The Wednesday night NBA slate is going to be a big one for the Minnesota Timberwolves. They are fighting for their playoff lives in the Western Conference, losing six of their last eight games, dropping their record to 36-37.
Minnesota is tied with the Utah Jazz for the final two spots in the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference. But, they are far from secure, as they are only a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans, who have identical 35-37 records.
The one thing that could give the Timberwolves the edge over the teams they are competing against is that they are getting a huge boost to their lineup. Karl-Anthony Towns, who has not played since November 28th because of a calf injury, is trending toward playing on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.
Towns will go through a final check before the game, but all signs are pointing toward him making his much-anticipated return. “I’m super excited to get back out on the court and help my team because these next nine games are super important,” Towns told ESPN.
It has been a long road back for the All-Star center, who was expected to form a dominant frontcourt duo alongside Rudy Gobert. The results were mixed in the early going as Minnesota went 10-11 in the 21 games that Towns has played thus far this season.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Despite the lengthy absence, Towns isn’t expected to have any limitations when he takes the court. Given the lengthy rehab of nearly four months, he believes that he is capable of handling his regular workload.
“I’m just trying to pick up where I left off,” Towns said. “I was telling my dad right before I got hurt, I felt the most complete as a player in my career. From defensive end, from offensive end, from a mental aspect, leadership aspect … I felt very complete.”
While Towns’ efficiency was slightly down, likely in part to building chemistry and figuring things out with so many new players in the rotation, he is correct in his assessment. He had improved defensively and was doing more on offense than shooting the ball, averaging his lowest number of shots per game since the 2017-18 campaign.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Part of the reason that he was sidelined for so long was that he suffered a major setback six weeks into his recovery. He suffered a Grade 3 sprain originally, which he described as basically a torn calf. The was injured again, which set him back to square one, restarting the process.
“The return is imminent, and then boom,” Towns said. “Do a little too much. It just in essence, retore. And now we’re back at square one again.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
With nine games remaining in the regular season, it is do-or-die time for Minnesota. Towns’ return should help revitalize a Timberwolves team that has been struggling a little bit recently. It certainly won’t be easy as seven of their last nine games are against teams in the playoffs or squarely in the race for a Play-In Tournament spot.
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