To pull off a first-round upset over the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves will need Anthony Edwards to put on his Superman cape. The Nuggets are entering the playoffs with the league's best offense. As such, the Wolves will need some heroic play from Ant to match Denver's offensive firepower. This is especially the case given the Wolves' shaky secondary creation outside of him.
Considering the Nuggets' lack of a natural matchup for Edwards and his stellar playoff track record, there should be plenty of optimism around this possibility. Unfortunately, though, Ant's knee injury is a clear factor that could prevent him from reaching the heights that the Timberwolves need him to.
Ant missed 10 of the Wolves' last 13 regular season games. He averaged 15.7 points, 3.3 assists, and 2 rebounds on 40.5/29.4/80 shooting splits in the three games that he did play. Luckily, Edwards looked like himself in his last regular season game against the Houston Rockets. During this game, he notched 22 points, three assists, and two rebounds.
Hopefully, this extra week of rest will be exactly what Ant needs to get back to his normal elite self. Regardless, it's not a guarantee that Edwards is entering the playoffs at 100 percent health, which is especially concerning given the Wolves' need for him not just to be good but great.
Anthony Edwards' health is a clear swing factor for the Timberwolves
Ultimately, we won't know if Ant-Man is truly at full strength until the first game of the series. Luckily, Ant has been a full participant at practice this week. Now, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic said on Twitter that Ant's knee is more of a concern than Jaden McDaniels' knee.
It's unclear whether this means that neither is a real concern, or if this indicates that Ant's injury could affect his play in some capacity. Let's hope it's the former.
I can't express enough just how much the Wolves need a Herculean effort from Ant to have a real chance in this series. In addition to needing elite offense from Edwards, the Timberwolves will need him to play high-level defense and could use him as an extra defender against Jamal Murray. Without a doubt, this will be a tough task with his knee injury.
There are genuinely so many factors working against the Wolves in this series. Typically, Ant would be the undeniable main reason to believe in the Wolves, and he still might be. I'm certainly counting on him to have a big series despite his knee injury. Simply put, Ant-Man has shown that he will rise to the occasion in the biggest moments, and he is capable of doing some truly remarkable things.
Nevertheless, there's no denying that Edwards' injury makes his ability to play at this level unclear to some extent.
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