Karl-Anthony Towns may have led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a surprising 2-0 start this season, but it could be a little while before he takes the floor again. The star big man suffered a dislocated left wrist in Saturday’s win over the Utah Jazz, and he will be re-evaluated weekly, the team announced. The Timberwolves are optimistic that this can be a relatively short absence for Towns, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and in a competitive Western Conference, they might need it to be if they plan to make a playoff push.
Fortunately, the injury will reportedly not require surgery, but Minnesota still has plenty of reason for caution. Towns missed the last month of the 2019-20 season after fracturing this same left wrist. Fortunately, that is his non-shooting hand as Towns is right-handed, but any recurring problem area is concerning for a player as important as Towns. Minnesota’s present and future is entirely dependent on his health.
But a 2-0 start at least gives the Timberwolves a bit of a cushion in the standings if Towns has to miss a meaningful amount of time. Towns had actually only been Minnesota’s third-leading scorer so far, as 2020 in-season additions Malik Beasley and D’Angelo Russell are both averaging over 20 points per game to Towns’ 19. With No. 1 overall pick Anthony Edwards flashing future stardom as well, this isn’t a typical Timberwolves team. They might be able to hold their own without Towns for a short time.
But any real ambitions this time might have rely fully on Towns, one of the best offensive players in all of basketball. A surprisingly hot start won’t mean anything if their best player can’t stay on the floor, Minnesota needs Towns to recover quickly to capitalize on the momentum it has built so far.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
