Is Minnesota Timberwolves SG Anthony Edwards playing today?

Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Timberwolves did not start out the 2023-24 NBA season the way that everyone had hoped. You see, one of the keys to check off for this season regarding the Timberwolves roster is to have everyone healthy and competing this season, for as many games as possible, but certainly in the hopes of getting 50+ games out of each of the team’s five starters.

And yet, the first preseason game between the Minnesota Timberwolves versus the Dallas Mavericks did not go according to plan.  Timberwolves star shooting guard Anthony Edwards tweaked his ankle at practice, and as a result, he did not compete for the Minnesota Timberwolves in their preseason opening thrashing of the Dallas Mavericks.

So what did Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch have to say about that decision?  Well, he emphasized the fact that the team was merely being ultra-cautious:

So now the question is: Is Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards playing today? As of right now, the Timberwolves consider Anthony Edwards to be a game-time decision.

If it mattered, Anthony Edwards would be on the basketball court

The Timberwolves may not have had Edwards playing in the first preseason game, but they certainly did not show any signs of confusion or hesitation. In fact, the Timberwolves jumped out to a three-point lead after the tip-off by a trey from power forward Karl-Anthony Towns and truly never looked back.

While it was a tighter rotation that helped to propel the Timberwolves out to a lead of up to 29 points at one point, the Timberwolves did manage to get 15 players onto the basketball court by the time the final buzzer sounded. Two starters on the Timberwolves roster managed to put up double-digit scoring: Karl-Anthony Towns (20 points) and SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker (11 points). But three players came off the bench and pumped in 10+ points as well: C/PF Naz Reid (16 points). C Luka Garza (12 points), and G Shake Milton (12 points).

If this was a regular season game, you can be certain that Anthony Edwards would be playing. But as this is the preseason, and the Timberwolves truly dominated in that first game against the Mavericks on both ends of the basketball court, I’m not convinced that Edwards will see action in this one either. But still, how can the Timberwolves keep him off the basketball court?


It seems that they cannot. But they are using precaution to give SF Jaden McDaniels time on the bench:

Curiously, it appears as though the Timberwolves like what their 3-and-D wingman Nickeil Alexander-Walker brings to the starting lineup.

We’ll know in a matter of minutes.  Stay tuned as the Timberwolves’ second preseason game is bound to be just as thrilling as the first one.

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