Naz Reid coins Anthony Edwards' injury scare as 'Paul Pierce moment'
When Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards went down grabbing his left ankle during the second quarter of Tuesday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, you could almost hear the collective gasp of the sold-out Target Center crowd.
Edwards was laying on the court for a while before being helped off the court by trainers, avoiding putting any weight on his left leg. He was showered with “MVP” chants from the crowd as he exited to the locker room.
After the halftime break, Edwards trotted back out onto the court, took some warmup shots and returned to finish out the rest of the Timberwolves’ 114-105 victory.
It wasn’t the first time Edwards has had a similar injury scare. In fact, it’s a somewhat frequent occurrence to see Edwards limp off the court and into the locker room before returning to finish out the second half of the contest.
It’s at least a frequent enough occurrence Naz Reid came up with a nickname for it.
“I called it a Paul Pierce moment,” Reid told reporters postgame. “I’m never really worried. He’s tough enough, he’ll come back.”
Piece infamously returned to Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals in rapid fashion after appearing to injure his leg before being carried off the court and taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. Pierce admitted years later he just had to go to the bathroom.
Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, on the other hand, had doubts about Edwards’ return. Rudy Gobert also said postgame that Edwards’ injury scares get him every time.
“That one worried me because he went down, it was like a non-contact thing. I didn’t really have a great angle of what happened,” Finch said. “Every incident is different.”
We know Tuesday night’s scare wasn’t just a bathroom break as Edwards is listed as questionable for Wednesday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies with left ankle soreness. Edwards did say after the game, however, that he’d be good to go.
Feb 27, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) holds his ankle on the ground against the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter at Target Center.
Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
