Wolves-Grizzlies game off, KAT tests postive for COVID
As first reported by Shams Charania of Stadium the Minnesota Timberwolves game with the Memphis Grizzlies scheduled for Friday night has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. In addition, Charania also reported that Karl-Anthony Towns has confirmed he has tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to a press release by the NBA, the Timberwolves do not have the eight players required to move forward with the game. Earlier in the day, the Timberwolves ruled out Ricky Rubio and Juancho Hernangomez due to "health and safety protocols" meaning both players had either tested positive for COVID-19 or had been in contact with someone that has.
The Timberwolves' big concern is the status of Towns, who revealed that he has lost seven family members due to COVID-19 since the pandemic started in March of 2020, including his mother.
Towns has also gotten off to a rocky start this season, missing seven games with a dislocated wrist.
When asked how long the Wolves players will be out, the team declined to comment.
With the league starting the 2020-21 season in the team's hometown markets as opposed to last summer's bubble in Orlando, the NBA has postponed several games through the opening weeks and announced stricter protocols for traveling teams and require masks on the team's benches effective this week.
The Timberwolves were one of the few teams to not run into those issues, but that has changed with Friday's postponement. A makeup date has not been announced.
