Wolves could be down 5 of top-6 players against Rockets

Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley are all questionable for Friday night's game.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) talks with guard Anthony Edwards against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Jan. 7, 2025. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert are all listed as questionable for the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of Friday night's game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center, meaning they could be down four of five starters.

Minnesota @Timberwolves Status Report in advance of tomorrow’s game at Houston:

QUESTIONABLE
Conley - R Index Finger Sprain
Edwards - R Hip Soreness
Gobert - Low Back Spasms

OUT
DiVincenzo - L Great Toe Sprain
J. Edwards - Two-Way
Newton - Two-Way
Randle - R Groin Strain

— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) February 20, 2025

Edwards remains questionable with right hip soreness after missing the All-Star Game. Edwards did play in the last three games for the Wolves, including the Feb. 13 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the last game before the break. Conley has missed the last four games after dislocating his finger against the Rockets on Feb. 6, remaining questionable for a right index finger sprain. Gobert is questionable due to lower back spasms that kept him out of the Thunder game.

Edwards is Minnesota's leading scorer at 27.5 points per game, Gobert is the team's leading rebounder (10.4 per game) and Conley leads the team in assists (4.6 per game). Those will be significant losses to an already short-handed team.

If Edwards, Conley and Gobert are all unable to play, the Wolves would be down four of five starters and five of their top eight rotation players as Julius Randle (groin) and Donte DiVincenzo (toe) remain out. Randle and DiVincenzo are, however, getting closer to returning as the Wolves issued positive updates on their statuses on Thursday, revealing that Randle has been cleared for full-contact, 5-on-5 action while DiVincenzo has been cleared for non-contact basketball activities.

It seems the week off wasn't enough time for the Wolves to get back healthy. Ideally, all three will be able to give it a go Friday night, but it could be another heavy night of the young guys like Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark and Luka Garza. It'll be a tough test against the 34-21 Rockets, who are fourth in the Western Conference standings.

The Wolves and Rockets tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT Friday night in Houston.