Anthony Edwards Questionable Against Cavs as Timberwolves Play the 'Maintenance' Game

The NBA's favorite new buzzword is "maintenance," and tonight it might cost us the Anthony Edwards show in Cleveland. Marc Stein reports the Minnesota Timberwolves are listing their star guard as questionable against the Cleveland Cavaliers with right knee injury maintenance.

"Maintenance" is just front-office speak for "our franchise player's check-engine light is blinking, and we are terrified." It makes perfect sense here, considering Minnesota is on the second night of a back-to-back after blowing out the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

"Marc Stein reported: 'The Timberwolves are listing Anthony Edwards (right knee injury maintenance) as questionable tonight at Cleveland.'"

Edwards dropped 26 points in just 28 minutes against Toronto, looking completely fine while doing it. But if you look at his medical file from earlier this year, the caution tracks. He missed time in March with a knee issue and then suffered a scary left knee injury in the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. Now it is the right knee getting the bubble-wrap treatment.

For anyone holding a Timberwolves ticket or staring at player props, this is the worst kind of update. Minnesota is sitting pretty at an undefeated 3-0 and boasts the best defensive rating in the league, but their offense runs entirely through Edwards and his massive 36.6 percent usage rate. Without him, the math gets incredibly ugly against a Cleveland team looking to bounce back from a loss.

We will likely get a final ruling after pregame warmups. If Ant sits, expect the Timberwolves to lean heavily on their defense to survive the night. If he plays, just hold your breath every time he lands in traffic.