It's no secret that this year has been wildly deflating for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
D'Angelo Russell has been dealing with injuries and recently had surgery that has had him sidelined for weeks. Malik Beasley was suspended for an off-the-court ordeal that took place during the offseason. Ryan Saunders was relieved of his duties before the All-Star break, and the Timberwolves drew criticism when they hired Chris Finch from Toronto without even having interviewed other candidates.
Then there's Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, who has dealt with the unthinkable with his family's noted battles with COVID-19, plus his own experience with the virus and a nagging wrist injury that has caused him to miss time.
After pouring in 33 points in a loss to Oklahoma City on Monday, Towns noted the injury has popped back up and is once again causing plenty of discomfort.
Via Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
“I was in a lot of pain, for sure, especially when I came back here for halftime,” Towns said. “It caused me a lot of discomfort, to say the least.”
“Today's incident was probably the most it hurt at any point after coming back, for sure,” Towns said.
“It was pretty bad, so it slowed me down. But that's no excuse to miss bunnies and shots I should make,” Towns said. “Just because I've had this injury, if I didn't feel like I was in a physical state to play, I wouldn't play. If I step on that court and put my jersey on, then I am making a promise that I'm going to do everything I can, regardless of my condition to give them the best of me that night.”
At this point of the season, with the Timberwolves still having the worst record in the NBA and needing to finish in the top three of the NBA Draft (or else their pick goes to the Golden State Warriors), it might be worth it for Minnesota to explore the idea of sitting Towns out to let him heal and reset his mind.
It has been entertaining to watch Towns and Anthony Edwards start to vibe together on the court under Finch, and that growth is of massive importance to Minnesota's future, but risking further injury to one of your pillars in a lost season is not ideal.
In 23 games this year, Towns is averaging 23.6 points per game to go along with 10.2 rebounds per contest for the 10-33 Timberwolves.
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