The NBA season just started, and injuries already are a big story across the league

If things go the way Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves currently envision, he’ll be back from arthroscopic knee surgery in plenty of time for a playoff push and possibly making a run at winning an NBA championship.

In other words, his injury could have been worse.

Edwards is out of Minnesota's lineup for the foreseeable future, since the long-term goal — a title — obviously is far more important than anything like the individual awards that he won't be eligible to win this season because he'll miss too many games. He was playing in pain. His knee was only going to keep hurting. The decision was clear and fixing it now is the smart move.

At least Minnesota had that option. Oklahoma City wasn't so fortunate in that regard; Jalen Williams' horrific leg and ankle injuries could only be repaired by surgery that likely will be season-ending, and Thunder teammate Cason Wallace is looking at a similar long road back after shoulder surgery. Both got hurt Sunday night, creating serious early season angst for a team that was widely expected to contend for a second championship in three years.

“We have a unique experience with this. It’s not something you want to have a lot of experience with, but we do,” Thunder general manager Sam Presti said, noting that Oklahoma City has not had the best luck in recent years when it comes to injuries. “I think we’ll probably lean on some of that. Then a large portion of it is we’re very process-oriented. I think it keeps you humble in good times and keeps you stable when you’re going through some adversity.”

And adversity clearly has hit Oklahoma City, Minnesota and a few other places.

Toronto will be without Kawhi Leonard for at least a week, probably more, because of knee swelling. Given his injury history, any mention of “Leonard” and “knee” in the same sentence likely sends chills down the spines of Raptors fans. The good news is that the Raptors say there's no acute left knee injury causing the problem. The bad news is, well, there's a problem.

“Part of the game,” Toronto's RJ Barrett said. “Obviously we wish everybody could play every game, but injuries are part of the game. That's why you have a whole team. ... Until he gets back, we've got to figure it out.”

Orlando is already down two players, with Paolo Banchero out for perhaps a month with a high ankle sprain and Jalen Suggs out with a knee issue that will sideline him for a couple of weeks — although when he got hurt, the initial fear was that it could have been something far more serious. Utah, a team that hopes to reenter the playoff chase for the first time in years, just lost center Jaren Jackson Jr. for perhaps two months with a torn knee ligament.

All is not lost. But especially in what many believe could be very tight playoff races by season's end, no team wants to be without its stars for too long.

“It's very early in the season,” Banchero said. “There's a lot out in front of us.”

He'll be back. So, too, will Edwards. Leonard should be playing before long. They're fortunate compared with many; Sacramento's Ben Simmons blew out his Achilles tendon before the season even started and will miss another year, Golden State's Kristaps Porzingis is away from the team while dealing with a health issue and a few other players — like the Warriors' Jimmy Butler III and the Timberwolves' Donte DiVincenzo — are still sidelined while dealing with major injuries suffered last season.

Losing Edwards is a tough blow to Minnesota. It likely will cost the Timberwolves some wins in November and December. But if it leads to wins in May and June, whatever struggles happen now surely will be deemed worthwhile.

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