Karl-Anthony Towns ruled out Sunday vs. Spurs [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Jan. 10, 4:22 p.m. — Towns has been ruled out for Sunday’s game vs. the Spurs. He returned to the lineup and played 37 minutes in an OT loss to the Spurs on Saturday night. With the back-to-back, the T-Wolves will ease Towns back into the lineup and he’ll take a seat. We should see Ed Davis re-enter the lineup at center; he had been starting for Towns while the All-Star was out.

UPDATE: Jan. 9, 7:32 p.m. — Towns will return to the lineup Saturday vs. the Spurs after missing the past six games due to a wrist injury. KAT is in the starting lineup, though we haven’t heard anything about a minutes restriction yet.

UPDATE: Jan. 9, 10:47 a.m. — KAT is considered a game-time decision for Saturday vs. the Spurs. He’s missed the past six games due to a wrist injury and has a shot to come back. KAT will go through shootaround Saturday morning, so that’s a good sign. We’ll see if he gets back in. The T-Wolves don’t have much of an incentive to rush Towns back, though it’s still early enough for them to get back into the playoff chase.

If Towns remains sidelined, Ed Davis ($3,400) should remain the starter at center. Juancho Hernangomez ($4,500) has been playing well in KAT’s absence. Both players would get a downgrade if Towns returns. D’Angelo Russell ($8,100) still makes sense in GPPs to me even if KAT returns. Towns will likely be on a minutes restriction. Plus, KAT is just another weapon the Spurs will need to deal with.

The T-Wolves are getting 5 points as of now on DraftKings Sportsbook. My feeling is if Towns returns, he won’t play more than, say, 20-25 minutes tops. If that’s the case, the Spurs still have a decent edge coming off two big wins over the Lakers and Clippers this week. Try to wait on the KAT news and react to the line quickly.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are listing C Karl-Anthony Towns as questionable to play in Saturday’s game vs. the San Antonio Spurs. Towns has missed the past six games after injuring his wrist early in the season. The T-Wolves have not done well without KAT. They’ve lost all six games without him after starting the season 2-0. If Towns can return, it would be big for Minny, which is staring down another lost season.

If Towns is able to return to the lineup, we should see Ed Davis head back to the bench after starting the past couple games. Initially, Naz Reid had been the guy off the bench to step up with KAT out. That didn’t last long. Getting Towns back in the fold would be huge. There’s a chance if he is able to return that we will see a minutes restriction. This could last a few games so the T-Wolves know he’s back to 100 percent. After that, Towns should be a full go.

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