right before the game where Wemby was in the back and they were getting ready to take the floor, and he said, I'm guarding you. And you could see Ant look at him be like, all right, you want this? Let's go. And I do think that that really did just that one on one personal challenge really kind of appealed to Ant's kind of, you know, base nature. And. And so that performance from start to finish was not something that we had seen from Anthony Edwards before. And I think it's important. He is one of the young guys that is going to carry this thing forward. And so he has to be one of the guys who is engaged. And when he is Engaged. It's quite a show. And he put one on in there that weekend.

Dave DeFore (5:24)

I knew he was having fun because in the interview, I don't know if I've ever heard him sound that Georgian. I mean, he was like, that was Atlanta. Deep Atlanta. He was talking fast. I mean, I knew he was having a good time when I heard him talking.

John Krasinski (5:37)

Yeah, I'm gonna give. Go ahead.

Zena Keda (5:39)

I was just gonna say. I was. I'm gonna give credit to Zora Stevenson for tapping in. She's also North Carolina girl. I think she gave. Made him feel comfortable, but. Yeah, go ahead, John.

John Krasinski (5:48)

Yeah, for sure. But I. I do think that. I think that he got a charge out of having that trophy in his hands. Kind of some of the attention coming his way. What it meant in the GR. Things when you have the Kobe Bryant trophy in your hands, that means a lot. He is a guy who reveres Kobe like so many others do, and. And I. I think that the response that came his way. He has said that he doesn't want to be the face of the NBA because of all of the sort of you. Things that are pulling at you. And I. I believe he's genuine in that. But when he was in the middle of it, when he was, you know, getting everyone congratulating him, when all of his peers were sort of looking at him as the man, I do think that, you know, something inside of him was like, you know what? This is pretty darn cool. And. And so I think that he definitely got a bigger boost in charge out of it than he really even thought was capable of happening. And so that's all just a. A very, very good thing. Thing for the next five, eight, ten years of this league and of that event is that if you get guys like him that buy into this and that want to give an effort, and he is so genuinely charismatic. Like, all you have to do is get him feeling good and put a microphone in his face and he will entertain you, you know, as long as to the. To the day ends. Like, it's just. He's. It's natural charisma. It's. It.

Dave DeFore (7:26)

It.

John Krasinski (7:26)

He is such a showman that way. And so when he's at ease and. And. And expressing himself that way and, you know, dropping his little anecdotes and. And. And things like that, I mean, it's really funny, it's really engaging, and it's really good for the league.

Zena Keda (7:42)

But I think we got to talk a little bit about what fires that up, because Dave, you alluded to this and Jon, you Just laid it out. Anthony Edwards historically has been one of the guys that is more casual at the All Star Game and in every single interview that he gave throughout the course of the game and including his MVP conversation, like the reference to Wemby, the reference to Wemby upping the bar, setting the standard, upping the level of competition, I think put a fire under him. And I'm sure he remembers that France game from the Olympics and feeling good about being able to beat them and knowing how seriously Wemby was taking it felt like it immediately mirrored onto the rest of the team or the other players playing now. It's a wonder of what is it going to take to get that same fire for the regular season. And interestingly enough, another tall Frenchman might be the one to do it. We saw Rudy Gobert talk about the lack of effort from this Timberwolves team and you look at Anthony Edwards stats over the last 10 games like he's averaging 30, almost 30 points on the season, doing pretty well, doing what he can to contribute to his team. But what is it going to take to light a fire under Anthony Edwards and the crew for how they're playing during the regular season?

John Krasinski (9:02)

Yeah, Z, I do think that one of the things that Ant has had to kind of learn about being a true face of the franchise is how much is demanded on a night in and night out basis. You do, you do see the Shay Gilgeous Alexander's of the world, the, the LeBron's, the, the Jokic is, and how consistent they are in their effort. Most nights everyone, everyone has an off night here or there, just doesn't have it. But I think that one of Anthony's issues is that he kind of looks at the schedule, he looks at the opponent and the record and things of that nature. And there are moments that he looks to relax and mostly it's on the defensive end. Certainly there is some offensive things that come and go, but largely he's been fantastic offensively all year long. But the thing that makes Anthony Edwards really special, that makes him approach a top five player in the league and puts him in the MVP conversation, if you want to have that, is his ability to be dominant on both ends. And that waxes and wanes defensively.

Dave DeFore (10:14)

Yeah, but you see it in big moments. I mean, you always do. This is the thing about him and that team is that against the big opponents, you don't worry about them not showing up. I think, I think often about the end of that, that win against the Oklahoma City Thunder where Ant Seals the deal, right? He gets the block on Shea at the basket, hits the step back three, gets the. The steel on Shea to win it. That, to me is. I mean, this is what we want every single night. I think it's unrealistic for us to expect it, probably because 82 games. But there is a little bit of a level of apathy I think we're seeing with this team. They've had so much success the last few years. Do they need to snap out of it or this. Is this a team that can flip the switch come playoff time?

John Krasinski (11:00)

Well, I do think that there is a level of boredom with this regular season. You know, I've heard not just Anthony Edwards, but so many of the players in that locker room, maybe outside of Rudy Gobert, who will say, this is a long season, we're going to win some, we're going to lose some. They have been to the Western Conference finals two years in a row. It's largely the same team that has done it. I mean, there's. There's definitely, you know, Towns and Randall and Nikhil Alexander, Walker's. No, they're longer there, but a lot of the core has done it these last two years, which means that a lot of them understand that, man, this game in January right now is not really going to kind of change our fortunes one way or the other. What's going to do it is the playoffs. Now. I do think that there needs to be a little more urgency in this last 26 game push. They are in sixth place right now. They're like a game and a half out of third. They want to be in the top four for home court. They. They did not have that last year in the playoffs. They still got to the Western Conference finals. But I do believe that they have to show a little bit more urgency, like consistently in these last 26 games. Games. They have to really kind of pick it up. And this is a team historically that right around this time of year is when they start to go like Chris Finch kind of figures out the rotations. I think a lot of these guys come out refreshed from the All Star break and, and feel like, okay, it's go time now and drop the hammer. They were 17 and four down the stretch last year to really kind of surge out of the plan and into that six seed. And so I think they're going to be looking to try to have a similar type of a push down the stretch here to get maybe the fourth, maybe the third seed and really position themselves to make their run in the playoffs a little bit quote unquote easier. This is the West. Nothing's going to be easy. So I, I, I, I expect them to come out with a little bit more maturity here down the stretch. I still think there's going to be games where maybe they don't quite have it, but they know that when the lights really turn on in the playoffs, they have one of the best playoff players in the league. They have a team that's deep and ready to go. And I think they might be leaning on that a little too much. But I do want to see some more focus coming out of this break here.

Dave DeFore (13:26)

Speaking of breaks, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with more. We're going to talk playoffs and Mike Conley.

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Dave DeFore (15:35)

Okay, John. The trade deadline, it wasn't shocking at all that, that they moved Mike Conley, but the shocking part is that Mike Conley was subsequently moved again, waved, and is coming back to Minnesota now. It didn't surprise me that Rudy Gobert's comments were timed for when Mike Conley wasn't there. How much does this team really need Mike Conley as a Vibes guy?

John Krasinski (16:01)

Oh, man, I mean, he's essential to what they do as a, you know, from a Vibes component. I do think at this stage of his career, what he has shown is that physically might, you know, one out of three or one out of four games, he might be able to give you a really solid game at this point. But I think just connectivity wise, just him being in the locker room, there's a calming presence that he has on this group. This is a moody group, Dave. Like this is one that kind of rides the roller coaster emotionally. And so many of the guys, it's not just Rudy, but when he, when Mike Conley left and they weren't sure if he was going to be able to be back, there was a lot of lamenting to me, kind of like both publicly and privately in the locker room about, man, you know, Mike is always the guy who's able to just pull me aside, tell me the right things to get my head on straight when I'm struggling, when it's not going well, or when we are playing really well, he's kind of the guy that says, hey, stay focused now. Don't, don't lose sight of things. Don't get high on your own supply, that kind of thing. And so I do think getting him back, which I would expect in the next day or two, I think that having him back in that locker room just as a leader, as a voice, as, as the adult in the room is going to be really big for them. And we'll see what they do on the buyout market. We'll see, you know, if there are other holes they want to fill. But getting Mike Conley's just overall presence back in there is going to be really important for this group.

Zena Keda (17:30)

I immediately thought the Mike Conley thing was great, not only for the Vibes, but their point guard situation still isn't great. And I think that's, that's the, the buyout market is, I'm sure, where they're looking to try and fix. But Iota Sun Moo comes in. You've seen him play a few games. John, do you think this is a potential like fix for their second unit especially or is this kind of like a. A band aid? Like it's. It's good to connect for a little bit, but it's not going to fix it for the playoffs.

John Krasinski (17:58)

Yeah, I mean I actually think Xena, that I think he's the perfect fit for what they need. I mean it would be great if he had maybe a little bit more kind of classic floor general type of a player. He's not that. But there's. There's not that many of those guys left out there. Chris Paul leaving and Mike Conley on the end. Like there's. There's only a few of those guys left. So even before they made the trade and when I looked at the landscape of possible fits for this group, Iowa was probably my favorite one in terms of he's an incredible energy guy and on a team that sometimes doesn't have all the greatest energy, he's going to bring that on a nightly basis. He's shooting the ball great right now. He handles it well enough to be able to just give them another outlet. Like they, you know, they don't have, you know, Chris ball. They don't have that kind of a guy. But I think that his ability to just kind of just be a guy that let's just get it over half court, get us into our set and run. I think he really helps. And so the one question that you do have about IO is can he really do it in the playoffs? He has not done had that real experience yet with the Bulls. And so what does his game look like when it comes to playoffs? But in the initial kind of impressions that we've seen of him so far, it looks like a really seamless fit. He has so much energy. He gets out and runs in transition which.

Dave DeFore (19:27)

And they need that.

John Krasinski (19:28)

They need that big time. And yeah, just a really good solid pro that you can tell like the rest of this team is a little bored guys. IO hasn't been there and he just got out of Chicago's mediocrity jail and he feels like he's on the other side of this thing. And so there's some real like, you know, hunger and excitement and desperation in his game that I think is different from the rest of this group. And so I, I really think that he is going to fit in really well for them. Not just for the rest of this, you know, regular season, but he's going to be a huge part of what they do in the playoffs.

Dave DeFore (20:04)

He's also been getting coached hard by Billy Donovan in Chicago. And I bet coming to a place where, I mean I, I know that the environment there is competitive, but it's not as basketball psycho as maybe Billy Donovan and then you are on a team that's good. I, I think that having a guy like that injected into your locker room mid season, that's going to help the vibes too, right? They're going to come out, they're going to be playing hard probably a little bit for him. Hey, you, you need to know, hey, this isn't how, like what you think isn't how it is. And I look, I think people are sleeping on the Timberwolves and I keep saying this and part of it is the standings. They've played around, they've been in the play in, they're the six seed and you mentioned it, they're only a game and a half back from three and this team just wants to get to the playoffs. This is, this is back to back conference finalists. They can beat the Denver Nuggets, who is to me full health. That's the best team in the league and they have confidence against them. They probably feel like a finals team. What do you think about this team come playoff time?

John Krasinski (21:07)

Well, I'll tell you guys like we had, the Athletic had, you know, at the start of the season, it's, you know, make your bold predictions kind of thing. And some of our brethren were like, well, I think this guy might be the sixth man. You know, I think this, this guy's scoring might go up three points this year. Watch out. Real bold guys, real bold. I went out, I went out on a limb and I said, I think this is the year that they can win the championship. I do now I will say that my belief in that kind of wavered certainly in December, January, during that five game losing streak where you're like, is this team really going to come together? But to your point, Dave, you see them, they've beaten Oklahoma City, they've beaten San Antonio, they've beaten Cleveland, they've beaten Boston, they've beaten, when, when they play the heavyweights, they put on the heavyweight gloves and say let's go. And so it's a team that now that you do add IO to this mix, I think that they are deep enough. Seven, eight deep. You can mix in a ninth man here and there depending on the matchup. You go, if you need to go big, you go Baron J. If you go Smaller, maybe it's Conley or somebody like that, but they're versatile. They, they have shown the ability to lock in defensively. They're one of four teams that's in the top eight in both offense and defensive efficiency. So that all of those things point to them being legit. And I do think that it is a bit maddening to see them kind of have these nights against New Orleans or against Washington or someone where it's just like it's not there. But they are clearly waiting and biting their time for the real fight to come. And when that bell rings, they're ready. And so, you know, I don't think they're the favorite to come out of the West. They shouldn't be. But, but I believe that, you know, they get into any series against any team in the west, they're going to come out, they're going to go in there believing that they can beat them. And that's because, you know, Anthony Edwards makes that possible. And so I wouldn't bet against them is what is my short answer of a long winded kind of answer. Part of this is that they can do it. It's just a matter of will they do it.

Zena Keda (23:20)

Imagine you're talking to someone that hasn't watched any part of this season and they're asking you, john, I heard through the grapevine that you said this team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, will be able to win a championship. What would you point to to show that this statement is true? Or what would you say, just wait until this, this game, this matchup, what is it? What would you say will be the proven marker to showcase that the Minnesota Timberwolves are capable of doing this?

John Krasinski (23:54)

Yeah, I think there's two things there, Xena. I think one, starting at the top, is that the progression of Anthony Edwards game from, you know, in clutch situations and in the ability to score at all three levels has just taken a huge leap forward this year. One of the things that bothered this team in the last couple of years is they were really predictable in their, you know, clutch time offense and it usually was a ant. Take a bunch of dribbles, shoot a step back three and hope it goes in. Now he's scoring in the post, now he's getting to the elbow, now he's creating for others. He's also shooting a career high 41 from three. His clutch time true shooting is off the charts compared to everyone else. And so that gives them an element of, of kind of unstoppableness, if that's a word. Sometimes in Those make it up. The other part that I think it bodes really well for them is that Jaden McDaniels has made a huge, huge leap as a two way player this season. He has become a real threat offensively. Not just catching and shooting, but off the dribble in transition, getting to the basket. And him being a 610 dude that can put the ball on the floor and rise up and shoot over people just gives them another cheat code that they have not had before. And so he's been so reliable and so efficient as an offensive player that it really does bring another dimension to their team that they had not had really. And you know, Julius Randall is a big part of what they do. Divincenzo, you know, Nas Reed, they have a lot of different elements. But when you look at Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels and the Collective leaps that their games have taken, it makes them a formidable kind of opponent no matter who the matchup is.

Dave DeFore (25:43)

Hey, if ant is your Jordan, Jaden looks much more like a pippin this season than he has.

Zena Keda (25:49)

He's also shooting over 40% from 3, which is.

John Krasinski (25:51)

That's right. It's like 45 right now.

Dave DeFore (25:53)

I'll tell you something else. And, and a lot of people, again, that 65 game rule is going to come into play with this. But if the Wolves get into the top three, you're going to be hearing Anthony Edwards MVP talk and, and rightfully. I mean, the season that he's having, the thing that's been holding him back is the wins. They got to win regular season games for him to get it. John Krasinski, big winner in my book. Everybody go and read him at the Athletic. Thank you, John, for hanging out. Thanks to Zena Kada, as always for hanging out. I'm Dave DeFore. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for hanging out with us.

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