‘I don’t know what to do’

Anthony Edwards is having a hard time finding a solution to the constant cheating and double-teaming he’s faced in virtually every game this season.

The 23-year-old superstar was left slumped in a chair in the Timberwolves locker room after another close loss to the Boston Celtics Thursday night and made it very clear that he needs help to get out of a crisis.

“I can score the ball, but it’s hard because I’m getting double-tacked all over the court, so I don’t have an answer,” Edwards said when asked about Minnesota’s 16 second-quarter points that led to a 14-game win. .-hole point and a long way back the rest of the night.

“I don’t know what’s going on. They’re just getting me, man. I don’t know what to do, I’m not going to lie,” Edwards said.

The Timberwolves have lost five of their last eight and Edwards has been held under 20 points in five of those games, four of them losses. He scored just 15 points against the Celtics and only attempted one shot in a scoreless third quarter.

It’s a stretch spanning two weeks in which Edwards averages 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 turnovers while shooting 39.3% overall, including 35.4% from the 3 point range. He is also averaging just 2.1 free throw attempts over the last eight games.

Edwards has been forced to act more as a facilitator than a scorer, and he doesn’t enjoy that role.

“That’s not how I want to play. I’m only 23 years old, I don’t want to pass the ball all night,” he said. “I think I have to do it because of the way they protect me.”

Edwards expressed frustration, saying it’s “super hard” to stay engaged because he’s “programmed to score the ball.”

“I don’t know what to do,” he said, “but it’s not fun. I don’t want to look like I’m not trying or that I’m not as good as I am. Because I am, but I can’t show it.” because they’re double-teaming me.”

It’s hard to beat two NBA players,” he continued. “These guys are NBA players. It’s not like middle school or high school. These guys, 6-8, 6-9, tall, strong and athletic. Then they funneled me to the guy who was 8 feet tall on the rim. “It’s crazy, man, it’s crazy.”

Edwards could also be dealing with a bruised ego because he’s struggling to put up big numbers while opposing stars aren’t battling Minnesota.

Jayson Tatum had 33 points, eight rebounds and nine assists on Thursday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points against Minnesota on New Year’s Eve. Trae Young scored 29 points and seven assists in the win over the Wolves. Steph Curry scored 31 points and 10 assists to lead the Warriors to a victory over Minnesota. And Karl-Anthony Towns swept his former team with 32 points and 20 rebounds.

“It’s definitely frustrating to see these guys cooking for us, but I can’t cook for them,” Edwards said.