The nightmare season for the Minnesota Timberwolves became even worse on Saturday as the Timberwolves announced that standout guard Zach LaVine is done for the season with a torn ACL.
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) taken this morning at Mayo Clinic by Team Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Diane Dahm revealed that Wolves guard Zach LaVine has a torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) in his left knee. LaVine, who will have surgery at a to-be-determined date, will miss the remainder of the season. Further updates as to LaVine's progress will be issued when more information becomes available.
The injury occurred during last night's 116-108 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
In 47 games this season, LaVine averaged 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 37.2 minutes per game. In his third NBA season, LaVine holds career averages of 13.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 206 games.
Source: Zach LaVine Injury Update | Minnesota Timberwolves.
It's awful all around, from LaVine himself who was emerging as a quality star in this league (and maybe the second-best player on the Wolves) to the team, whose slim hopes of securing a playoff spot (3.5 back of the 8th seed) now take a turn for the worse.
The injury also takes its toll on a player's athleticism, which hurts LaVine and his mobility, though he's shown himself to be much more than just a leaper this season.
Without him, you can expect the Wolves to play more dual-point guard lineups and it may impact any effort to trade Ricky Rubio. It will likely mean more minutes for Andrew Wiggins, though Wiggins is already playing 37 minutes per game so there's not much more he can handle there.
Notably, the Wolves are a minus-3.5 in net points per 100 possessions this season, and a plus-4.7 with LaVine off the floor, but much of that is impacted by lineups and other factors. The Wolves were just 2-8 when LaVine scored over 25 points in a game this season.
