The Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the pleasant surprises of the first week of the NBA season, as they’ve started 2-0 with wins over the Pistons and, most impressively, the Jazz.
However, that Utah win came at a price, as star center Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a wrist injury in the game and said after it was “very, very sore” and his status for Sunday’s game with the Lakers and beyond was in question. On Sunday, Towns was officially listed as out for the Laker game, but the good news that came from the update was that Towns, who had X-rays return negative on his wrist, was officially diagnosed with a left wrist dislocation and would be evaluated “weekly,” per the team.
In his first two games of the season, Towns had been his usual productive self, averaging 19.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists and the young Wolves will have quite the task on Sunday (and for any games beyond) in trying to beat the Lakers without their All-Star. Still, the way they’ve played to open the season, particularly the play of D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and rookie Anthony Edwards has been very encouraging and that trio will have to carry the load on Sunday without Towns.
The Wolves will stay in L.A. to play the Clippers on Tuesday and the “weekly” designation would seem to indicate Towns is unlikely to play in that contest as well. They then have two days off before hosting the Wizards on Friday, which could be potentially closer to a Towns return. The good news is that it isn’t a significant injury with either a break or ligament damage, which hopefully bodes well for a speedy and full recovery.
