It was more apparent than at any point this season than during Tuesday’s blowout loss to the 76ers that Minnesota desperately needs Karl-Anthony Towns to help take the scoring pressure off of Anthony Edwards.
Edwards scored 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting but the rest of the starting lineup shot a combined 7-of-25 and the Timberwolves couldn’t keep up with Joel Embiid and Philly. But when asked Wednesday morning by KFAN’s Paul Allen if Towns is “getting closer” to returning from injury, head coach Chris Finch provided an encouraging update.
“Yeah, I think we are. I think today he’s going to actually have some live activity on the floor, which is the first time in forever,” said Finch. “That’ll be some controlled live action on the floor for him.”
Towns has missed 46 consecutive games since injuring his right calf 100 days ago on Nov. 28. The Grade 3 calf strain was the most serious of its kind. And while there’s still no specific timeline from the Timberwolves about Towns’ return, live action in practice is a step in the right direction.
“Where that places him in his return date, I really don’t know still,” said Finch. “But yeah, games like last night are games when you obviously miss KAT. He has the ability to change the dynamic on the floor. He has the ability to get you a bucket when you’re struggling.”
It was Shams Charania of The Athletic who reported just before the All-Star break last month that Minnesota hopes Towns can play in “at least” the last 10-15 games of the regular season, which if accurate would put his return no later than March 20.
Finch said he’s not banking on Towns being available Friday against Brooklyn.
