Karl-Anthony Towns returning to court for Timberwolves soon?
Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves drives to the basket while Josh Green #8 of the Dallas Mavericks defends in the third quarter at Target Center on January 31, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Mavericks ((Photo by David Berding/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Timberwolves have four regular season games left and are currently in the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference, and they could get Karl-Anthony Towns back before the playoffs.
Towns was putting up shots with his Timberwolves’ teammates on the USC campus on Sunday before Minnesota beat the L.A. Lakers later that night. According to Shams Charania with The Athletic, Towns participated in his first team scrimmage with the Timberwolves on Sunday since injuring his left meniscus in early March.
After the Timberwolves beat the Lakers Sunday night, Anthony Edwards said, "KAT will be back."
On his Instagram story on Monday, Towns posted "Locked in" with a screen shot of Edwards popping his eyes open in surprise.
Towns had meniscus surgery on March 12, wanting a quick repair to get back on the court in time for the playoffs with the Timberwolves having their best regular season in 20 years. Team officials said at the time he would be reevaluated in four weeks. That deadline would come on Friday.
Towns has missed 16 games since having knee surgery. Minnesota has gone 11-5 over that stretch.
The Timberwolves have three of their last four games at Target Center, starting Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards. After a road trip to Denver Wednesday night, the Timberwolves host the Atlanta Hawks Friday night and end the regular season against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. If Towns does play before the end of the regular season, it would likely be against the Hawks and/or Suns. He has already been declared out against the Wizards on Tuesday.
At 54-24, the Timberwolves are the No. 1 team in the West going into their last four games. Staying there would guarantee home court through the Western Conference Playoffs. They’re already clear of the NBA’s Play-In series next week, and are likely no worse than a No. 3 seed for the playoffs. Minnesota will be practicing and resting while other teams battle for the Nos. 7-8 seeds in the postseason.
A healthy Towns back on the court will do wonders for a team trying to make a deep playoff run.