Anthony Edwards returns from hamstring injury to start against Knicks

NEW YORK — Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards will play against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, returning from a four-game absence because of a strained right hamstring.

Edwards was cleared for contact on Monday, practiced with the team on Tuesday, then stayed after to play against some of the players currently out of the rotation to continue to test his hamstring. He made it through both workouts without issue, and the Wolves’ medical and athletic training staff made sure there were no ill effects on Wednesday morning before clearing him to play.

The Timberwolves went 2-2 without him, with home losses to the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers and road wins over the Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets.

Edwards, 24, is averaging 25.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in three games this season, but those numbers are skewed because he left after just three minutes against Indiana on Oct. 26. In his two full games this season, he scored 41 points in a season-opening win in Portland, then had 31 points and 5 assists in a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. He is shooting 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from 3-point range this season.

The Timberwolves have tried to use the time without Edwards to regain the defensive edge that was missing at the start of the season. Through the first five games of the season, they ranked 27th in points allowed per 100 possessions. But Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Clark have helped inject some needed intensity on that end of the floor over the last two games.

The opponent also helped. The Hornets were without wing Brandon Miller against the Wolves, and the Nets are winless. Now, they will get a real test against the Knicks and former Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns.

The time on the bench has allowed Edwards to observe what the Timberwolves have needed during their underwhelming start to the season. He has seen McDaniels flourish offensively; the 25-year-old averaged 22.8 points and shot 67 percent from 3 in the four games since Edwards went down. Julius Randle has been playing at an All-Star level, while Donte DiVincenzo is starting to find a rhythm.

One of the most durable players in the league through his first five seasons, Edwards has already dealt with back spasms and the hamstring strain in the first two weeks of this season. This was the second-longest stretch of games missed in his career (he missed six straight games in his second season due to COVID-19).

The immediate challenge for Edwards will be reintroducing himself to the lineup while also trying to keep McDaniels, Randle and DiVincenzo in the grooves they have found in recent games. But he is the unquestioned leader of this group, and the Wolves were amped up for his imminent return after practice on Tuesday.

“Obviously being who he is, we always need that force, that talent, that energy that he brings to our team,” Gobert said. “And just him being focused on the little things like we’ve been focusing on. Our defense, ball pressure, competing, running the floor. All these little things. I think, when he does these things, it just takes our team to another level.”