The aforementioned Minnesota Timberwolves will showcase guard Anthony Edwards in their last regular season game. He’ll take on the Utah Jazz this Sunday. This, of course, comes on the heels of the NBA’s choice to rescind a technical foul given to Edwards in a game just a few days ago. Referee Ray Acosta missed a foul for vulgarity. Under current NBA rules, this foul would result in a one-game suspension for any player who accumulates 16 technical fouls during the regular season.
Late in the second quarter of Friday night’s game, Edwards was called for a tech. The Timberwolves went on to crush the Brooklyn Nets, 117-91. It was his 18th technical foul of the season, which leads the NBA. After the game, Edwards expressed his frustration regarding the call, stating, “I tried to play good defense. They called a foul. And he gave me a tech. I hope they look at it and rescind it, so I can play in a couple days.”
The Timberwolves were hell bent on getting the technical foul rescinded. This sense of urgency became even clearer after the Timberwolves fell to the Jazz on February 28, the game that featured his first suspension for accruing technical fouls. The league reviewed the incident and ultimately decided to rescind the technical foul issued to Edwards at 6:29 of the second quarter.
This was the latest in a series of major penalties to fall upon Edwards this season, including $320,000 in fines for an array of infractions. His court side antics have attracted sumptuous amounts of media attention, most notably with his record-setting number of technicals. Head Coach Chris Finch commented on the situation, noting, “I did not really get a good or clear explanation of why the technical occurred. It didn’t seem like there was anything egregious or overly demonstrative.”
The decision to rescind the technical foul allows Edwards to participate fully in the Timberwolves’ last game of the regular season. The team understands this outcome is the most important one. They too are hungry to finish the season with a flourish against, improbably enough, the powerful Jazz.
Leave a Reply