Chase Budinger hopes to be back with Minnesota in March

Minnesota just needs to get healthy — Ricky Rubio is back but is still playing 24 minutes a night or less, Kevin Love is back from a broken hand but is battling the flu, and the nagging injury list in Minnesota goes on and on and on.

Minny also misses Chase Budinger, who was off to a fast start scoring 11.8 points a game before being knocked down with a knee injury six games into the season.

Budinger tells the Star-Tribune he is targeting a March return. Hopefully.

Injured swingman Chase Budinger was in the locker room Wednesday night, back from 10 days rehabilitating with his college trainer at the University of Arizona and Christmas spent at home in San Diego. He had surgery in November to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. His return? “March hopefully,” he said, “but who knows?”

I’d like to spend Christmas in San Diego one year.

If Minnesota can get their entire roster healthy and starting to click as we head into April they will be one tough out in the playoffs. The problem is they need to play better sooner in a deep West just to make the playoffs (they are currently 13-13, half a game out of the final spot in the West, a conference where the Lakers are getting healthy, the Mavericks are about to get Dirk Nowitizki back, and it’s going to get tight).