Joe Ingles says the quiet part out loud about Blazers after Anthony Edwards dagger

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their season opener in heartbreaking fashion, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves with a final score of 118-114. Considering Portland's uphill battle in the loaded Western Conference, these are the type of games you absolutely need to come away with, especially at home.

This game was Portland's for the taking. Unfortunately, Minnesota executed better down the stretch, outscoring Portland 30-19 in the fourth quarter. The apparent difference in the game was that the Timberwolves had a guy on their team named Anthony Edwards, while the Blazers... did not.

With 6.8 seconds remaining, Edwards created separation from All-Defensive wing (and former teammate) Toumani Camara, hitting a midrange jumper to put Minnesota up 118-114.

After that dagger, veteran Joe Ingles turned to the Blazers fans at the Moda Center and said, "We got the best player!"

He's not wrong.

The Trail Blazers lost the star power battle

The Timberwolves superstar finished his clutch performance with 41 points, seven rebounds, and one assist, shooting 14-of-28 from the field, 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, and connecting on all eight of his free throw attempts.

Edwards is an All-Star on a Hall of Fame career trajectory. The "best player" argument will apply for the majority of Minnesota's matchups throughout the season. Still, those five words from Ingles did point out the fatal flaw in Portland's roster construction.

We're just one game into the season, but it's still unclear who the Blazers' best player is. Blazers insider Sean Highkin previously suggested that it was Jrue Holiday due to seniority, but even Holiday exposed his flaws, particularly towards the end of the game when he was forcing the issue too much with poor shot selection.

Meanwhile, Portland's building blocks, Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara, shot 6-of-16 and 3-of-9 from the field, respectively.

Considering their gritty, defensive-minded identity that was on full display in the season opener, the Blazers are going to be in several close games this season. Down the stretch, oftentimes the deciding factor can come down to which team has a more reliable go-to option. While it's refreshing in a way that Portland now generates more offense collectively by emphasizing more ball movement this season, the harsh reality is that they will continue to lose these close games more often than not.

Things don't get any easier with Portland set to take on Stephen Curry and the 1-0 Golden State Warriors on Friday, October 24. The one silver lining is that losing these close games will improve Portland's draft odds, with a lot of star potential already emerging in next year's draft class.