Anthony Edwards on Heat bench trash talk: “If you’re going to talk, keep talking,” and Spoelstra wants Myron Gardner to be smarter

Anthony Edwards says a Heat player talking trash from the bench “crunked me up” during Minnesota’s blowout win in Wednesday’s opener, and he wanted the player to keep talking. The Timberwolves star scored 45 points. Anthony Chiang reports that second-year forward Myron Gardner started the exchange.

“A player on their bench was talking trash on one of the dead-ball situations,” Edwards said. “And I think it kind of crunked me up because he was talking pretty crazy. And then when I started talking to him, he didn’t really have too much more to say. And I don’t really like that. If you’re going to talk, keep talking. Don’t get quiet. So I think that was pretty much the reason why I was super intense tonight.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Thursday’s practice that he likes Gardner’s competitive spirit but wants him to be smarter about it. “I particularly don’t want him talking trash to the other team’s best scorers, especially when he’s not out there,” Spoelstra said. “But he’s got a good heart. He means the right thing. He’ll be better.”

Gardner, whose contract is partially guaranteed for $500,000, played only three garbage-time minutes in the lopsided loss, Chiang notes.