On Monday morning, the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped some important injury updates. Anthony Edwards, who had missed six games due to injury, was upgraded to questionable for the night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, and Ayo Dosunmu was also upgraded to questionable.
Both players returned in Minnesota’s 124-94 thumping of the Mavericks. However, the Wolves announced via press release that Jaden McDaniels would miss the game. They listed him as week-to-week with a bone bruise.
The update on McDaniels was somewhat of a shock. He had gone down injured in Minnesota’s 110-108 overtime thriller win over the Houston Rockets. McDaniels told reporters in the locker room that he would “Be good to go” against the Detroit Pistons, and that the injury was “cramping.”
Later, Chris Finch said McDaniels would participate in the walk-through portion of practice the next day, but would sit out the Detroit game. A day later, the Wolves revealed that he had a bone bruise. They will likely be without McDaniels for their upcoming road trip and potentially the rest of the regular season.
While a silver lining may be that Dosunmu will continue to get reps in the starting lineup, the injury comes in the heat of a playoff seeding battle between the 4-, 5-, and 6-seeds.
A battle that might be in Minnesota’s best interest to bow out of and focus on health.
The Wolves have been remarkably healthy all season. However, in the last few weeks, multiple players have been popping up on the injury list. Naz Reid missed a pair of games due to a right ankle sprain before returning against the Boston Celtics. He has also been dealing with ongoing right shoulder issues that are apparent when watching games, where he continues to favor it.
Dosunmu missed games with a right calf injury and soreness. Although he didn’t appear to have missed a step in his return against Dallas, calf reinjuries are always a concern with a muscle strain, especially in someone with Dosunmu’s burst and speed. Dosunmu also had a right thumb sprain in the injury report earlier in March.
Edwards appeared to be on a minutes restriction in his first game back against Dallas after suffering from right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, or runner’s knee. It’s an injury that frequently occurs in distance runners when the joint is overused and becomes inflamed. The only treatment is rest and therapy. (Fun fact, you can make this worse by sitting with a bent knee too long, like when you’re on the toilet or a couch playing video games.)
Kyle Anderson also missed a game with right knee soreness at the beginning of March. He has returned from that injury, but it could flare up if not fully rested and healed.
All of the players above haven’t fully recovered from their injuries. Sprains and strains are often overuse injuries that require treatment, time, and rest to heal.
The regular season is a grind. A game off may offer a muscle or ligament a temporary reprieve, but like a rubber band with a tear, it risks getting worse the next time the player uses it. Add in the fervor the Wolves have been playing with, and the desperation of making the playoffs increased the risk.
Those are just the recent injuries we know of, and they account for five of the nine rotation players. Of the other four:
- Donte DiVincenzo has been remarkably healthy all season, aside from a broken nose and busted lip.
- Rudy Gobert has continued his iron man status by playing 72 games this season, which is his second-most games played since 2018-19.
- Julius Randle has played all 75 games this season.
- And Bones Hyland has been healthy all year.
For players like Randle and Gobert, a game or two of rest before the playoffs could be just as beneficial to freshen them up for the playoffs. Gobert has had a multi-year history of back spasms, which can arise at any time, but the risk is lessened by resting and stretching. Meanwhile, reporters have discovered that Randle has been banged up for most of the second half of the season. He’s been playing through back and shoulder issues, and also could benefit from some rest.
The truth is that at this point in the season, almost everyone is dealing with something. Even Mike Conley, after two games of heavier minutes, admitted the toll on the body.
“Awful, absolutely awful,” he told me after the game, still smiling. “But I guess you just have to deal with it. I’ll be ready, I’ll be recovering soon, just can’t wait to get home.”
The Timberwolves are in a unique spot. The 4-seed is still within reach, just 1.5 games ahead of the Wolves, and the Denver Nuggets have only 8 games left on their schedule. The danger of falling to the 6-seed still exists. Minnesota is tied with the Rockets, and both have 7 games left.
However, for the Timberwolves, the 4-, 5-, and 6-seeds likely won’t matter if they enter the postseason injured. If the Wolves surge past Denver for the 4-seed, they still play the Nuggets. In that case, they would have home court advantage in that series, but many Wolves players prefer playing on the road.
“Everyone against us,” said McDaniels. “I’ve kind of been like that forever. Since high school, I never liked playing at home. Not saying I don’t like y’all or nothing, but it just brings that aggression or something.”
Dropping from the fifth seed to the sixth seed would mean that Minnesota would play the Lakers. It would be a rematch of the same 3-6 series from a year prior, in which the Wolves eliminated them in five games.
The Lakers swept Minnesota in the regular season, 3-0, and the Nuggets own a 3-1 head-to-head record against the Wolves. While it’s uncertain what Minnesota’s preferred matchup is, the reality is that neither matchup is preferable. Furthermore, if the Wolves aren’t at full health, neither series is necessarily winnable.
However, the Timberwolves have the luxury of being 4.5 games ahead of the seventh-seeded Phoenix Suns with 17 games left. It means the Wolves won’t drop into the play-in tournament. Phoenix would have to go 8-0 to finish the season, and the Wolves would have to go 2-5 to fall to 7. While that’s technically possible, it’s highly unlikely.
The Timberwolves should focus on rest and recovery in the final two weeks of the regular season. The seeding isn’t as important as the health of their players at this point. On the surface, the Wolves finishing as a six seed may be disappointing. However, they must be at full strength to advance further into the playoffs. With five of nine of their rotation players suffering injuries in March, rest has to be a priority.
