Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has been sidelined for quite a while due to a left knee sprain, and he has also recently been dealing with an illness. He'll be held out of Monday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he's nearing a return.
Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders gave an encouraging update on Monday, according to a report from Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic:
He has not played since Dec. 13, when he had 39 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to the Clippers. After a long period of rehabilitation, Towns has been ramping up his basketball activities over the last week as he prepares to put the jersey back on. He will miss his 14th straight game on Monday night against Oklahoma City, but that is because he is battling an illness, not because of his knee.
“He’s very close,” coach Ryan Saunders said at shootaround on Monday.
The Wolves play the Pacers at home on Wednesday and in Indianapolis on Friday, with a couple of days available for practice on Tuesday and Thursday if Towns needs some more conditioning work before being activated. But his return is imminent.
An illness has reportedly swept through the Timberwolves' locker room of late. Towns, who seems to have caught the bug, was unable to attend Monday's shootaround. It's unfortunate news, as he appeared to be on his way to a return.
In his 23 appearances with the Timberwolves this season, Towns has racked up averages of 26.5 points on 51.4 percent shooting from the field (41.8 percent from beyond the arc), 11.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.3 blocks and a steal in 33.9 minutes per outing.
With Towns ruled out for Monday night's game against the Thunder, Gorgui Dieng will likely continue to see substantial playing time.
Monday night's matchup between the Timberwolves and Thunder is set to tip inside the Target Center at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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