Somebody go in and turn injuries off.
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right knee and could miss up to two months, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. It is possible Edwards will return sooner than eight weeks, depending on what the doctors find during the surgery.
This is a proactive move by the Timberwolves, who look at how they have played and the landscape of the West early in the season and think they can be in the mix to come out of the conference. By having the surgery now, Edwards will be back around Christmas at the latest, and the team will have plenty of time to ensure a high seed and get its chemistry right before the playoffs.
While it’s just four games, Edwards has played at an MVP level to start the season and has led the Timberwolves to a strong 3-1 record. He’s averaging 33.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 40% from 3-point range.
Through the first four games of the season, LaMelo Ball has willingly taken on a role more as a facilitator — setting up Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert and the other bigs — and looking for his shot less. For the next couple of months, that mindset has to change, at least somewhat. McDaniels also has looked like a player taking more of a step forward to start the season, now there will be more pressure on him to thrive offensively.
The season is just a week old and already Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Paolo Banchero, Kawhi Leonard, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen Suggs and Jalen Duren have had to go out with injuries, several of those very significant injuries.
