TO shoot or not to shoot? To pass or not to pass?
These are the questions that Team USA head coach Steve Kerr aim to sort out with his top-scoring ace as the 2023 Fiba World Cup enters its home stretch.
Anthony Edwards, who leads USA in scoring with 22.8 points in six games even after a rare three-point outing in the quarterfinal against Italy, revealed how he continues to up the ante as the global showpiece heats up.
“I play my best basketball when the competition is hot, so I feel like that’s what I probably gotta do,” Edwards said, “(As a team), I think we’re peaking at the right time.”
PHOTO: Patrick Romero
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‘Finding the balance’
For Kerr, a pass-first playmaker who is the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point percentage at 45.4, unpacked how Edwards’ dynamism as a young player has its pros and cons.
“As for Ant (Edwards), he’s one of the most talented players on Earth. He’s still very young so the challenge, and I’ve talked to him about this, is to figure out when to attack and when to make a pass,” Kerr spoke of Edwards.
“We’re gonna need both (in the semifinals). Last time we played Germany, he completely took over the game. But as you saw the other night, when we threw the ball ahead, whether it’s him or anybody else, we’re really lethal,” he added.
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At the end of the day, with Edwards touted for a scoring eruption over the Germans, playing balanced and unselfish basketball will be the young American side’s key to an all-important victory.
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“He just gotta find that balance like all great players of young age have to do, to understand when to attack and when to get off the ball. That’s one of the main keys of our offensive attack,” Kerr stressed.
With a podium finish also up for grabs, USA faces unbeaten Germany on Friday for a spot in the World Cup Final.
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Source link : https://www.spin.ph/basketball/fiba/with-edwards-keen-on-red-hot-night-kerr-seeks-control-a5172-20230908
Author : Spin.ph
Publish date : 2023-09-08 02:32:00
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