Stepping over Zhandu! Can Edwards cross over Curry and become a real super giant?

When Edwards snuffed out the Lakers' dream of counterattack with a horse-riding archery throw at Staples Center, he lowered his head to stare at the wrist guards with the words "KD" engraved on his wrist - a gift from Durant himself after sweeping the sun last year. The spotlight pulled his shadow long, as if he cast a new era rift in the hall of the basketball gods. From the first round of dismembering the Sun Dynasty 4-0 in 2024 to the 2025 gentlemen sweep the Lakers' giants, the 23-year-old new Minnesota king has been interpreting his growth and upgrading.

When Edwards was proud in Los Angeles, his last mountain, Stephen Curry was trapped in the steel torrent of Houston. The young Rockets allowed the Warriors to experience unprecedented challenges. This is when the Warriors in the post-Trident period encountered the Rockets after reconstruction. The home advantage of the Fire Warriors in the new era still belongs to the Rockets. However, the Warriors who won Butler's mid-season gambling style not only entered the playoffs, but also had the possibility of competing for the championship. Obviously, the 37-year-old Curry does not want to give up such an opportunity. Although the Rockets are in good health, can run, jump and can prevent the Warriors from breathing, they still lack experience. The Warriors achieved a 3:1 good situation in the first four games, but the Rockets still shocked the Warriors in a cold sweat. VanVleet's continuous explosion of G5G6 made the Warriors lose in a row.

Until the tiebreak, the Rockets still used at least two people to defend Curry, but in this game, the Warriors who suppressed the opponent in the whole game became the Warriors. Curry was exerted to the limit. Curry could not score and could not make a move, so he left the opportunity to his teammates. Zhu Meng Green came up with an unpopular three-pointer. In addition, the new Splash brothers member Hilde seemed to have brought a scope, and 33 points were lost in the whole game, including 9 of 11 three-pointers, which completely resolved Curry's pressure in the first half.

As the score continued to lead, Curry also used Looney to cover the cover to get rid of Van Vleet's entanglement in the second half to hit a difficult three-pointer in a familiar way. This goal ignited the Chase Center. With Butler's steady and steady playing and Hilder's continued efforts, the Warriors' lead continued to expand until the whistle successfully advanced to the next round.

This is also the first time since 1984 that the six or seventh regular season met in the semi-finals. For the Warriors, Minnesota's snowfield is far more dangerous than Houston. The Timberwolves suppressed their opponent's three-point shooting percentage to 33.1% this season (first in the league). The defense line built by Gobert and McDaniels is like a moving Great Wall, just aiming at the space basketball on which the Warriors rely for survival. What's more deadly is Edwards' evolution: especially in three-pointers, he has gone from a breakthrough player who is not good at long shots to an all-around scorer with the highest number of three-pointers in the league (this season has played in 79 games and hits 320 three-pointers in the league), and his opponent has become the "founder" of the small ball era - the three-pointer in the history of NBA - Stephen Curry. The horror of Edwards is that he casts original talents and tactical wisdom into killing weapons. When sweeping the Suns last year, his 43.8% pick-and-roll shooting percentage was the best in the league; facing the Lakers this season, he further developed his back-to-door singles skills, averaging 8.7 points per game through low-post offenses (overly Embiid). What is even more terrifying is the cold blood at the critical moment: in the fourth quarter of the series, his real shooting percentage was as high as 71.3%, and he made 6 of 9 shots within 3 points in the last two minutes. This "big scene gene" reminds people of LeBron in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, but Edwards' arsenal is more diverse - he can use European steps to crack and replace defense, use horse riding and archery to punish squats, and even use a 2.08-meter wingspan to complete the chasing cover.

In contrast, even Curry, who is 37 years old, still leads the Warriors with an average of 28.1 points per game, with a plus-minus value + 12.3 championship in the critical moment of the playoffs. In the tiebreak with the Rockets, he scored 14 points in the last quarter, including three consecutive high-difficulty throws. This "counter-growth" competitive state comes from the repeated training of muscle memory. But the years finally reveal their fangs in the details: when he defended Edwards's same-sized forward line this season, his opponent's shooting percentage was as high as 51.2%, and the Timberwolves had the most misplaced attackers in the league. The core contradiction in the

series focuses on the competition in the penalty area. The Timberwolves averaged 54.3 points in the penalty area (second in the playoffs), with a rebounding rate of 53.8% in the championship. The two-tower combination of Gobert and Reed can suppress the opponent's shooting percentage at the basket to 47.3%. In contrast, the Warriors lost points in the penalty area this season, ranking fourth in the playoff team, Zhu Meng Green's height of 2.03 meters is like a toy in front of Gobert. If the Timberwolves' vertical defensive system cannot be cracked, Curry and Butler's breakthrough pass will lose its fulcrum, and the three-point rain on which the Warriors rely on will become a water without a source.

The Warriors' weakness is like the Lakers, and they do not have real centers. Looney and Green are obviously not tall enough. Facing the Timberwolves who are rampant in the inside, it will obviously become a big trouble, but the Warriors still have the key to reverse their destiny. Curry and Butler's "Cuba pick-and-roll" can be regarded as the most unsolvable offensive weapon in the contemporary era - Butler averaged 6.8 open shots for Curry through screens per game, while Edwards's defense exchange communication is still flawed. What's more subtle is the psychological game: When the Timberwolves faced the Warriors this season, the net efficiency value in the fourth quarter was -9.2 (regular season average +9.2), exposing the decision-making anxiety of young teams. When the game entered the last five minutes, Curry's career-long career average of 31.2 points may illuminate the Warriors' dark forest.