Anthony Edwards has been one of the most durable superstars in the NBA since entering the league in 2020. So you’ll have to excuse teammate Naz Reid for assuming the guard would be ready to go for Monday’s game against Denver after Edwards left the first quarter of Sunday’s home opener against Indiana.
But the All-NBA guard is indeed mortal, and Minnesota will have to play without its lead man for an extended period of time.
Minnesota announced Monday an MRI scan revealed a right hamstring strain, adding the guard will be re-evaluated in a week. A one-week absence would result in three to four missed games.
ESPN reported earlier in the day that Edwards is set to miss two weeks with the injury.
That’s an absence that would cause him to miss the next eight games. The Wolves play Monday, Nov. 10 in Utah, the end of the two-week period, then have three days off before a Nov. 14 home bout with Sacramento.
That return date would give Edwards more than two and a half weeks to recover.
If it’s a Grade 1 strain, that would be a conservative amount of time to heal and give him the best chance to potentially resolve the issue for the final 65-plus games of the season.
Minnesota will have to at least tread water without its best player. You don’t want to give up much ground at any point in the season in the hyper-competitive Western Conference.
But past history suggests the Wolves aren’t doomed by any stretch. Heading into this season, Edwards had missed 19 career games. The Timberwolves are 12-7 in those contests.
The reality is most teams play without top guys for extended periods for various portions of every season. Minnesota has been fortunate enough to avoid such a fate for this long.
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