Anthony Edwards made a shocking return in Game 1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. He was only nine days removed from sustaining a knee bone bruise injury in his left leg in Game 4 of the first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.
Edwards was expected to miss the first game or two against the Spurs and return in either Game 3 or Game 4. But the Timberwolves listed him as questionable for the series opener and upgraded him to available. The All-Star Game MVP came off the bench for the first time in the NBA playoffs.
According to Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, Edwards was on “some sort” of minutes restriction. That could have been one of the reasons why Edwards was playing in a sixth-man role. He also might be managing the injury after an early return.
Edwards made an immediate impact when he hit the floor. The Timberwolves were down 11-8 when he entered and improved to 22-19 shortly before he left the game. Edwards scored five points on 2 of 2 shots and was a plus-minus +4 in his first six-minute stint. The Timberwolves held onto their advantage, leading 24-23 after the first quarter.
Chris Finch says Timberwolves dodged a bullet on Anthony Edwards’ knee bone bruise injury
The Timberwolves dodged a massive bullet after Anthony Edwards went down with a left knee bone bruise against the Nuggets. He landed awkwardly and hyperextended his knee, which could have been as bad as an ACL injury. Edwards was also dealing with a lingering right knee injury throughout the series and an injury to that leg could have ended his playoffs.
However, that wasn’t the case. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch admitted that they dodged a bullet in that regard while addressing Edwards’ return on Monday.
“He loves to play the game. We dodged a bullet when it happened … He was super motivated by the fact that we were able to get that first series, and I think that was a little bit of an inspiration for him, too.”
