"I would've been out for blood" - Carmelo Anthony on what if Anthony Edwards treated him like he treated Kevin Durant
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Minnesota Timberwolves superstar guard Anthony Edwards was an absolute beast in the first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. But not only was Edward dominant on the basketball court, but he also let the Suns know he was the man in the series.
Right from Game 1, Edwards was talking trash to Kevin Durant, with one big performance after another. But while KD didn’t mind Edwards’ taunting, future Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony says he would have reacted differently.
“I would’ve been like, ‘This n***a buggin’! I don’t want to k*ll this lil n***a,'” Anthony said on the Point Forward podcast. “I would have been out for blood in a competitive way.”
Durant became a fan of Edwards
Ant-Man had an incredible first-round series. The 22-year-old averaged 31.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, leading the Timberwolves to a sweep against the Suns.
KD was also great, putting up 26.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks per contest. However, Durant’s numbers were quiet and empty, unlike Edwards’, who let Kevin hear about it after almost every made basket.
In Game 3, Edwards pulled out the WWE D-Generation X celebration on the Suns. KD was asked whether he was bothered but said the win justified Ant’s actions. After the Wolves swept the Suns, Durant also gave flowers to Edwards by saying that he is his “favorite player to watch.”
What if KD acted differently?
With Edwards leading the way, the T-Wolves were fearless against the star-studded Suns. This attitude enabled them to come out on top, even though many predicted a different outcome.
“It goes back to say that you got to know how to put these pieces together,” Anthony said. “I get what Phoenix did. They said, ‘F**k it. We are going all in. We got to go out, time is now, we got to put all the chips on the table, we got to go.’ These young boys ain’t trying to hear that s***. None of these young boys in this league is trying to hear that s***.”
While Durant was gracious in complimenting Edwards, perhaps he should’ve fought fire with fire and not let the young star ‘disrespect’ him just like that. But then again, given how Ant-Man and the Timberwolves played in the series, it’s unclear whether that would have made a difference.