Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards considered 'week to week' with knee injury

Atlantic76ersCelticsKnicksNetsRaptorsCentralBucksBullsCavaliersPacersPistonsSoutheastHawksHeatHornetsMagicWizardsSouthwestGrizzliesMavericksPelicansRocketsSpursNorthwestJazzNuggetsThunderTimberwolvesTrail BlazersPacificClippersKingsLakersSunsWarriorsScores & ScheduleStandingsThe Bounce NewsletterNBA DraftPodcastsFantasyNBA OddsNBA PicksWhat Makes Up Championship DNA?Hollinger's Playoff PreviewPlayer Poll: Who is the MVP?Player Poll: Who Will Win Title?NBA Playoffs Anthony Edwards suffered a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee during Game 4 of the Timberwolves' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets. David Berding / Getty Images Share article2The Minnesota Timberwolves are not ruling out a return in the playoffs for Anthony Edwards, who suffered a hyperextension and bone bruise in his left knee during the team’s Game 4 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night. Edwards is listed as “week to week” while he receives treatment, the Timberwolves announced Monday morning, just hours before Game 5. The injury to his left knee was demoralizing for Edwards, who was showing progress with a right knee injury that had bothered him for most of the previous month. Before Game 4, Edwards was not listed as questionable on the injury report for the first time in these playoffs, and he was moving well before he went down with the injury to his other knee. It is unclear how long he will be out, but team and league sources told The Athletic that Edwards wants to give himself every chance to return to help his team pursue a championship. The Wolves are one win away from advancing to the second round for the third straight season. Their defense has been suffocating against Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets for three straight games, injecting them with confidence that they can contend for a title. “We do know that if we keep extending this playoff series, he is going to come back,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said Monday morning during an interview on Minneapolis sports radio station KFAN. “And he generally comes back ahead of the timeline.” Edwards’ injury was one of two major setbacks to hit the Wolves in the first half of Game 4. Donte DiVincenzo, the invaluable guard who brought toughness and hustle and was playing some of the best basketball of his career, tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg just 80 seconds into the game. Edwards was injured in the second quarter when he jumped to challenge a shot from Nuggets forward Cam Johnson at the rim. No matter how banged up he has been in these playoffs, no matter how much trouble he has had dragging his right leg around the court, Edwards hasn’t been able to resist trying to protect the basket when an opposing shooter is at the rim and he is in the vicinity. “People coming at the rim and Rudy ain’t down there, I’m trying to beat that s—,” Edwards said after the Wolves beat Denver in Game 2. “I don’t care who it is. So if you come down there and you see me down there, I’m going up. I don’t give a damn.” When Johnson, who has struggled in this series, had a clean look, Edwards wanted to let him know that he was not going to get anything easy as he went in for a layup. Edwards elevated to try to block the shot, made contact with Johnson in the air and drifted backward under the rim. As he came back down to the floor, his left leg planted awkwardly and his knee bent the wrong way. The hyperextension looked gruesome in the moment. Losing Edwards for any stretch of time is a crushing blow to the Timberwolves’ postseason hopes, even with a 3-1 lead over the Nuggets. He is the team’s leading scorer and its biggest source of swagger, believing he is the best player every time he steps on the court. The Wolves feed off that energy, even when he is limited physically, as he was in the first four games of the series. There was initial concern that Edwards’ injury was more severe. He could not walk off the court under his own power, but any concern about torn ligaments or tendons subsided after an MRI on Saturday night. Jimmy Butler had a similar injury several years ago and missed a month, but Edwards has always been a fast healer, and he and the Timberwolves have avoided putting a timeline on his return, preferring instead to see how his knee responds to treatment. If there is a silver lining to his latest injury, it is that it will give Edwards some time to rest his right knee. Edwards received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right knee and had been undergoing nearly non-stop treatment to play in Minnesota’s first-round series. He gutted it out and put up 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Game 1, then went for 30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2. His right knee needs continuous rest to recover, and it is possible that his condition could improve over the next few weeks while his left knee heals as well. If the Timberwolves can stay alive long enough for Edwards to get back, his right knee could feel better than it has in months when he returns. Through it all, Edwards has believed that despite the Wolves’ underwhelming regular season, the team was finding its groove and ready to challenge in the West. The path forward is daunting, starting with Monday’s Game 5 without him and DiVincenzo. Even if Minnesota does advance, a likely date with Victor Wembanyama and the 62-win San Antonio Spurs awaits. The Timberwolves will not risk Edwards’ long-term health to rush him back. He is too important to the franchise’s future. But he is not giving up on this season just yet, and neither are the Wolves. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms