After playing the last two games against the Spurs, Anthony Edwards was listed as questionable as the series shifts to Minnesota.
The injury drama surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves, especially with star Anthony Edwards, has dominated the storylines in their series with the San Antonio Spurs.
Following an knee injury in the prior series with Denver, Edwards' status was up in the air heading into the showdown with the Spurs. Initial reports tabbed him as being available by Game 3 or 4.
However, Edwards stepped onto the floor of Frost Bank Arena in Game 1 in a shocking turn of events. And his presence was valuable to the Wolves, as he went for 18 points in 25 minutes off the bench. Minnesota later went on to steal that game 104-102 in San Antonio.
Edwards was back out in action again in the following game, but not even he could make much of an impact in an obliterating 133-95 bounce-back victory for the Spurs. In the loss, he scored 12 points and played 24 minutes in another outing off the bench.
So, it would seem that Edwards is now firmly out of the injury conversation with two lengthy stints and solid outputs in both. However, the team listed Edwards as questionable once again ahead of the first contest in Minneapolis' Target Center.
Is this a true assessment of Edwards' status or a strategic play by the Timberwolves to sow some semblance of doubt into the minds of San Antonio?
Well, given that the series has reached the point where Edwards was originally thought to make his grand return, it is increasingly unlikely that he suddenly finds himself out of the lineup. And the Spurs are probably aware of this fact, as well.
With the absence of Edwards unlikely, how does Minnesota continue to use his presence to reclaim control of the series at home?
Following Game 2's blowout loss, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch was candid about his team's performance.
"I told them, we got punked," replied Finch when asked by a reporter how he addressed the loss.
Edwards had similar sentiments to his coach, while also humorously highlighting his response. "Punked is crazy. But, I mean, just look at the film and see what we can gain from it. We know where we struggled at. Come out and just try to match their physicality," he remarked.
Heading into Wednesday's matchup, Edwards was vocal about not becoming content after the series-opening win, which apparently proved to go unheeded by the Wolves.
"The natural tendency for teams that steal the first game, the away team, they get blown out in Game 2. We can't come out cool," said Edwards. "We came out cool. Look what happened. My momma used to tell me that a hard head make a soft ass. That's what happened tonight."
Now, the pressure is on and Minnesota will not only need their leader to be more than questionable, they'll need Edwards to be the superstar that he has morphed into over the last few seasons.
On the other end of the court, San Antonio will need to contain his game-changing abilities to continue their blistering ascent toward series control in the Twin Cities.
Game 3 between San Antonio and Minnesota gets underway from the Target Center at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.