The Minnesota Timberwolves are starting to feel the strains of the 82-game NBA season, and the team is just turning the corner on the first third of what has already been a mildly disappointing start to the 2022-23 NBA season. The Timberwolves roster was facing a bit of a challenge right out of the gates as the team was unable to get all five starters on the basketball court simultaneously until their last preseason game.
That placed a lot of pressure on this team to figure things out after the season began. On-the-job training is not an ideal situation to get an NBA roster’s chemistry worked out, and the Timberwolves roster is no exception to the rule. During the team’s 21st game together, the team lost PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns to injury, which began a string of three players falling to injuries.
Timberwolves News: Did I say 3 players were injured? I meant to say 4
Did I say three players fell to injury? That could become four pretty quickly. It seems that the red-hot Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell suffered a bruised knee in a collision in the latest game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Those types of injuries can be tough to shake off.
D'Angelo Russell said in the locker room last night that he was "sore now" from a knee collision and that "we'll see tomorrow how I feel".
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 14, 2022
The update on that is Russell (left knee contusion) has been added to the Wolves injury report as questionable for Wednesday against LAC.
So here we go, where does that leave the Minnesota Timberwolves as they face traveling to face the LA Clippers? Not in a good spot, that’s for sure.
Minnesota @Timberwolves Status Report in advance of tomorrow’s game at LA Clippers:
— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) December 14, 2022
QUESTIONABLE
D’Angelo Russell - Left Knee Contusion
OUT
Jordan McLaughlin - Left Calf Strain
Taurean Prince - Right Shoulder Subluxation
Karl-Anthony Towns - Right Calf Strain
D’Lo was hot right now, not just in scoring, but he was delivering a surprising level of energy on defense as well. But his most vital contribution was his ability to elevate the Timberwolves’ perimeter shooting to somewhat respectable of late.
Since Karl-Anthony Towns went down, Russell has been MIN's most reliable scorer -- putting up 24.5 pts on 54.4% from the floor & 44.7% from three (6 games).
— Charlie Walton (@CharlieWaltonMN) December 14, 2022
Russell said he was "sore" after the game last night. Not what a struggling Wolves team needs right now.
Without an option for either D’Lo or Jordan McLaughlin, the team will be faced with getting more minutes out of either Jaylen Nowell or Austin Rivers. I suspect that the team will opt to start Rivers, and will turn to Nowell who is more impactful off the bench.
More Timberwolves roster options
The Timberwolves could also give more time to rookie Wendell Moore Jr., as he has been a rather pleasant surprise for the Timberwolves so far, particularly in his ability to give the team a bit of a boost on the defensive end of the court.
It appears that the Minnesota Timberwolves will likely look to Kyle Anderson to remain a primary facilitator for the Timberwolves on the offensive side of the basketball court, a role that he has been very effective at in the limited occasions he has had to distribute the basketball.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to this Timberwolves roster’s rotation if D’Angelo Russell cannot suit up is trying to backfill the 37 points per game void that both his and Karl-Anthony Towns’ absences create on the Timberwolves scoreboard. If the team cannot find new ways to score almost instantly, any prolonged absence of both KAT and D’Lo could prove to be devastating to this team’s season