The Minnesota Timberwolves are locked in a finely poised Western Conference first round against the Denver Nuggets.
Minnesota leads 3-2 heading into Thursday night’s Game 6 at Target Center.
Having led 3-1, the Timberwolves dropped Game 5 after four games, meaning the series returned to Minneapolis. However, unlike Denver that needs two games to advance, they only need to win one more.
The downside for the Timberwolves is that they must overcome a mounting injury list to close out the series and move on to the next round.
However, as they prepare for that game, a timely boost to team morale has surfaced from the practice floor.
Donte DiVincenzo With the Team Days After Surgery
One of Minnesota’s huge injury blows was losing starting guard Donte DiVincenzo to an Achilles tendon rupture.
GettySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 13: Kristaps Porzingis #7 of the Golden State Warriors shoots and scores over Donte DiVincenzo #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
That was a nasty one to take as his season ultimately came to an end and he isn’t expected back on the court until close to a year, which is the normal recovery timeline of the injury.
He will potentially miss the majority of next season.
Notwithstanding, DiVincenzo isn’t going to let his injury demoralize his teammates. According to Timberwolves insider Dane Moore, the 26-year-old star was at the team’s morning shootaround, just days after undergoing surgery.
“Donte DiVincenzo is here at Wolves shootaround this morning on a scooter,” Moore wrote in a post on X.
The guard is still in the earliest stages of recovery but showing his face offered a visible sign of his commitment to the group.
DiVincenzo went down 79 seconds into Game 4 in a non-contact injury and was helped off the floor. Minnesota might have won that game, but his miss was evident in the preceding Game 5.
DiVincenzo combined for 31 points across Games 2 and 3 and provided spacing, perimeter defense, and secondary playmaking just as he had done all season long.
The guard played the entire 82 games in the regular season which many wonder may have been a contributing factor to his injury. The guard is in the third year of his four-year contract, which means he is eligible for extension or should have been eligible for extension this summer before his injury.
Minnesota Navigating an Injury Crisis
DiVincenzo isn’t the only Timberwolves star to be out for Game 6. Anthony Edwards hyperextended his left knee in that same Game 4, removing the team’s primary offensive engine from the equation for some time. The 24-year-old star is not expected back until later in the second round if Minnesota advances.
Not that anything will topple an achilies injury but it went from bad to worse in Game 5 when Naz Reid suffered an ankle injury. It effectively leaves the Timberwolves shorthanded against a formidable foe in the Nuggets.
Head coach Chris Finch has proven that he can adapt his lineups throughout the series and will have to bring another scheme off his sleves to prevent any nail-biting Game 7 in Denver.
The supporting cast will now have heavier minutes with bench players like Ayo Dosunmu being deployed as a mjor offensive option.
Tip-off is slated for tonight with the Wolves aiming to end Denver’s season and move forward.
Donte DiVincenzo Injury: Timberwolves Get Good News Before Critical Game 6