© Provided by Awful AnnouncingKarl-Anthony Towns in a Feb. 2020 game.
One of the more notable, and sometimes more entertaining, aspects of Twitter is how easy it is for athletes, politicians, celebrities and more to engage with news reports about them that they dispute. The latest case on that front comes from the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns, who has missed their past 13 games while recovering from COVID-19. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium tweeted Wednesday that Towns (seen in the middle at top on the bench during a game last February) was "expected to return tonight vs. the Clippers," and Towns quoted-tweeted that with "News to me!" and said that his plan was to go through shootaround and see how he feels.
It makes some sense that Towns is being cautious. He lost seven family members, including his mother, to COVID-19 last year, and as he says, he has some underlying conditions. And while he has been participating more in gym work with the team, and was upgraded to doubtful ahead of Monday's game against Dallas, it seems like there are still some challenges for him ahead. Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders discussed Towns' path back with reporters Monday, as Jace Frederick of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press writes:
The Timberwolves have had more gym time on the road, which has allowed players like Towns to get added treatment and work.
"He's been partaking in all of that. He's really been able to push himself," Saunders said. "Our medical group has been able to try to simulate certain stints during a game, the stopping and going, what that might feel like with his lungs."
The Wolves have made a point to find out how Towns' lungs can handle different durations of high-intensity work.
"Nothing can simulate a game environment like a game," Saunders said. "Because there's a lot of bumping, it's physical and you can't always simulate it with coaches, even as in shape as our coaches feel they are, they aren't able to simulate what he'd see against a (Jonas) Valanciunas or a lot of bigger guys we've been facing."
Overall, Sanders described "progress" from Towns, but said it's important to take it slow and not rush players back, both from effects of COVID itself and from effects of getting their bodies used to the contact of NBA games again. So it doesn't seem like the Timberwolves are going to put too much pressure on Towns, and it looks like it will be his call when to return. And judging from his tweet, that may not be Wednesday night.
Of course, this could seemingly still lead to Towns actually playing Wednesday if the shootaround goes well for him. And it is notable that Charania's report was just "expected to," not a 100 percent guarantee that Towns would play. But Charania's sources here and their "expected" language don't seem to be quite on the same page as Towns. And it would seem like it's his page that's the one that actually matters.
[Karl-Anthony Towns on Twitter/Twin Cities Pioneer Press/photo from Dan Hamilton/USA Today Sports]
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