Comments about officiating show Anthony Edwards’ frustration is mounting as Timberwolves’ offensive struggles continue

Anthony Edwards went off on the officiating after Minnesota’s loss to Golden State on Saturday at Target Center, saying the referees were “terrible.”

“The reasons they call a foul, the reasons they don’t call a foul, that (stuff) was terrible,” Edwards said. “They don’t want to talk back to my coach, they don’t want to talk back to me. I say one thing to the ref and they give me a tech. … They’re just sensitive and they’re terrible. They never give us the benefit. They penalize me and (Julius Randle) for being stronger than our opponent every night. We don’t get no calls. So yeah, that’s how I feel about the officials every game that we play.”

Edwards said the lack of foul calls is affecting the way he plays, insinuating he’s attacking the rim less because those drives aren’t being rewarded with whistles.

“I get penalized for being stronger than my opponent, so they get the benefit of the doubt,” Edwards said. “They bump me the same way they bump everybody else, and I don’t never get the calls.”

Edwards’ free-throw volume is down significantly this season, though that has coincided with the spike of his 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Randle’s free-throw volume is on par with what it was during his time with the Knicks.

As a team, the Wolves don’t shoot many free throws. They’re taking just 20.6 per game, sixth fewest in the League. But on the flip side, their opponents are shooting just 19.1 free throws per game, fourth fewest in the NBA. Minnesota’s opponents are called for more fouls per game than the Wolves are. So, in general, Wolves’ games are handled with a looser whistle. Which figures to be to the advantage of a team like Minnesota, who tends to play such a physical brand of defense that came in handy in last year’s playoffs.

All teams generally ask for is consistency, and the data suggests Minnesota is getting just that. But it’s not surprising when an established star such as Edwards is perturbed that he isn’t getting to the charity stripe as often as his peers. But the reality is he doesn’t attack as often as a guy like Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who lives at the free-throw line in part because he leads the NBA at more than 21 drives per game. In comparison, Edwards drives fewer than 13 times per game. That’s down from his 14.6 drives per game a year ago.

He may cite the lack of a whistle for that decrease. But he’s also justifiably taking more 3-point attempts with the improvement of his jump shot. And spacing has been a major issue for Minnesota’s offense, which limits creases for Edwards to potentially crack.

The star guard has been flummoxed by Minnesota’s lack of offensive ability all season. He sounded off on the team’s lack of an offensive identity after Thursday’s loss to the Knicks. The Wolves then scored 15 points over the first 18 minutes of Saturday’s loss to Golden State. But it only does so much good to continue to publicly harp on the team’s same short falls night after night. So Edwards took aim at a different target in the officials.

Surely, there are times when Edwards is fouled and it goes uncalled. He feels as though he’s getting the short end of the stick. He’s also likely growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of offense, in general, in Minnesota. Saturday marked the fourth time in eight games that Edwards finished with fewer than 20 points. He’s shooting just 42.4 percent from the field over his last 18 bouts after a sizzling start to the season.

Minnesota’s offensive production has bottomed out as a team in that span.

Nothing is coming easy at the moment. Edwards doesn’t feel as though the officials are helping his cause.

.”It’s just hard when everyone keeps saying, ‘Play through it. Play through it,'” Edwards said. “It’s easy to say that when you’re not dealing with it, that’s what’s frustrating.”