MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have not had to play without Anthony Edwards very often over the last six years. He is one of the most durable stars in the league, playing in 94 percent of his available games.
But as the playoffs near, the Wolves are going to miss their superstar for at least a week because of inflammation in his right knee, dealing a blow to the team’s hopes of cementing a top-four playoff seed and threatening to remove another top player from All-NBA eligibility.
Edwards will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks, the team announced on Tuesday, removing the team’s leading scorer and emotional leader from an air-tight playoff race.
The Wolves responded well in their first test without him, as five players scored in double figures in a critical 116-104 victory over Phoenix. Minnesota (42-27) remains in sixth place in the Western Conference standings, behind the fifth-place Denver Nuggets (42-27) due to tiebreakers. The Timberwolves did put another game between them and the Suns (39-30), who are in seventh place.
“We knew what was at stake for us,” said Bones Hyland, who scored 22 points off the bench. “We knew they were seventh. We were sixth. We (don’t) wanna be there. We want to keep moving up.”
Edwards, 24, has played in 58 games this season, though only 57 count for awards eligibility because he left the game on Oct. 26 after playing just three minutes. This means he will need to participate in seven more contests to be eligible for All-NBA honors. Edwards has been named to the All-NBA Second Team in back-to-back seasons and will likely land on one of the three teams if he plays at least 65 games. The Timberwolves have 14 games remaining this season; they would have only seven left if Edwards misses exactly two weeks.
Edwards has been bothered by knee pain for more than a week. He labored through the loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday and was listed as out for the Suns game before the team updated his status on Tuesday afternoon.
Edwards and the Timberwolves are not concerned that this injury will be a long-term situation that would jeopardize his availability for the postseason, according to multiple league and team sources.
The belief is that Edwards needs time to allow the inflammation to calm down, and he will be back and ready to go.
Still, the injury comes at a terrible time for the Timberwolves, who have been remarkably healthy this season. They are locked in an ultra-tight race with the Lakers (43-25), Rockets (41-26) and Nuggets (42-27) for a top-four seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Suns are still lurking as well, threatening to push one of those four teams into the Play-In Tournament.
So much of the offense this season has been built around Edwards’ multi-level excellence. He is the team’s most prolific 3-point shooter, has showcased a much-improved midrange game and is finishing at the rim at a higher rate this season than last. That development has helped Edwards become a crunch-time killer for the Wolves this season, putting him in the running for Clutch Player of the Year.
“It’s incredible when you think about how Ant’s played almost 95 percent of the games (in his career),” coach Chris Finch said before the game against Phoenix. “That’s unheard of. This year, we’ve been without him more than in the past. Just gotta regroup. We’ve got to worry about playing better basketball all the way around regardless of who is out there.”
The Wolves also rely on Edwards to be a stout perimeter defender, something that has waxed and waned this season. When he is locked in, he is one of the better on-ball defenders in the league, making him a true two-way force. His ability to take over on either end is the Timberwolves’ superpower, especially in the playoffs.
With him out, they lose a great deal of their identity as they try to pull out of a late-season skid, having lost four of their previous five games, all by double digits. Now, they are without their best player, putting more pressure on Julius Randle to shake free of his slump — he had 32 points in the loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday — and role players Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo to pick up the scoring slack.
The team proved up to the task on Tuesday night. Randle put up 32 points and seven rebounds, McDaniels had 16 points, seven boards and four assists, and Rudy Gobert had 19 rebounds and four blocked shots as the Wolves held Phoenix to 65 points over the final three quarters.
“I think me playing at my pace, getting into my flow, getting to my spots, I don’t think anybody can really stop me if I’m getting to my spots,” Randle said. “It was just that.”
Randle now assumes the role of offensive focal point.
“It’s at the heart of what we do, is really his playmaking and getting us into situations where everyone can benefit,” Finch said.
The Wolves’ offense has stagnated at times this season, with Edwards and Randle trading isolation possessions and stunting the ball movement that gets players open shots in rhythm. Without Edwards’ singular scoring punch, the Wolves will have to focus on increasing that movement and passing to create advantages.
Ayo Dosunmu replaces Edwards in the starting lineup. Dosunmu was acquired in a trade-deadline move with Chicago, and he has settled in nicely in Minnesota. His speed, quick decision-making and ability to get downhill have been additive so far, including against the Thunder when he scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting off the bench. He had seven assists in a win over Golden State on Friday, and the Wolves are going to need playmaking and scoring from him in Edwards’ absence.
“It was exciting just to hear my name called in the starting lineup with the team and hear the fans cheer,” said Dosunmu, who had 19 points and five boards in 34 minutes.
“I was excited, I’m blessed. It’s always a blessing when things you pray for come to fruition, so I’m always honored and grateful.”
Edwards has always been a fast healer, and the Wolves will be banking on that this time around as well. Yes, he wants to return to be eligible for awards like All-NBA, but he needs to be back to give the Wolves a chance to regain the groove they lost over the last two weeks and stay out of the Play-In.
“We don’t need one person to try to step in and fill the scoring,” Finch said. “I think it’s just better if it’s dispersed throughout the lineup.”