The Minnesota Timberwolves had some major expectations coming into the NBA season after acquiring Rudy Gobert in a blockbuster deal with the Utah Jazz in the offseason. Despite that, they have been hanging around the .500 mark for the majority of the 2022-23 season.
When making such a big change to the lineup, it will take some time for chemistry and cohesion to be built. That was something that the Timberwolves have not been afforded as Karl-Anthony Towns has been sidelined for months.
Towns has been dealing with a calf injury that has kept him sidelined since November 28th. He played in the first 21 games of the season, averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, adjusting to life as the power forward in most sets alongside Gobert.
The results were certainly mixed as Minnesota went 10-11 with Towns in the lineup to start the season. Minnesota now sits in seventh place in the Western Conference with a record of 31-30, patiently awaiting Towns’ return to the lineup.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Heading into the All-Star Break, it was reported that Towns was hoping to return to the lineup by mid-to-late March so that he would have enough time to ramp things up ahead of the playoffs. After practice on Thursday, head coach Chris Finch gave a positive update as things seem to be on track for that timeline.
“He’s itching to play,” Finch said after practice Thursday. “I don’t think that it’s a question of anything like going off path right now. I think it’s just literally just going through the final stages of what that looks like.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to be, but talking to him, I definitely sense more so than any other conversation I’ve had with him up until this point that he’s chomping at the bit to get back and ready to help this team when that time comes.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Karl-Anthony Towns & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
Towns has missed 40 games and counting. Given the 10-15 games he would like to play in at the end of the season, that would put him on target to return anywhere between March 10th and March 20th.
As long as there are no setbacks, it sounds as if Towns will use the next two weeks to ramp up his activity in practice with a return to the court occurring shortly after that.
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