An illness has affected the Minnesota Timberwolves’ roster at the worst possible time, and they are fighting it.
For Sunday’s game against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers (32-45), who will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, Minnesota (39-39) hopes to be in better health.
With four games remaining, the Wolves are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota entered Saturday 1 1/2 games in front of the eleventh spot Dallas Free thinkers, with groups in the 7-10 spots fitting the bill for the play-in competition.
In Friday’s 123-111 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Wolves guard Anthony Edwards, one of several players dealing with illness, scored 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Minnesota drove by upwards of 13 focuses right off the bat in the second from last quarter before the Lakers assumed command.
Kyle Anderson, Austin Rivers, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley, and Taurean Prince have all been ill over the past week, but Minnesota coach Chris Finch is not making any excuses.
Forward Naz Reid, who suffered a broken left wrist against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, is another important rotation player that the Wolves are without. Reid will be out for a long time.
Conley had 25 focuses and seven helps against the Lakers, while Towns scored 23. The Wolves play Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs on the road at the end of the season, followed by games against the New Orleans Pelicans at home.
Conley said that the Timberwolves are still focused on a strong finish, despite the fact that several of their players are ill.
This season, Minnesota had two losses against Portland before winning 113-106 on Jan. 4.
For Sunday’s matchup, the Blazers will likely be without starters Jerami Grant (left quad), Jusuf Nurkic (right knee), Anfernee Simons (right foot), and Damian Lillard (right calf).
In its last 12 games, Portland has lost five straight and 11. The most recent setback occurred during the Sacramento Kings’ 138-114 defeat on Friday.
The play of rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe, who scored 27 points against the Kings and has scored an average of 24.3 points over the past six games, has been a bright spot.
