The Minnesota Timberwolves will play the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, April 2, in a game that will not feature NBA superstar Anthony Edwards.
Edwards was ruled out for the Timberwolves an hour before the contest, now making him ineligible for end-of-season awards.
However, while they won’t be with Edwards for Thursday night, Minnesota revealed it’s starting lineup and final injury report for the rematch against Detroit.
Timberwolves Starting Lineup vs Pistons
Before the game, the Timberwolves took to social media to announce the starting lineup:
Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley, Ayo Dosunmu, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert all got the nod from Minnesota head coach Chris Finch.
This is a lineup that the Timberwolves have rarely used this season. While Conley was played in the starting lineup for a few games while Edwards missed nearly two weeks, he is now keeping that role with the star out.
Dosunmu, a trade deadline acquisition for Minnesota, while also missing few games of his own, has been performing well over the past few weeks, and like DiVincenzo, will take on a larger scoring role on Thursday against the Pistons.
Anthony Edwards Injury Update
Edwards was originally questionable for the game, but an hour before tipoff, was ruled out.
He has played in just one game since returning from right knee inflammation, and is officially sitting due to ‘Right Knee; Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome’ and an illness, according to the NBA’s official injury report.
Based on the league’s 65-game rule, he is now out of consideration for end-of-season awards. That news was confirmed by Timberwolves insider Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“Anthony Edwards missing tonight with an illness means he will no longer be eligible for postseason awards,” he wrote on X after Edwards’ final injury status was announced.
Interestingly enough, the same fate regarding end-of-season awards is true for Cade Cunningham of the Pistons. He has missed a few weeks after suffering a collapsed lung, and after it was reported earlier on Thursday that he will miss at least one more week, the star point guard will not be able to hit the 65-game mark.
Timberwolves vs. Pistons Final Injury Report
Along with Edwards, the Timberwolves have Jaden McDaniels listed on their injury report against the Pistons.
He is officially listed as week-to-week with a knee injury, and while Krawczynski reported that he won’t need surgery, the wing is expected to miss some time.
“An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) conducted by Dr. Craig Bennett at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine on McDaniels revealed left knee patella tendinopathy and a bone bruise. McDaniels will be listed as week-to-week, and further updates of his progress will be provided when available,” Minnesota wrote in an official statement on McDaniels.
Besides those two, the Timberwolves have a few two-way players listed on the injury report.
As for the Pistons, along with Cunningham, they have another key contributors who will miss the Thursday night game, as Isaiah Stewart was ruled out, currently dealing with a calf strain.
Marcus Sasser was upgraded to available before tipoff despite dealing with a right hip injury.
Detroit also has a few G-League players listed as out.
The Timberwolves and Pistons previously matched up over last weekend in a game in which the Eastern Conference team won in dominant fashion.
Now, as Minnesota is in a tight battle with a few teams in the West standings, they hope to get a win agains the the top team in the East.
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