Anthony Edwards, out due to injury in the Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that Anthony Edwards would be out for Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns due to right knee discomfort. Subsequently, it was reported that he would be reevaluated in one to two weeks. The team revealed the estimated time for re-evaluation after an MRI, performed by Dr. Craig Bennett at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, showed inflammation in Edwards’ right knee. The team communicated that more updates on his progress will be provided when available. This situation comes at a crucial moment for the Timberwolves, who are looking to maintain their position in sixth place as they face the Suns at the Target Center. Phoenix is two games behind Minnesota in the Western Conference standings, after losing two consecutive games on a six-game road trip. However, the Suns have the tiebreaker with a 2-0 record in the series between the two teams.Finch explained that the decision to leave Edwards out “is beyond my capacity”, adding that it was made after consulting with “the performance medical staff, the team of doctors, talking to his people and everything.”“We’ve been through this before,” commented Minnesota coach Chris Finch. “It’s incredible when you think that Ant has played in almost 95% of the games he’s been available. That’s almost unheard of. But this year we’ve been without him more than in the past. We have to regroup. We have to worry about playing better basketball in general, no matter who’s on the court. And I think we don’t need one person to try and come in and fill the scoring. It’s better if it’s distributed throughout the lineup.”
Chris Finch, Timberwolves coach
Meanwhile, Minnesota has lost four of its last five games, including Sunday’s loss in Oklahoma City, where the Timberwolves committed 25 turnovers, their second-most in a game this season. Edwards contributed 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. In the final quarter of the loss, Edwards only attempted one field goal and appeared to be struggling due to pain in his right knee.
Edwards, 24, leads the Timberwolves in scoring this season, averaging 29.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, with 49.2% field goal shooting and 40.2% from the 3-point line. He has been a very consistent player for most of his NBA career, missing only nine combined games in the three seasons prior to this one. However, this season he has already missed 10 games and only has 57 games valid for the end-of-season awards, as he only played three minutes in a game on October 26 against the Indiana Pacers. Edwards can miss only six more games out of the Wolves’ remaining 14 before being disqualified for the awards. Minnesota’s matchup against the Suns is the first of a series of consecutive games that continues on Wednesday, when the Timberwolves host the Utah Jazz.
