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Illness has wreaked havoc on Timberwolves

jace frederick, pioneer press
·2 min read

The Timberwolves certainly haven’t helped themselves of late, with their own poor play serving as the primary cause of their current three-game losing streak.

But it should be noted Minnesota isn’t at full strength, either. That extends beyond the loss of Naz Reid, who’s out for an indefinite period with a broken wrist.

Minnesota was again without reserve guard Austin Rivers on Sunday. He missed the contest with an illness. The Wolves can only hope illness has finally run its course through the team’s roster.

A stomach virus has plagued Minnesota in recent games, affecting the likes of Taurean Prince, Kyle Anderson, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Edwards has reportedly been vomiting even during games. Towns said he didn’t eat one bit of food Friday ahead of the team’s loss to the Lakers.

“Had a lot of things going wrong. Kind of living in the bathroom, so I’m just trying to figure it out. A lot of shivers at night, night sweats, chills, going to sleep with a full sweatsuit on under the covers just to feel a little warm,” Towns said Friday. “I’m just cool and happy that I get to go home and hopefully try to get a bite of food. Probably won’t stay there long.”

Players are often praised for pushing through injuries and illness.

“All credit to those guys for trying to play. We’ve been here before. No one is going to feel sorry for us,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Friday. “We got to pick ourselves up.”

But it is fair to wonder if having sick players in the locker room and on the floor has contributed to the seemingly team-wide spread.

“Listen, we’ve all lived through COVID. We know what that looks like when it comes to communicable diseases,” Finch said in response to that. “Locker rooms are kind of breeding grounds for this, but we’re trying to do the best we can.”

Minnesota’s recent efforts — both on the floor and in trying to contain the recent bug — have not gone well. Perhaps Minnesota’s lack of health has led to a lack of energy that’s been particularly apparent in an offense that’s gone stagnant in recent contests.

“I don’t know if guys just need to get healthy or sleep or whatever, but we need to find a way to dig deep and stop thinking about that and worry about how I can cut harder or I can get open easier, make the passing lane a little easier,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “Those things are all huge for us, especially when we’re struggling to score.”

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