The Minnesota Timberwolves were delivered a brutal blow earlier this week when it was announced NBA All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns was dealing with a knee issue. It turned out that Towns had injured his meniscus and was figuring out what would come next.
On Thursday night, it was revealed that Towns had opted to undergo surgery for a torn meniscus. ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski shared the latest update and added that there is an expectation Towns will be back in the lineup early in the postseason. His surgery is set for early next week.
The next update we will receive on Towns will be in about four weeks when he will be re-evaluated. That will be about a week before the NBA Play-In Tournament gets underway and two weeks before the Timberwolves would presumably begin their playoff series.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
“Towns conferred with team doctors and specialists on a course of action once an MRI discovered the tear in recent days, and committed to the immediate procedure because it gives him a chance to rehab and get back to the team for what’s turning into the best regular season in franchise history,” wrote Wojnarowski.
Minnesota is currently in a battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Not having Towns in the lineup will certainly make it more difficult to lock down the top seed, but if Anthony Edwards plays as well as he did on Thursday night, no one is going to count them out.
Edwards turned into Superman for the Timberwolves in their first game without Towns. He scored 44 points despite turning his ankle seconds into the game. His block in the waning seconds also sealed the victory for Minnesota on the road against the Indiana Pacers.
They are going to need more heroic efforts like that to make up for Towns’ loss, as he has been one of the most efficient offensive players in the NBA this season. With him on the court, the Timberwolves have an offensive rating of 116.5. Without him, it plummets to 106.1, which would be worst in the NBA.
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
With Towns sidelined, backup big man Naz Reid could receive more minutes to help replace the scoring punch the team will be losing. Kyle Anderson has stepped into the starting lineup in Towns’ place.
Another player to keep an eye on is Jaden McDaniel. He should see more opportunities offensively as well and against Indiana, he had one of his better games of the season. McDaniels scored 11 points with eight rebounds and six assists, as he took advantage of an increased role.
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