Anthony Edwardsâ injury timeline raises playoff concerns after a sports doctor warned his return could be delayed for weeks. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ playoff run, which only a day ago seemed so hopeful, just entered uncertain territory.
Dr. Jesse Morse, a Florida-based sports doctor, offered a measured assessment of the Edwards diagnosis, calling Edwardsâ bone bruise diagnosis the best realistic outcome given the potentially devastating circumstances of the injury.
“He will miss several weeks, but honestly this is the best case scenario,” Morse wrote on social media Sunday. “Whether or not the Timberwolves can survive without him (& DiVincenzo) is a separate discussion.”
Anthony Edwards Injury Timeline With No Ligament Damage
Edwards sustained a bone bruise and hyperextension of his left knee during Game 4 Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets and is expected to miss multiple weeks, according to ESPN‘s Shams Charania. An MRI confirmed no ligament damage, putting to rest the most catastrophic scenarios, but a multi-week absence likely removes Edwards from the remainder of Minnesota’s first-round series and puts his second-round availability in serious doubt. That timeline puts the rest of this series â and potentially the Timberwolvesâ entire playoff path â in immediate jeopardy.
If Edwards misses four weeks, his return would not come until sometime during the Western Conference Finals if the Timberwolves are able to make it that far. Any timeline longer than that, and Minnesota would need to make the NBA Finals to see Edwards return, if Dr. Morse’s outlook is correct.
The Timberwolves still won Game 4, 112-96, and led the series 3-1. The victory came at an enormous cost.
How the Anthony Edwards Knee Injury Happened
The play that ended Edwards’ night came with 2:43 left in the second quarter. He leaped to challenge a drive by Nuggets wing Cam Johnson, landed wrong, and his left knee bent backward on impact. Edwards went to the floor, grabbed his knee, slammed the court in frustration, and had to be helped to the tunnel, unable to put weight on the leg, according to ESPN‘s Anthony Slater.
He had gone 1-for-8 from the field before leaving. Minnesota trailed 54-50 at halftime.
Coach Chris Finch said after the game he had no definitive update on Edwards and that he would try to assess the situation Sunday ahead of Monday’s Game 5 in Denver. The MRI results, reported by Charania, did not come through until Sunday morning, long after Finch spoke to reporters.
The injury adds a troubling layer to an already complicated health picture. Edwards had missed 11 of Minnesota’s final 14 regular-season games with a persistent right knee problem and carried a questionable tag into each of the first three games of this series, wearing a sleeve on his right leg throughout, ESPN reported.
Timberwolves Lose Donte DiVincenzo for Playoffs and More
The Edwards news arrived on top of an even more definitive loss. Donte DiVincenzo tore his right Achilles tendon just 79 seconds into Game 4, a non-contact injury that ended his season immediately. By halftime, he had left the arena in a wheelchair with a splint on his right leg.
DiVincenzo had been one of Minnesota’s most consistent contributors all season. He started all 82 regular-season games, averaged 12.2 points, and made 244 3-pointers, the sixth-most in the NBA. He had scored 12, 16, and 15 points in the first three games of the Nuggets series before the tendon went out, according to ESPN. He is in year three of a four-year, $46.8 million contract, with a $12.5 million expiring deal on the books for next season.
There is only one question that matters in Minneapolis. What to do without its superstar and one of its best starters. Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 43 points off the bench Saturday to carry Minnesota to the win â becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to post 40-plus points off the bench in a playoff game. Up 3-1, the Timberwolves can close out Denver in Game 5.
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