Lakers Injury Report: Karl-Anthony Towns Status Downgraded For LA Play-In Game
Your Los Angeles Lakers are practically being escorted straight into a playoff matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies!
Tomorrow, the 43-39 Lakers are scheduled to square off against the 42-40 Minnesota Timberwolves, who will be missing at least three critical frontcourt players. Now, it appears they could be absent a fourth.
Beyond the already-established absences of starting center Rudy Gobert (suspension) and forwards Naz Reid (left scaphoid fracture) and Jaden McDaniels (right hand fracture), it appears another starting big man could miss the contest.
Per the league's latest injury report, star power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns is considered merely questionable to play tomorrow, as the right calf strain that kept him sidelined for several months appears to continue pestering him.
So what's going on here?
The Timberwolves didn't have to suspend Gobert for punching teammate Kyle Anderson in the shoulder, though they clearly felt the infraction was bad enough that he needed to be penalized for his behavior. Now, with so many big absences, are they just surrendering this game, knowing they will get one more crack at the playoffs? The loser of the game between the seventh-seeded Lakers and the eighth-seeded Wolves will face off against the winner of the Western Conference's other play-in matchup, between the 42-40 New Orleans Pelicans, the ninth seed in the West, and the 40-42 Oklahoma City Thunder, the tenth seed.
If KAT has lingering injury issues and Gobert will be absent anyway, maybe Minnesota really does think tomorrow's result is a fait accompli for the Lakers, and so the team believes it's in its own best interests to give Towns a little extra time to heal.
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