Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been diagnosed with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Edwards underwent an MRI after injuring his left knee in Saturday’s Game 4 victory over Denver. While the four-time All-Star avoided ligament damage, he’s still expected to be sidelined multiple weeks, according to Charania.
The former No. 1 overall pick sustained the injury late in the second quarter (Twitter video link via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). Edwards jumped to contest a layup by Cameron Johnson, and Johnson’s forward momentum caused Edwards to move backward in the air. Edwards landed awkwardly and his left knee buckled. He immediately grabbed at his knee on the ground.
Edwards entered the playoffs dealing with a nagging right knee injury, which caused him to miss extended time at the end of the regular season. He averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 blocks through four playoff games, but struggled with efficiency, posting a shooting slash line of .358/.258/.857.
It’s another tough blow for the Timberwolves, who lost starting guard Donte DiVincenzo to a torn right Achilles tendon early in the first quarter of Saturday’s win. Head coach Chris Finch was emotional when he discussed DiVincenzo’s impact after the game, per Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
“I mean, it’s …,” Finch’s voice cracked as he talked about DiVincenzo. “Yeah, I feel completely devastated for Donte. He was playing so well. He’s having such a great season. He’s the heart and soul of so many things that we do. You could just see the look in his eye when it happened. You kind of knew.”
With DiVincenzo and Edwards out, trade deadline acquisition Ayo Dosunmu carried Minnesota’s offense in the second half, finishing with a career-high 43 points ahead of unrestricted free agency this summer, Thompson writes. Dosunmu was 13-of-17 from the field, including 5-for-5 from long distance, and knocked down all 12 of his free throws.
“I didn’t know he was that damn good,” Julius Randle said of Dosunmu. “I don’t remember playing against him as much. I feel like when I was in the East and he was with Chicago, that was those DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine teams. … I don’t know if the opportunity was there as much. But damn, I’m glad we got him.”
Minnesota will look to close out its first-round matchup against the Nuggets on Monday, when the series returns to Denver. The Wolves hold a 3-1 lead, but will be missing two of their best players for the rest of the series.
Well that sucks. Minnesota was looking feisty.
The Spurs are looking pretty lucky because Denver is hurt too, so their odds in the next round are improved.
They still have to get past the scrappy Blazers without another injury though.
Unfortunate for NBA fans! The Nuggets will still lose this series though.
You’re probably right – Gordon is so important to whet the Nuggets do
Gordon yes and also Joker is having a lot of trouble against Gobert.
its why they should have voting for MVP after the playoffs. Jokic has not looked like a MVP in this series.
He’s clearly MVP of the reg season and they might not even make the playoffs w/o him.
He’s not the MVP of late game fights though. Sheesh.
Nuggets looked bad last night but I’m not so sure a depleted Wolves can hold them off again in possibly 3 more tries. Either way the next series will be lame.
The Nuggets are lame
They only have to hold them off once.
And here Lakers were the team to want to play. Spurs are just playing 5D chess.
The good news is that the NBA playoffs take so damn long he’ll have a chance to come back for the finals if they get that far
They have no chance to make the finals with Edwards. Ayo is great but losing a top 5 player and DiVincenzo on top of that. They may get past the Nuggets but not the Spurs and OKC.
now T-wolve fans know what the warriors fans went through last year. Your best players out for the series.
Lol yea us spoiled wolves fans have had so much luck for the last 30 years. And you guys just keep catching bad breaks! Now I can relate!
Luck is getting through the playoffs with no major injuries. Why a team needs a deep bench to win a championship not just a couple of all stars. Why a trade for Dosunmu was so huge at trade deadline.
Minny has no luck. They can still win this series.
Injuries always play a major role in playoffs. Even its one or two gms. Any team loses one of their top players. They are at a disadvantage. arc is right, you need depth always. Also another reason not to overpay your starters during season. This sucks Donte and AE.
I had Denver this series. Minny showed up and showed out. Terrible news.
Get well Donte 🙏
Get well AE 🙏
Donte was playing his best basketball maybe ever, so yeah it sucks. Also Edwards injury troubles are concerning. He is the/a future face of the league so I hope he can get well.
Denver may survive this series due to Min injuries but they look vulnerable. Johnson, Brown and Braun are not giving them enough. Hardaway is a limited player, but he has been pretty dang good.
Yeah Minny was playing man. They had Gordon out. So that didn’t help. Minny was looking good. They got no chance without those two. I like Denver. But I wouldn’t be mad if Minny wins this series.
I’ll be surprised if the Nuggets can win 3 straight.
Me too. Unfortunately Minny is not winning next rd.
The Spurs look like a Finals team as long as no one gets hurt.
The playoffs are littered with former Bulls making an impact. Ayo has been really good and getting better ever since he entered the league! Super happy to see him get this coming out party in a big moment. It stings as a Bulls fan, but at least we still have Matas…
You can’t keep all the guards! Unfortunately they may have gotten rid of the wrong guy. Ayo or Giddey?
I would have kept Ayo, Alex Caruso, and Coby. Get rid of the rest.
Dump Giddey. He rather be in a state with a low age of consent anyway.
Bringo!
Both knees have an injury. Poor guy — he’s gonna be walking around like Kenny the jet Smith later in life.
Play less games in the reg. season. We only need 60 at most. Players are too athletic now to put their bodies through that much wear and tear.