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In the weeks that have followed suffering a meniscus injury in his right knee that required surgery, Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Jimmy Butler has stayed on a steady pace in his recovery. He has remained fixated on returning at some point in the final stretch of the season.
Throughout the process, the Timberwolves have remained precautionary given the type of injury that he is still working his way back from for over the past month. According to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports, Butler has taken another huge step forward with his first 5-on-5 scrimmage action in practice.
Jimmy Butler took part in five-on-five action today for the first time since his Feb. 23 meniscus injury, I'm told, and it went well. The T-Wolves star remains on track for a return before the playoffs, but his return date remains unclear. Minnesota plays at Denver Thursday.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) April 2, 2018
The 28-year-old's increased work in his rehab that features participating in 5-on-5 signals that he is getting quite close to being back on the court in the near future. The key aspect in this will be how his body responds from playing in that type of setting for the first time since the operation.
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Butler has missed the last 16 straight games where the Timberwolves held an 8-8 record sitting in the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings just 1.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the third position with four games remaining in the regular season. Minnesota has lined up for that final stretch with a pair of games against the Denver Nuggets, a road tilt facing the Los Angeles Lakers, and a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In his first campaign with the Timberwolves, Butler has quickly stepped into a primary role on both ends of the floor with the team. He currently leads the team with 22.2 points per game on a career-best 47.3 percent shooting from the field along with 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 56 appearances.
Butler's imminent return should provide the Timberwolves with a much-needed boost and possible late surge heading into the playoffs in hopes of a deep playoff run in their first postseason berth in 14 years.
