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Minnesota Timberwolves 7 most heartbreaking moments of the year

By Brendan Hedtke

ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 25: Head Coach, Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on November 25, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 25: Head Coach, Ryan Saunders of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during a game against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on November 25, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Timberwolves
Jake Layman” width=”300″ height=”186″ /> MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 13: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates with Jake Layman #10. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

5. Injuries and fluctuating lineups

There have been 32 games so far this season and the Wolves has been affected by injury for the entirety of it. According to Basketball Reference, every player on the Timberwolves has missed at least one game this season.

Jarrett Culver leads the team in games played with 31. Franchise cornerstones Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns have both missed time, which is certainly not the norm for two players who have been on the floor for a majority of their careers.

Wiggins has missed six games this season, mostly due to illness and he’s currently battling flu-like symptoms that held him out of Saturday’s matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Monday’s win over the Nets.

Related Story. Timberwolves: Biggest head-scratching moments so far this season. light

The biggest heartbreaker, however, is Towns missing nine games so far. The first two absences came early in the season when Towns was suspended for his spat with Joel Embiid. Recently, Towns suffered a knee injury that has held him out of the last seven contests.

Jake Layman and Shabazz Napier have both missed a significant number of games due to injury this season, playing in 14 and 19 games respectively. While Napier is back in the rotation, Layman remains sidelined with no clear return date set. Jace Frederick of the Pioneer Press wrote on November 21st that “it’s fair to expect he’ll miss at least a few games.” but that timetable has passed long ago.

With constant injuries to key players, Ryan Saunders has had to deal with numerous lineup and rotation changes throughout the season. These have presented some major challenges for the first-year head coach.

While trying to figure out ways to best optimize the talent (or lack thereof) on this roster, Saunders has been blindsided by player absences constantly. As the new year comes around, hopefully players can become healthy and we see what this team’s true ceiling is.

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