The Timberwolves sidelined Anthony Edwards (knee injury management) for their 108-113 loss tonight against the Pistons. With this missed game, he is now officially ruled out of the race for the postseason honors, like the MVP award or any All-NBA team.
While Edwards was not realistically in the MVP race, he could have won Clutch Player of the Year and made it to an All-NBA team. But unfortunately, with six games left in the season, that would not be possible now, even though Edwards has appeared in 59 games.
Even when it seemed the 65-game threshold was within reach, upon closer inspection, we found that Edwards played only three minutes in the third game of the season against the Pacers, so it would officially be counted as 58 games played for the Timberwolves star.
Therefore, he is now ineligible for the postseason awards, as even if he plays all the remaining games, he will at most have 64 games played.
Anthony Edwards is currently averaging 29.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 49.3% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. While these are not MVP numbers, he might still have been in contention for a spot on the All-NBA second team had he played tonight against the Pistons.
But let’s be honest, a spot on the All-NBA team is not worth it if you are risking aggravating an injured knee when the playoffs are right around the corner.
Before returning in their last game against the Mavericks, Edwards missed six consecutive games in a crucial stretch of the season due to right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome and inflammation. He is currently listed as questionable for the Timberwolves’ next game due to his knee and an illness.
With just six games left in the season, every game from here onwards is crucial in deciding the playoff seeding in the West. After the Suns lost to the Hornets tonight, the Timberwolves are one game away from officially clinching a playoff spot without the risk of falling to the play-in tournament.
They are 4.5 games ahead of the Suns currently and one game behind the Rockets, who they eventually face on April 10 in the deciding game of their potential tiebreaker. If they lose that game, the Timberwolves will likely face the Lakers (third seed) in the playoffs.
Considering that the Timberwolves defeated the Lakers in the first round last season, they will be confident in that matchup overall. However, they will need Edwards to get the rust off and back into his momentum, going into the playoffs.
Thus, even though he is no longer in contention for postseason awards, Edwards should try to play when the Timberwolves face the 76ers in Philadelphia for their next game tomorrow.
