Anthony Edwards’ injury highlights the Timberwolves’ shaky backcourt situation

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced Monday that star guard Anthony Edwards was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain after undergoing an MRI. Edwards had left the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday with hamstring tightness. The team said he will be re-evaluated in one week. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Edwards will miss at least two weeks. 

If Edwards misses two full weeks, he’ll be out for seven games, the first of which was the team’s 127-114 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday. His absence will be a blow to the Timberwolves, especially in a loaded Western Conference where a few wins could be the difference between a top-six seed and a spot in the Play-In Tournament, but it is not the end of the world. 

The bigger issue for the Timberwolves is that Edwards’ injury highlights their already shaky backcourt situation. 

Shortly before the team’s season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, news broke that Donte DiVincenzo would replace Mike Conley in the starting lineup. The 38-year-old Conley has been a key part of the Timberwolves run to back-to-back Western Conference finals in the last two seasons, but has been showing signs of decline along the way. 

The early signs this season suggest that he may be no longer be a key rotation player. Entering Monday, Conley was averaging three points and 1.7 assists on 16.7% shooting in 15.3 minutes. He was decent in a starting role against the Nuggets — 10 points and four assists on 3 of 8 from the field — but his first week is still concerning. 

DiVincenzo is an excellent role player, and is once again shooting the ball well on high volume — 38.5% on 6.5 3-pointers per game — but he’s not a point guard. He’s going to have to take on a good amount of that responsibility, however, especially with Edwards out. How does that impact the other facets of his game? 

Here are the Timberwolves’ guards beyond Edwards, DiVincenzo and Conley:

There are a lot of question marks about that group, and you wouldn’t call any of them true point guards. Hyland is the only one with any sort of proven track record in the league, and he nearly shot himself out of the league. Clark and Shannon have shown some flashes, but is either ready to take on a big role on a team that’s expecting to contend in the West? Dillingham, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft, has barely played since arriving in Minnesota, and Juzang is an end of the bench guy. 

While the Wolves got off to a great start against the Nuggets, they completely fell apart in the fourth quarter. When the game tightened up, they couldn’t generate enough good looks and managed just 20 points on 6 of 25 from the field. Late-game offense isn’t as much of an issue when Edwards is healthy, but the fourth quarter was a glimpse at their remaining backcourt depth’s limitations. 

For the game, DiVincenzo, Conley, Hyland, Shannon and Dillingham combined for 39 points on 12 of 34 (35.3%) with 12 assists. (Clark sat out with a calf injury and Juzang only played garbage time.) It’s also worth noting that none of them had any chance of slowing down Jamal Murray, who poured in 43 points on the other end. 

Even when Edwards comes back, the Wolves’ backcourt concerns aren’t going away — especially if Conley cannot turn things around.