After clinching a playoff spot on Tuesday in Indiana, the Timberwolves will hold some regulars out on the second night of a back-to-back set on Wednesday in Orlando. According to the team (Twitter link), Julius Randle (right hand soreness), Ayo Dosunmu (right calf injury maintenance), and Mike Conley (rest) are all out, while Rudy Gobert (rest) is considered questionable to play.
Star guard Anthony Edwards, who has missed nine of Minnesota’s past 11 games due to patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee) and an illness), will also sit out again as the team prioritizes getting him as healthy as possible for the playoffs. Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic suggested earlier this week that the Wolves may want Edwards to play a game or two at the end of the regular season before he gets another week off ahead of Game 1 of the first round.
The most notable Timberwolves injury update affects forward Jaden McDaniels, who has been on the shelf since March 25 due to left knee patella tendinopathy. According to a press release, McDaniels has been cleared for full-contact, 5-on-5 work and has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. Orlando. Even if the 25-year-old isn’t upgraded to available tonight, it sounds like he’ll make his return before the regular season ends.
Here are more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Unsurprisingly, Wizards big man Anthony Davis and point guard Trae Young aren’t expected to play again this season, head coach Brian Keefe said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network). Davis, who has yet to make his Wizards debut, has been ramping up his work in recent weeks as he recovers from a hand injury, but will run out of time to return this spring. As for Young (low back pain; right quad contusion), he’s not as far along is his recovery process as Davis.
- The Spurs have ruled out Victor Wembanyama (left rib contusion) and Stephon Castle (right knee soreness) for Wednesday’s matchup with Portland, but they’re optimistic about both players’ chances of playing on Friday vs. Dallas, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Wembanyama will need to play at least 20 minutes in one of San Antonio’s final two games of the season in order to qualify for end-of-season awards, including MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
- Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson, out since March 19 with a left great toe bone bruise, went through Wednesday’s shootaround and then conducted an individual workout with coaches and trainers, but his toe was still bothering him and he has been downgraded to doubtful for Wednesday’s contest against Atlanta, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cavs forward Dean Wade, who has been sidelined since March 24 due to a right ankle sprain, has a better chance of making his return tonight — he’s listed as questionable.
- Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley played nearly 18 minutes in Tuesday’s win over Miami after missing the previous eight games due to plantar fasciitis. According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link), Quickley said he has been battling an issue “a little bit deeper than just plantar fasciitis” that flared up in February, and while the time off helped, he recognizes that he’s still not 100%.