Well, the Phoenix Suns' showdown against the Timberwolves on Tuesday just got a whole lot more important. Minnesota already ruled Anthony Edwards out for the game, but it turns out he'll miss more than just tonight, as the team announced he will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks due to right knee inflammation.
Phoenix sits No. 7 in the West, two games behind Minnesota. Of course, the Suns are dealing with injuries themselves, but being without Edwards for at least a week could be enough for the Timberwolves to fall into play-in range.
As Mike Prada and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported, Minnesota isn't "concerned with this injury being a long-term situation," and it doesn't believe (subscription required) it will "jeopardize his availability for the postseason." As encouraging as that is for the Timberwolves, that doesn't leave much hope for their path to the playoffs.
The Suns are dealing with injuries of their own, namely to Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams, but they need to find a way to use the next week or two to overcome the Timberwolves in the standings. They already have the tiebreaker over Minnesota, but a win on Tuesday would be a good start.
Suns could sneak past Timberwolves into playoff territory
Between now and next Tuesday, when Edwards could be re-evaluated, Phoenix will play Minnesota, San Antonio, Milwaukee, and Toronto. The Suns should be able to pull out wins in at least two of those contests. Going 3-1 would be even better, but the Spurs are the No. 2 team in the conference for a reason, and you don't know what you're going to get from the Raptors.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will face the Suns, Jazz, Trail Blazers, and Celtics over the next week. Utah is the only tanking team, but even then, its younger players do know how to put up a fight. Still, that's a game Minnesota should win, even if it means the Jazz pull people off the street to play in the fourth quarter.
It's impressive enough (yes, even with the tanking) that Phoenix is in the playoff conversation with less than a month left in the regular season. That's not bad for a team that wasn't supposed to even make it to the play-in tournament. To think that the Suns can't drop lower than that.
Hopefully, Phoenix will be as close to being fully healthy as possible in time for the postseason. It would help to have a few days off between the end of the regular season and the playoffs. Now's the time to try to make that happen.