When Anthony Edwards went down with an ankle injury during the second quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 2 against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, things weren't looking great. The Wolves' franchise star would eventually return to the contest, but this situation shouldn't be considered entirely resolved yet — especially if Edwards remains hobbled throughout the series.
The single biggest advantage Minnesota has over Golden State at the moment is the presence of a healthy superstar. With Stephen Curry missing at least a week of this series due to a hamstring issue, that leaves Anthony Edwards as the unquestioned best player on the hardwood any time he's in the game.
The thing is, the Timberwolves will lose that advantage if this ankle injury ends up limiting Edwards for any portion of the rest of this series. It feels hard to say Minnesota could advance back to the Western Conference Finals yet again without Ant at his best, even with as deep as their roster is from top to bottom.
I say that in part because of how the Warriors surprisingly hung with the Timberwolves for stretches during Thursday's game. Or at the very least, you could say Minnesota didn't dominate in quite the way it seemed like they could have.
Minnesota needs Edwards' ankle to be fully healed to win this series
A hobbled Anthony Edwards is still better than no Anthony Edwards. But again, I'm not fully convinced it gets this group over the hump, especially if Curry is able to return later in the series. The good news here is that as of right now, signs seem to point to Ant being mostly okay.
When he went down initially, it was reminiscent of his ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers in round one. Every Wolves fan watching on their couches in Minnesota was sure to have let out an audible gasp, as it looked like number five could be done for the game, or worse.
But on Thursday night, just like against the Lakers, Edwards sprung back up after a quick visit to the locker room and looked to be good as new once again. Ant has a habit of doing this to us, and it's not a very enjoyable experience for Timberwolves fans.
After the game, Edwards was quick to thank his physical therapist. "I don't know what he be doing but my physical therapist, he the best in the world," Edwards said. Again, all indicators right now are that Ant will continue to be fine moving forward in this series. But if the ankle pain comes back or worsens, it could lead to trouble for Minnesota.