There is no sugarcoating this one. Karl-Anthony Towns’s torn meniscus, an injury that will reportedly keep the Minnesota Timberwolves big man out indefinitely, is a serious blow to a team that’s been at the top of the Western Conference standings for most of the season.
Much of the Wolves’ success this season has been predicated on the consistency of their starting lineup. The unit of Towns, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley and Jaden McDaniels is one of only five groups that has played at least 600 minutes together so far this season. And it is second only to the Denver Nuggets’ championship starters in net rating among those lineups.
Towns was having a fantastic season. He was comfortable playing second fiddle to Edwards. And he proved he can be part of an elite defensive team. He and Gobert have worked through much of the growing pains they endured last season, and Minnesota’s size is a constant thorn in the side of other conference opponents.
