“I couldn’t walk on it”
The Minnesota Timberwolves are anxiously awaiting an injury update from star player Anthony Edwards after the former Rookie of the Year was carried off Friday.
Edwards, who was averaging 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in his third season, had eight points in eight minutes before ending early in a 139-131 overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls fell to the ground with an ankle injury.
The former number one draft pick lives up to the hype on offense, but he’s also shown stellar instincts on the other side of the ball, currently tied with Tyrese Haliburton for fifth most steals per game (1.6).
Minnesota had been expected to turn after Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a long-term injury in November, but Edwards had kept them afloat and currently sat eighth in the West, 35-36.
But while they’re just a game behind the six seeded, they’re also just a game ahead of the Utah Jazz in 11th place, and any absence of Edwards with just 11 games left could decide the franchise’s playoff fate.
Immediately after the loss, Edwards said he knew instantly his night was over.
“I couldn’t walk on it, so I knew it was a wrap,” he said. “Let’s see how it feels tomorrow.”
Head coach Chris Finch had no update on his status, lamenting the devastating nature of the loss after leading in the final stages of regulation.
“It’s a big loss,” he said, “we have to win this game, you know?
“26 seconds to go with the ball on two. There’s no reason to do anything other than just get them to come get us and we just throw it out. We also failed to get a shot at a couple of key moments.
“We fought and fought. We switched defenses all night, we played our butts and we had a chance to win the game – and you have to win this game.”
When asked how they will progress without their top two offensive options, Finch said that cannot serve as an excuse.
“No one cares,” he said. “We have to keep fighting. We have a damn good game tomorrow [away against the Toronto Raptors]and no one cares what happened to the Timberwolves.
“We’re going to find out, we’re going to lace it up tomorrow and we’re going to fight – I know that. We have other players who can throw the ball into the bucket.
“Of course you lose Ant’s dynamic big shot-making – of course you lose everything he brings – but we have to rely more on ball movement, body movement, pass-pass combinations and things like that.
“I thought we did a really good job in that three-man game with Kyle [Anderson]mike [Conley} and Rudy [Gobert]… we have things to go to, we just have to look through them and figure them out.”
Wolves center Rudy Gobert shared the sentiment that the team cannot feel sorry for themselves.
“We know that nobody will help us,” he said. “We are all we have.
“So we just have to go out there, keep working, enjoy it and just learn from this situation. Win a game when we’re able to win a game.”
