His scoring helped the Minnesota Timberwolves secure a 102-97 win and a 2-1 lead in the conference semifinals. And beyond that, it was another bullet point on Edwards' "top seven in the league" resume. In today's NBA, forcing your way into that conversation isn't easy.

The fragility of contending in the NBA playoffs was illustrated in the hush of the Target Center crowd, in their collective eyes looking at the far end across from the Golden State Warriors bench, across from an NBA legend wearing street clothes instead of a team uniform.