The Minnesota Timberwolves dodged a huge bullet earlier this week after All-Star forward Jimmy Butler avoided a torn ACL while instead suffering an injury to the meniscus in his right knee. The manner in which it had occurred gave the impression that it could have been far worse of a situation.

This had initially put him out of the mix on a timetable for the next four-to-six weeks keeping him in line to get back on the court for the playoffs. It appears that things have taken another intriguing turn as the Timberwolves announced on Sunday morning that Butler has undergone meniscus surgery that will keep him out of the lineup indefinitely.

This complicates things quite a bit as there is no certainty that Butler will be back in time for the playoffs if the Timberwolves are able to reach that point. The 28-year-old has been a huge part of helping Minnesota take the next step this season as a legitimate playoff contender and possible threat to dethrone the Golden State Warriors.

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Following a bit of a slow start individually, Butler has picked up his play over the last few months, pushing his averages to 22.2 points with 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game in 56 games played. He had been the Timberwolves' top scorer in 20 of his last 28 games while averaging 24.9 points on 49 percent shooting from the field.

Butler's absence on the floor will push more of the responsibility on both ends of the floor on All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins to pick up the slack. Towns has been arguably their most dependable player this season, averaging a double-double with 20.2 points and 12.2 rebounds on 54.1 percent shooting from the field and an efficient 41.3 percent from beyond the arc along with 1.5 blocks per game.

Meanwhile, Wiggins will also need to take on a larger offensive load that has shown he can do in the past averaging a career-high 23.6 points last year. This should be a true test to see how much the team has grown this season.