D'Angelo Russell Out for Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers With Hamstring Injury

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced guard D'Angelo Russell will not play Monday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers because of hamstring soreness.

A left shin contusion most recently knocked Russell out of a 124-115 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 27. He was absent when Minnesota returned to the court for a 134-124 defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Suns one day later.

At 36-29, the Timberwolves are seventh in the Western Conference and on pace to at least qualify for the play-in tournament. That would be an improvement for a franchise that won 42 combined games over the last two seasons.

Russell has had a hand in Minnesota's success, but his production is probably falling short of what the front office hoped when it paired him with Karl-Anthony Towns. He's averaging 19.3 points and 7.0 assists through 51 games. More glaring are his shooting numbers (41.9 percent overall and 35.0 percent on three-pointers).

His performance arguably isn't matching his $30 million salary this year.

Russell's absence will force Patrick Beverley to handle more of the playmaking burden out of the backcourt. Jordan McLaughlin and Jaylen Nowell will need to assume larger roles as well in Chris Finch's rotation.