Timberwolves tie their series with a 117-93 win<\/a>, before heading to San Francisco for two games.<\/p>\nEdwards scored 20 with nine rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes and a team-high +20. That production didn\u2019t seem possible to the outside world, while he was going through exercises with Wolves physical therapist David Hines as the Timberwolves didn\u2019t rule him as out or even \u201cdoubtful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time I turn my ankle, we do ankle modes,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cOnce we got to the third movement in my ankle, I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019m starting to feel good, you tape it, I\u2019ll see how I feel\u2019. He does a great job of making sure I\u2019m good before I get out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Maybe Edwards loves the movie \u201cMatilda\u201d because he believes in the magic of youth, the imagination of the moment and belief in the impossible. He limped around a little in the locker room but looked like himself in those 24 minutes afterwards that tied the series and restored some faith in those nervous corners.<\/p>\n
Timberwolves teammate Josh Minott bellowed next to Edwards as reporters gathered around his locker: \u201cMy man\u2019s got an immortal ankle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if we know he doesn\u2019t, Edwards believes he does and with that the Timberwolves are not just in this series but possess as good a shot as anyone, if they can keep it together.<\/p>\n
But those heart-stopping moments sit differently with everyone. Edwards has a long runway in front of him, hopefully a decade or more to contend, to cash in, to be the hunter and hunted in this title chase.<\/p>\n
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For Conley, he\u2019s months older than Curry, turning 38 before next season begins. These moments are fleeting, and as the wise veteran he has the task of impressing urgency into his younger teammates, that tomorrow isn\u2019t always promised.<\/p>\n
With Boston looking vulnerable, Oklahoma City not looking like a juggernaut and Cleveland on the ropes, these NBA playoffs appear to be wide open.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message I’ve gathered from watching the league over the last week: This thing is anybody\u2019s for that taking you know,\u201d Conley told Yahoo Sports. \u201cWhy not us? Why not? Why can’t we do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy urgency is at an all-time high. These guys are urgent. Just make them understand you don\u2019t get this chance too often. I\u2019m on my last couple of runs. I want them to feel that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Arguably Conley\u2019s best chance for a title was thwarted by his own injury with the Memphis Grizzlies. Already wearing a face mask in the 2015 playoffs following a collision with then-Portland guard CJ McCollum, Conley returned following facial surgery to play against the young Golden State Warriors in Round 2.<\/p>\n
He took a hit to the face from Draymond Green during the Grizzlies\u2019 Game 2 win that tied the series, aggravating the injury. Conley was vulnerable before that, so it only worsened things. Those Warriors weren\u2019t yet household names and the Grizzlies of Conley, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and Tony Allen were battle-tested.<\/p>\n
But the Grizzlies’ 2-1 lead dissipated in three straight losses, and the Warriors went on to win the first of their four titles that June. Conley\u2019s health, along with Allen\u2019s knee injury, aided in the loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, 10 years ago, I was in this spot, and I’m thinking, we got a shot,\u201d Conley said. \u201cAnd then boom, injuries, Tony Allen injuries, you know, all this stuff, and it’s like, oh, this might have been my chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Conley was 28 but Gasol, Randolph and Allen were each older than 30. And little did we all know those Warriors were ascending to heights we hadn\u2019t seen since the Bulls and Lakers teams of the last 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I heard about Steph, I hate that because I know how fragile this game is with me. I hate injuries for anybody,\u201d Conley told Yahoo Sports. \u201cHe\u2019s the same age as me, so I know what he\u2019s feeling. Because he would be out there tomorrow if he could be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to compete against the best and beat the best at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he can\u2019t and that provides an opening for Conley, for Edwards, for the Timberwolves. What the NBA, its fans and the collective public lose in a potential clash, the Timberwolves gain in opportunity \u2014 even if Curry re-emerges later in the series.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMan, it’s almost like when you wake up, when you thank the Lord for another day, you thank the Lord for the opportunities, that you got to be grateful for this thing,\u201d Conley said. \u201cReally just super grateful every time I get a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reason Conley is here, the reason Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert are here, is because of Edwards. Nothing moves without him and the Timberwolves can\u2019t move on without him.<\/p>\n
But with him, anything is possible \u2014 even Matilda magic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s built so different,\u201d Conley said. \u201cIf I felt it was serious thing I would definitely feel man oh man, please don\u2019t let this be what I think it is. Not too many chances you get at this thing, not too many chances you get with a guy like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
But they have another day, and maybe many more this spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 The fragility of contending in the NBA playoffs was illustrated in the hush of the Target…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[375,7,45,920,7046,305,200,164,7272,376,300,7270,177,371,152,6,11,475,373,573,7271,2966,804],"class_list":{"0":"post-20524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-anthony-edwards","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston","11":"tag-bulls","12":"tag-cj-mccollum","13":"tag-cleveland","14":"tag-draymond-green","15":"tag-golden-state-warriors","16":"tag-josh-minott","17":"tag-julius-randle","18":"tag-lakers","19":"tag-marc-gasol","20":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","21":"tag-mike-conley","22":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","23":"tag-nba","24":"tag-nba-playoffs","25":"tag-oklahoma-city","26":"tag-rudy-gobert","27":"tag-stephen-curry","28":"tag-tony-allen","29":"tag-trayce-jackson-davis","30":"tag-zach-randolph"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114476620670210060","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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