Isiah Thomas uses Michael Jordan to explain Thunder's success vs. Anthony Edwards

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2 days ago

The post Isiah Thomas uses Michael Jordan to explain Thunder's success vs. Anthony Edwards appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Anthony Edwards leads the Minnesota Timberwolves into Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night. Edwards and Minnesota have their backs against the wall thanks to the defense of the Oklahoma City Thunder. NBA legend Isiah Thomas broke down the defensive strategy that the Thunder have deployed to stop Edwards, comparing it to what the Detroit Pistons used to do against Michael Jordan.
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Thomas was the leader of the 'Bad Boy' Pistons, a team that was built around tough defense. They ran into Jordan and the Bulls multiple times in the Eastern Conference playoffs, dispatching them twice en route to back-to-back titles. They used the 'Jordan Rules' to do so, setting up their defense to stop the Bulls' star in particular.
According to Thomas, Oklahoma City's strategy is similar to theirs. Because of that, the Thunder are one win away from an NBA Finals appearance, their first since 2012.
'We wanted to make him(Michael Jordan) a jump shooter,' said Thomas about the Piston's strategy. 'That's what OKC right now is doing to Minnesota. They're making Ant Edwards a jump shooter, they're double-teaming him off screens, high screen-and-roll, side screen-and-roll, and you see in transition, everybody's loading to the ball…'
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Mark Daigneault has run one of the best defenses in recent NBA history this year. His strategy to neutralize Edwards held the Timberwolves' All-Star to just 16 points in Game 4 on 13 shots. His teammates picked up his scoring slack, but it was not enough. Minnesota lost 128-126, and head into Wednesday night's game with their season on the line.
Edwards has been compared to Jordan and called the next face of the NBA. However, the 23-year-old is on the brink of his second straight loss in the Western Conference finals. To Thomas, though, the credit goes to the Thunder defense and their willingness to let anyone but Edwards beat them.
So far, no one has been able to take the top seed down. The Thunder and the newest MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander look to end Edwards' season at home.