Confusing Anthony Edwards injury update threatens Spurs game plan

With the Western Conference semi-final starting today, many San Antonio Spurs fans are wondering about the status of Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.

Edwards hurt his knee during the previous round against the Denver Nuggets and was listed as being week-to-week. While he is expected to make his return during the Wolves' series against the Spurs, we now have a much better idea when his return might be.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Edwards will miss at least the first two games in San Antonio and could make his return as early as Game 3. However, he is listed as questionable for Game 1.

Spurs must take advantage of Wolves' unfortunate injury luck

San Antonio obviously would prefer to play the Timberwolves at full strength, but that is already impossible. Guard Donte DiVincenzo recently tore his ACL and is out for the rest of the season.

With Edwards also out for potentially Game 1 of the semifinals, or perhaps limited if he does play, Game 1 and Game 2 take on increasing significance for the Spurs. They must protect home court by winning both games, ensuring that the Timberwolves are down 0-2 when the series shifts back to Minnesota.

In that case, if Edwards returns for Game 3, he would have to lead them to victory in four of the remaining five games. That would be a tough task even if the Wolves were fully healthy this series.

The Spurs and Wolves are almost evenly matched when healthy

The Wolves deserve plenty of respect for eliminating the Nuggets, though the Spurs are a different animal. Wolves center Rudy Gobert made life difficult for superstar Nikola Jokic. However, he's struggled at times defending Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is much more comfortable playing out on the perimeter than Jokic is, which could force Gobert out of the paint. That could free up driving lanes for the Spurs' guard trio and force the Wolves to adjust.

San Antonio will have to make adjustments too, specifically surrounding the status of Edwards. If he doesn't play, obviously, the focus turns to Julius Randle, who is their second-leading scorer. However, we may not know Edwards' status until closer to the start of Game 1.

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