The Minnesota Timberwolves received one of the biggest breaks possible right before their final regular season game. The NBA rescinded a technical foul that had been assessed against forward Anthony Edwards. The league’s announcement couldn’t have come at a better time for the Timberwolves. At 8-3, they are hungry to improve their playoff positioning in an important contest against the Utah Jazz on Sunday.
On Friday night, Anthony Edwards picked up his 18th technical foul of the season, triggering an automatic suspension. This unfortunately occurred during a highly contested matchup with the Brooklyn Nets. Referee Ray Acosta called a foul after he overheard Edwards cursing. Edwards just lost his cool after a bad offensive foul call. Per NBA standards, once a player reaches 16 technical fouls in a regular season, they’re automatically suspended for one game. Had the technical foul not been rescinded, Edwards would have missed the Timberwolves’ last game, a scenario that could have severely impacted the team’s playoff aspirations.
I tried to play good defense. They called a foul, Edwards explained after the incident. “And he gave me a tech. But I hope they review it and throw it out, so I can suit up in a few days.
Instead, the league took a long, hard look at the technical foul and the circumstances surrounding it. Ultimately, they ruled in favor of the Timberwolves, ruling that a suspension was not justified. As Coach Chris Finch explained post-game, that didn’t seem like a foul that was too demonstrative or superseding.
I was never able to get a solid or even satisfactory explanation for why the technical happened, Finch said. “It didn’t seem like there was anything egregious or overly demonstrative.”
That brought one of the marquee young players of the NBA to the brink of suspension for the second time this season with technical fouls accumulated. Just 2 days prior, on February 28, he had been suspended one game. This punishment came after he received his 16th technical foul, a factor in their recent loss to Utah. The Timberwolves hoped for a happier ending this time around. They were intent on not allowing a defeat of any kind to threaten their path to the playoffs.
With the technical foul rescinded, Minnesota’s future is in their own hands as they look to secure a higher seed in the loaded Western Conference standings. Depending on other results, the team could still finish as high as fourth. This would ensure that they have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
It’s been a difficult season for Edwards, in addition to the six fines totaling $320,000 issued for rule violations. Still, he has been an undisputed key cog for the Timberwolves as they pathed their way to their last game of the regular season.
Leave a Reply