Anthony Edwards Offense
Finishing: Good, not great finisher. Strong driver and does a nice job using his physicality on drives, but can learn to use his body better at the rim to dislodge players and finish through contact – even though 16 and 1s is a good number through 21 games, it could be higher if he learned to use his strength better on the attempt and not try to avoid contact. High level cutter – does a nice job setting up the cuts faking high, and going backdoor / simply taking advantage of defenders when they turn their heads. Soft touch with either hand, though his right hand is better at the moment. Can finish off one feet or two, though way more powerful off two. Hard to bump off his spot on drives due to strength. Nice job using his length instead of short-arming the finish. Has some weird misses in the paint, so there is still room for touch to improve. Nice body control getting around the defenders in the paint / on the way to the paint. Finishing numbers should improve if / when he learns to use his body better around the rim, because the body control is nice, strength is very nice, and has a soft touch with either hand. 5 dunks in the halfcourt vs 6 shots blocked in the paint (due to forced attempts). Does not have a high free throw rate due to overreliance on jumper. Edwards draws fouls (4 a game), but this could be higher if he didn’t settle for as many jumpers as he currently does.
Shooting: Not a great shooter, but there is reason to buy stock in his shooting.
He has good form, has a very smooth looking jumper mechanically (natural lean and maybe a slight elbow flare), and he’s a solid FT shooter for age. In addition, he’s 17/38 on pure C&S jumpers. The numbers don’t look good at first glance because of the low percentages, but it’s not indicative of his shooting ability as much as it shows how much the UGA offense relies on him for perimeter creation and his shot selection. Though there can be some minor tweaks with his form, I don’t think change is entirely necessary – his release is the same on C&S and off the bounce Js, he gets good bounce on his shot, has a quick set in the lower body and transfers energy quickly from the load to the release, and can square up well in air. Streaky outside shot as of now, but he can get hot pretty quickly and then his shot becomes a flamethrower, hitting shots from deep off the bounce and well contested – the shots he can hit when hot are not great shot selections, but just shows that when he’s hot, he’s hot and very hard to stop. Also, his shot is damn near impossible to block for wings given the high release point (
see below). He has a really seamless transition from handle with either hand to shot on all off the bounce jumpers – full speed downhill pullups, stepbacks, side-steps, and just “basic” crosses into Js. His ability to have consistent form regardless of setting and while at the same time showing the ability to hit pretty much every shot in the book is rare. Shot selection needs to be cleaned up and he still needs to get more reps in, but I am confident in his ability score at all 3 levels…efficiency is another question, and that
could be more dependent on his shot selection over anything else
Shot Versatility: Some versatility, though he’s mainly an off the bounce shooter and small movement C&S – he’s not running hard off screens. In the sample size I’ve seen from AAU to college, Edwards does not look particularly comfortable shooting off hard movement – his first instinct is to put the ball on the floor. Not someone I would call a pure shooter – more of a shot maker. He has a full off the bounce shot-making ability, going downhill, stepbacks, hesitations into jumpers, etc – nothing consistent yet, but it’s been a part of his toolbox going back to AAU (80th percentile off bounce, 46.7% adjusted FG%). My favorite part is his shotmaking ability to seamlessly shoot off a left or right handed dribble because the comfort he shows off either hand is rare – this includes going downhill / stopping on a dime, which could make him a pretty devastating PnR player if he is able to develop his jumper a bit more. I can see him becoming a 3 level scorer, though maybe not the most efficient (unless he starts attacking the rim a bit more). Teams won’t be able to go under him out of fear of him hitting a 3, and if they go over, he could pull up going either direction or take it to the rim (while he does finish better with his right hand now, he still can finish well with his left for his age and there is reason to think it will continue to develop). Good catch and shoot player, though not someone who is a real movement heavy shooter – more basic movement, as in relocations, pindowns, etc. 83rd percentile on “pure” C&S (67.1% adjusted FG%) on 38 attempts. Wasn’t asked to play off ball much, and the actions he had off screens were more to get him going downhill…and his first instinct off the screens was to put the ball on the floor, so I’m not sure he has too much comfort here in strict C&S off screens. He has deep range off the bounce and on C&S. When playing off screens, Edwards’ first reaction is to put the ball down – if he gets rid of this habit, there is potential for some pindown / off screen actions due to his speed, good (and high) release, ability to set his man up on cuts (maybe some potential to do the same off screens?), and ability to square up on the release in air. Good PnR and ISO scoring potential – though inconsistent, he shows the ability to get where he wants and hit from all 3 levels. 12-18 on ISO shots at the rim is good, though would like to see more attacks.
Shot Versatility: Some versatility, though he’s mainly an off the bounce shooter and small movement C&S – he’s not running hard off screens. In the sample size I’ve seen from AAU to college, Edwards does not look particularly comfortable shooting off hard movement – his first instinct is to put the ball on the floor. Not someone I would call a pure shooter – more of a shot maker. He has a full off the bounce shot-making ability, going downhill, stepbacks, hesitations into jumpers, etc – nothing consistent yet, but it’s been a part of his toolbox going back to AAU (80th percentile off bounce, 46.7% adjusted FG%). My favorite part is his shotmaking ability to seamlessly shoot off a left or right handed dribble because the comfort he shows off either hand is rare – this includes going downhill / stopping on a dime, which could make him a pretty devastating PnR player if he is able to develop his jumper a bit more. I can see him becoming a 3 level scorer, though maybe not the most efficient (unless he starts attacking the rim a bit more). Teams won’t be able to go under him out of fear of him hitting a 3, and if they go over, he could pull up going either direction or take it to the rim (while he does finish better with his right hand now, he still can finish well with his left for his age and there is reason to think it will continue to develop). Good catch and shoot player, though not someone who is a real movement heavy shooter – more basic movement, as in relocations, pindowns, etc. 83rd percentile on “pure” C&S (67.1% adjusted FG%) on 38 attempts. Wasn’t asked to play off ball much, and the actions he had off screens were more to get him going downhill…and his first instinct off the screens was to put the ball on the floor, so I’m not sure he has too much comfort here in strict C&S off screens. He has deep range off the bounce and on C&S. When playing off screens, Edwards’ first reaction is to put the ball down – if he gets rid of this habit, there is potential for some pindown / off screen actions due to his speed, good (and high) release, ability to set his man up on cuts (maybe some potential to do the same off screens?), and ability to square up on the release in air. Good PnR and ISO scoring potential – though inconsistent, he shows the ability to get where he wants and hit from all 3 levels. 12-18 on ISO shots at the rim is good, though would like to see more attacks.
Net Rating: +1.4 Athleticism / Frame Overview: Strong, elite athlete off two feet and very good off one. Quick reaction time with hands and changing body position – quick...
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