Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl Anthony Towns undergoes surgery. How long will he be out?

Just last week we reported that the Timberwolves’ star had gone down with a meniscus tear and was set to be out indefinitely. After further evaluation and a subsequent operation, he will now be out for a set period of time, and it’s not short.

Karl Anthony Towns to miss a month following knee surgery

According to an announcement from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns had surgery to repair his torn meniscus on Tuesday and will miss at least the next four weeks of the season. As per reports, the big man will be re-evaluated during the final week of the NBA regular season. The news of course comes as a significant blow to the team’s ambitions after it was initially reported that Towns would return at some point in the early stages of the Western Conference playoffs.

Though this could still be the case with the timeline mentioned above, it would be a mistake to think of it as assured. At this point, there is still quite a way to go before such a decision could be made given the severity of what Towns sustained. Needless to say, should it come to pass that he can’t return at all, it would present a major challenge to a team that is currently No. 3 in the West and playing some of the best basketball in the league. Where Towns himself is concerned, he’s been averaging 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists this season i.e., one of the main reasons that the Timberwolves are where they are. Along with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, the team has been formidable.

So, what now for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

On the two occasions that Towns missed Games this season prior to this moment, it was forward Kyle Anderson who started in his place. Alongside Rudy Gobert, he was in fact quite effective just as he was last season when Towns missed 29 Games. What’s more, is that the lineup allowed the Timberwolves to bring Naz Reid off the bench, and as one of the NBA’s best reserves, his contribution was very welcome. Of course, it must be said that Reid was particularly effective on defense. Where the offense is concerned, there really isn’t a way to fill the void that Towns’ absence will create.

What we can expect to see is Anthony Edwards - the Timberwolves leading scorer - is going to have less freedom going forward and a much greater responsibility when it comes to production. Quite frankly, it may be that the lack of space for Edwards to operate in, causes a greater issue than the absence of Towns himself. When the 28-year-old has been off the court, the T-Wolves have scored 106.1 points per 100 possessions, which is worse than the 30th-ranked Memphis Grizzlies’ offense. We don’t have to tell you that isn’t ideal.

Regardless, the Wolves now have less than 20 games to go before the end of the season and three of them are against the defending champion Denver Nuggets (March 19, March 29, April 10), who are now one game ahead of them in the standings with the No. 1 seed. With Towns available, the Timberwolves are more than a handful for the Nuggets as he can take on the responsibility of guarding Nikola Jokic. Without him, it’s a completely different prospect. That said, it’s worth noting that Minnesota signed 30-year-old forward T.J. Warren to a 10-day contract on Wednesday. If he can provide some offensive production at the 4 spot off the bench, expect to see the veteran extending his stay because at this point, it’s a question of all hands on deck for the Timberwolves.