Anthony Edwards was working up a lather in a workout following the Timberwolves’ practice Tuesday in Minneapolis, leading to questions about what the guard was able to do in the gym as he recovers from right knee inflammation.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, left, shake hands after an NBA basketball game Friday, March 13, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
But Timberwolves coach Chris Finch wasn’t flush with answers.
“He’s like on his own return-to-play protocol,” Finch said, “so he wasn’t with us at all.”
It was clear from what was visible that Edwards is moving around and getting up shots. Minnesota announced a week ago that a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed knee inflammation that would keep him sidelined in the short term. At the time, the team said Edwards would be re-evaluated in one to two weeks.
The one week mark came and went Tuesday, and Edwards remains out for Wednesday’s home tilt with Houston, which carries massive seeding implications.
Minnesota entered Tuesday night’s slate tied for fourth with Denver in the West, just a half game clear of the Rockets. Wednesday marks the first of two remaining meetings between the Wolves and Houston.
Wednesday’s absence will mark the guard’s fifth straight missed game.
His presence was notable Tuesday if only because he hasn’t been on the bench for Minnesota’s games over the past week, with the assumption being it’s better to have his feet up at home as the guard works to recover in time to aide the team’s finishing kick.
As it stands, Minnesota is performing well in his stead. The Timberwolves are 3-1 since losing their best player, with a renewed commitment to defense and pace. The latest result was a stunning road win over the Celtics, the franchise’s first win in Boston since 2005.
Naz Reid returned for that victory after missing the two games prior with an ankle sprain. The big man tallied 11 points and seven boards in the win, with much of his offensive production coming over the final two frames. Overall, Reid said he felt “pretty good.”
“Good enough,” said Reid, who added he feels around 90% physically. “Once I got my feel back into the game a little bit I was pretty cool. Still some things, but managing.”
And he noted his teammates “had it rolling” in his absence.
“Kudos to the guys,” he said. “They play hard.”
Perhaps this stretch will help Minnesota re-capture what’s proven to be a winning formula in recent seasons. Finch said the win over Boston “continues to reinforce that we feel like we can beat anybody anywhere.”
“I don’t think that’s ever really been a problem for us. It’s the things that happen in between those games sometimes that have been more of our issue,” Finch said. “But we challenged the guys. I thought certainly our rebounding had really kind of cratered, and just some of our on-ball competitiveness comes and goes, has been coming and going, but really the defense was outstanding other night.
“Even when we didn’t start the game well, shooting wise, I was really happy with everything else we were doing,” Finch said. “And so I was hoping that we could just keep guarding and not have our offense affect our defense, and then we could tighten up the game. Once we were able to do that, just kept slowly going in the right direction.”
If Edwards can contribute to those same causes upon his return, Minnesota could prove to again be a legitimate threat in the West. But Finch said he hasn’t spoken to his star guard about his potential re-entrance into the fold.
“Because I don’t know when that’s going to be,” Finch said. “So I’m going to worry about what’s going on with the team that’s playing right now. I mean, we just have normal conversations asking how he’s doing, what he’s seeing while watching the team, stuff like that.”