NBA
When will Karl-Anthony Towns return for the Timberwolves? Will he play against the Hawks?
KAT has missed 18 games with a knee injury but is expected to return for Minnesota before the 2024 NBA playoffs begin.
Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Karl-Anthony Towns is closing in on his return to NBA action having been sidelined due to a torn meniscus since 4 March. On Tuesday, he was given the all-clear to practice with the team ahead of Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.
What are Karl-Anthony Towns’ stats in the 2023/24 season?
The Dominican star aims to be ready to play in the upcoming clash at Target Center in Minneapolis, which is the penultimate game of the regular season, although he is still listed as GTD (Game-Time Decision), which suggests he only has a 50-50 chance of being involved.
Towns, who has missed his team’s last 18 games, has averaged 22.1 points per game during the regular season, along with 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He has attempted 5.3 three-point field goals per game, 42.3% of which have hit the target.
Minnesota - OKC Thunder tiebreaker
The Timberwolves have an identical overall record to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the race to finish as No. 2 seed in the Western Conference but are in pole position to finish second ahead of OKC due to their superior conference record (37-14 to 35-16). The teams split the season series 2-2 and are both 12-4 in the Northwest Division.
How can the Minnesota Timberwolves go into the playoffs as No.1 seed?
While the Timberwolves are hoping to the Thunder, there is still a more than realistic chance they could go into the playoffs as No.1 seed in the Western Conference.
Minnesota (55-25) are one game behind the Denver Nuggets (56-24), who they lost to on Wednesday, with two games left to play. If the Nuggets lose to both the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies, the Timberwolves will leapfrog them at the top with wins over the Hawks and the Phoenix Suns.
Should the teams have an identical record at the top after 82 games, Minnesota will be top seeds due to their superior divisional record (12-4 to 9.6). The teams each won two of the four head-to-head games.