Myron Gardner only played three minutes on Wednesday night in the Miami Heat's season opener, but he had a major impact on the result -- just not in the way he hoped. Anthony Edwards credited Gardner's trash talk from the bench with inspiring his 45-point performance in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 131-106 win. "I think it kind of crunk me up," Edwards said after the game.
"He was talking pretty crazy. When I start talking to him, he didn't really have too much more to say. I don't really like that.
If you gonna talk shit, keep talking shit. I think that was pretty much the reason why I was super intense tonight." When asked if Gardner was the one doing the talking, Edwards wasn't sure. The Heat declined to make Gardner available to the media on Thursday, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed it was indeed Gardner who caught Edwards' attention and made it clear that he wants his second-year forward to use better judgment.
"I love Myron's competitive spirit and he wants to infuse energy into the group. Also have to be smart about it," Spoelstra said. "I particularly don't want him talking trash to the other team's best scorers, especially when he's not out there.
But he's got a good heart. He means the right thing. He'll be better." Gardner has only played 414 minutes over 46 games since joining the Heat last season, but he has already established himself as one of the league's premier instigators.
Last November, Gardner earned a technical foul by getting into a verbal altercation with Klay Thompson during a game against the Dallas Mavericks. After the game, Heat assistant coach Caron Butler made Gardner apologize to Thompson for calling him "trash" and "a bum." The two are now teammates after Thompson signed with the Heat this offseason. And in February, Gardner was ejected and later fined $35,000 for his role in a physical altercation with Scotty Pippen Jr.
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