No, it's not ideal that the Minnesota Timberwolves will be without Anthony Edwards with right knee inflammation for at least a week, not with them in the sixth seed in the West. What could be worse, though, is being without him in the playoffs, an outcome the team is trying to avoid with his absence.
Mike Prada and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic's report gave fans a reason to feel optimistic (subscription required) after the news first broke, and it felt like the season was already over:
"Edwards and the Timberwolves are not concerned with this injury being a long-term situation that would jeopardize his availability for the postseason, according to multiple league and team sources. The belief is that Edwards needs time to allow the inflammation to calm down, and he will be back and ready to go."
The Timberwolves are taking the right approach by giving him time to recover now, though the timing is still far from ideal. You already know the next week or so may not be pretty, and the result could put Minnesota in play-in territory, but that's actually the preferred outcome over not having Edwards at all.
Anthony Edwards is expected to be available for the postseason
Minnesota will play Phoenix, Utah, Portland, and Boston within the next week. Unless Edwards returns before then (and it doesn't seem likely), it will be up to the Timberwolves to figure out how to run an offense without him. That's a scary thought, but hey, at least the Jazz are in tank-mode. That game shouldn't be too ugly, right?!
Julius Randle is coming off a 32-point performance against the Thunder, which was his best game by far since Minnesota returned from the All-Star break. Maybe he'll be able to build off that, starting with tonight's game against Phoenix. Pulling out a win would give the Timberwolves just a little room to breathe, as the Suns are only two games behind them in the standings.
That brings us back to Ant. Being without your go-to guy as you battle for playoff seeding isn't what fans wanted to hear, but it will also force Minnesota to figure out who it is without Edwards taking over, and that in itself could turn out to be a good thing when he returns.
What matters is that he is expected to return. There are a little over three weeks until the regular-season finale on April 12, and hopefully, Edwards will be back in action before then. The Timberwolves may have to fight through the play-in to get to the first round, but they've proven before you can't count them out.
Let's hope they channel some of that fight over these next couple of weeks.