Rarely is a meniscus injury good news, but it is for the Timberwolves.
It looked like Jimmy Butler had torn his ACL in a loss to Houston Friday night, he had to be helped off the court and he could not put weight on it. But instead, he has an injured meniscus in his right knee, an MRI revealed.
NEWS: An MRI taken this afternoon on #Twolves forward Jimmy Butler's right knee revealed a meniscal injury. Further updates as to Butler's progress will be issued when more information becomes available. pic.twitter.com/IG3l9cODmb
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) February 24, 2018
Notice the report says meniscus “injury” not “tear.” Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports reported it is a tear.
Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler has a meniscus tear in his right knee and is determining treatment options, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 24, 2018
If surgery is needed and recovery times differ depending on the severity of the injury. Officially, there is no timetable for his return yet — he could be back for the playoffs. Or not.
If it is a tear, as expected, that means surgery. Most of the time a surgical meniscus repair will keep a player out at least three months, which would end Butler’s season (a meniscus removal heals faster, but is rarely done anymore because long-term it is harder for the knee and the player, think of Dwyane Wade as an example).
Butler leads the NBA in minutes played per game, although he had eight days off before Friday’s game. He was selected an All-Star reserve by the coaches but chose to sit out the big game because he said he needed rest for the rest of the season. His coach, Tom Thibodeau, leans heavily on his best players and does not subscribe to the kind of rest we see in Golden State, San Antonio, and other programs trying to keep players fresh.
Minnesota has to hang on for the playoffs, the team is -8.3 points per 100 possessions when Butler is not on the court this season. At 36-26, the Timberwolves are currently the four seed in the West, but just three games from falling out of the playoffs.