Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves All-Star big man, will be out indefinitely due to a torn meniscus in his left knee, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
There are not many details yet, with The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski saying doctors still have a lot to work through. That includes how long Towns will be out and if he will be available for the playoffs in six weeks. All of that will depend on the location and severity of the tear, which will determine the course of treatment. It is possible that surgery is not required and he could return to the lineup sooner rather than later, that decision will fall to the team and Towns’ doctors.
However long he is out, it is a major blow for the No. 1 seed Timberwolves as they push toward the postseason as the current No. 1 seed in the West. Towns is averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds a game while shooting 42.3% on 3-pointers. He has been the floor-spacing big the Timberwolves need next to the slashing Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert in the paint. The Timberwolves outscore opponents by 7.3 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.
Expect Naz Reid to get more run while Towns is out.
Towns has been banged up all season but played through everything because he was not injured enough to sit and he wanted to be part of this Minnesota run. This meniscus injury changes things in the short term but whether it will impact Towns for the postseason remains to be seen.
