Anthony

Edwards

Ant-Man is dealing with a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee, and he’ll likely miss the rest of the first-round series against Denver. Minnesota must win only one of its next three games against the Nuggets, scheduled for Monday, Thursday and Saturday, if the series goes the distance. The Wolves played well without Edwards in the regular season, but without he and Donte DiVincenzo, the road ahead will be challenging. Ayo Dosunmu will need to keep scoring at a high level to pick up the slack, and he’ll look to build off of a 43-point performance in Game 4.

Edwards suffered a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee in the second quarter of Game 4 and is expected to miss multiple weeks, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The loss is a big one for the Timberwolves, who have a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets in the opening round. Minnesota also lost starting guard Donte DiVincenzo to a season-ending torn Achilles in Game 4. Without Edwards and DiVincenzo, Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu should see the bulk of the backcourt minutes going forward.

Edwards landed awkwardly and hyperextended his left knee late in the second quarter of Saturday’s game. The Timberwolves’ star remained down on the court, holding his knee and requiring help getting back to the locker room. With Donte DiVincenzo (leg) going down during the first quarter, the Timberwolves will finish Game 4 without their starting backcourt. Ayo Dosunmu and Mike Conley started the third quarter.

Partially due to foul trouble and potentially due to the bothersome knee, Edwards logged only 24 minutes in the Game 4 victory. He struggled with his shot throughout the contest and didn’t make any major contributions in other statistical categories. Still, he was a plus-11 in his time on the floor and, at the very least, his presence was felt. He’ll have a day in between games to treat his knee before taking the floor again in an important Game 4 on Saturday.

Edwards has been upgraded from questionable to available on Thursday for the third time in as many games. He continues to manage a knee injury up until game time, but has gone on to log 78 minutes in the series, posting averages of 26.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks. He’ll take the floor in Game 3 on the heels of a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Edwards is questionable for the third time already in the series. He’s ultimately been upgraded to available prior to each game so far, with that potentially being the case for Game 3. The superstar guard totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds in an impressive Game 2 victory for the Timberwolves, who will look to capitalize on their home-court advantage on Thursday. Should Edwards play, he’ll have a chance to put up more big numbers.

Edwards is still getting his stamina up to par after missing a large portion of the final month of the regular season. And playing at altitude may not have helped in Saturday’s series opener, but he was better in Game 2. Edwards scored 20 points in the first half and finished with a 30-point double-double as part of a complete stat line. As a result, Minnesota heads home with the series tied at one game apiece. Game 3 is on Thursday night.

As expected, Edwards is officially good to go after initially being questionable for Game 2. He’ll take on his usual high-usage role as the Timberwolves look to even the series.

Edwards is showing up on Sunday’s injury report with a knee issue, likely the same injury that gave him issues and caused him to miss time down the stretch of the regular season. His potential absence would serve as a big blow to the Timberwolves as they look to even up the series. But even if he does play, he’ll likely need to improve on the inefficient 22-point performance he had in Game 1.

Edwards may have led the Timberwolves in scoring in Saturday’s series opener, but he still did not look like his usual explosive self. A 55.4 percent shooter from inside the arc during the regular season, the Timberwolves’ star made half of his attempts in Game 1. That isn’t too big of a drop, but when combined with a 2-of-9 afternoon from three, there are some things for Edwards to clean up. The Timberwolves will look to even the series on Monday night.