On Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves will travel to Colorado to take on the Denver Nuggets in a critical fixture for the race to the top spot in the Western Conference standings. The blockbuster fixture at Ball Arena between the top two teams in the West could have notable absentees, including Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
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The young guard has been listed as “questionable” on the team’s injury report for the game against the defending champions in Denver. Edwards is nursing lower back spasms and played only 29 minutes in the Timberwolves’ comfortable 106-91 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Edwards’ absence could be a massive blow to Minnesota’s odds of beating Denver in the mountains. The two teams are separated by one game in the standings and a win for the Timberwolves would see them eclipse the Nuggets and sit atop the Western Conference standings, with only nine games left in their regular season schedule.
Given the heightened importance of this fixture, Edwards will try to play in this contest, even if his minutes are restricted. Fans can expect the guard to suit up and play against the reigning champions on Friday night, unless his injury presents added risks.
Timberwolves’ record without Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards emphasizes availability above everything else. During media day at the All-Star weekend, the Timberwolves guard spoke about his disapproval of load management, saying,
“Just play, man. If you 80%, you gotta play. I don’t like all the sitting, missing games stuff. These people might have enough money to come to one game. And that might be the game they come to and you sitting out.”
“All the guys sitting, resting. That’s the only thing I probably don’t like. Just play, man. If you 80%, you gotta play. I don’t like all the sitting, missing games stuff. These people might have enough money to come to one game. And that might be the game pic.twitter.com/I4FhjPJnmY…
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2023
Edwards has practiced what he preaches. He has missed only three games this season and Minnesota coped well with his absence, winning two and losing only one. However, their wins were against the Utah Jazz and the Charlotte Hornets, who are 12th and 13th in their respective conferences. Their loss came against the New Orleans Pelicans, who sit fifth in the Western Conference standings, 0.5 games behind fourth-placed Los Angeles Clippers.
The Timberwolves can beat lowly opponents without Edwards. However, they need their star guard on the court against the best teams in the league. Given that Karl-Anthony Towns is ‘out’ and Rudy Gobert is ‘questionable’ for the contest, a lot depends on Ant Man’s availability tonight.
