[ad_1]
Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns tore the meniscus in his left knee and is out indefinitely, league sources said Thursday.
Towns, who was an All-Star last month, has been gathering more opinions on the injury over the past 24 hours, sources said. He is not with the team to begin its six-game road trip as he continues to pursue treatment options to determine the best course of action for his injury.
Towns has had a bounce-back season after missing 51 games last season with a calf injury. He made his fourth All-Star team and was delivering a resounding statement to the rest of the league that his play could help bring significant success to the team.
The 7-footer averaged 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and shot 50.6 percent from the field, including 42.3 percent from beyond the 3-point line .
The Timberwolves are currently first in the Northwest Division and are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder at 43-19 atop the Western Conference, where they have been for most of the season. Towns’ ability to defend at the power forward position while maintaining his offensive efficiency has been one of the main reasons Minnesota has excelled. His teamwork with Rudy Gobert has made an unconventional lineup a great strength for a team with intentions of advancing from the first round of the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.
For a player who has gone through so many hardships in his career, most notably with the death of his mother from COVID-19, but also with all the losses in Minnesota early in his career and several major injuries that have taken their toll on three of the previous four seasons: having to miss more time due to this knee injury is a cruel blow. Of all the players who deserved to revel in the newfound success the Timberwolves have had this season, Towns is certainly at or near the top of the list.
Towns’ knee injury might have played a role in his slow play lately. His scoring average dropped to 16 points per game in Minnesota’s last four games.
Who can replace Towns?
Losing Towns for any length of time is a blow to the Timberwolves’ offense, which has languished for much of the season. They have the 18th-ranked offense with 114.6 points per 100 possessions, a far cry from their best defense. Their most-used five-man lineup (the starting group that includes Towns, Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley) has an offensive rating of 118.9, which would be tied for fourth in the NBA for a full season , according to the NBA. com.
According to Cleaning the Glass, which eliminates garbage time minutes, the Wolves are 7.7 points per 100 possessions better on offense with Towns on the court.
The Wolves have a few options in his absence. Naz Reid has made great strides this season in his switch from backup center to backup power forward, improving his perimeter defense so he can play alongside Towns or Gobert. Two-man lineups with Reid and Gobert together have a plus-14 net rating, according to NBA.com.
Kyle Anderson would seem the favorite to replace Towns in the starting lineup, which would help the league’s best defense improve. But they’ll need Reid, and possibly TJ Warren, who signed this week, and/or Luka Garza, to step up and give them more scoring.
If Towns misses extra time, it will come at a very difficult time in the schedule. The Wolves begin a six-game road trip at Indiana on Thursday night. They play in Cleveland on Friday, go to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Sunday and the Clippers on Tuesday and then finish the trip with two games in Utah. Twelve of their last 20 games of the season are against teams with a winning record. — Jon Krawczynski, Timberwolves writer
Who needs to step up in Towns’ absence?
This could put more pressure on Edwards to lead the pack. The 22-year-old hasn’t been playing lately, including Monday night against Portland when he wasn’t on the court for kickoff because he lost track of time while in the locker room. Edwards had to leave the game against Sacramento at halftime to be with his girlfriend while she gave birth to the couple’s first child, and it would be understandable if one of life’s most hectic events made his head spin.
GO DEEPER
Anthony Edwards defends NBA All-Defensive honors
Edwards is averaging a solid 25.1 points per game since the All-Star break, but is shooting just 42.6 percent from the field and 32 percent from 3-point range. He hasn’t had as consistent an impact on the defensive end in recent games either. If Towns is out for any amount of time, they will need Edwards to be able to refocus and return to the All-NBA level of play he has provided for most of the season. — Krawczynski
Required reading
(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)