T-Wolves' Karl-Anthony Towns to Return vs. Hawks; out Since Nov. 28 with Calf Injury

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns is set for his long-awaited return to the lineup.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Towns will be in the starting lineup for Minnesota's game Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks. The All-Star big man has not played since Nov. 28 because of a calf injury.

"I'm just trying to pick up where I left off," Towns told ESPN. "I was telling my dad right before I got hurt, I felt the most complete as a player in my career. From defensive end, from offensive end, from a mental aspect, leadership aspect ... I felt very complete."

Towns was averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game before going down in a loss to the Washington Wizards. He was adjusting to playing the 4 after the Timberwolves acquired Rudy Gobert during the offseason, and it wasn't going swimmingly.

Towns' points per game were his lowest since his rookie season, and his 8.2 boards were a career low. After developing into one of the best big-man shooters in the league, Towns was also shooting a career-worst 32.5 percent from deep.

The Timberwolves sit at 36-37 with nine games remaining in the regular season and hold the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. They are just one game out of the No. 6 seed, which would mean avoiding the play-in tournament.

Getting Towns back for the stretch run will be critical as the Wolves attempt to make the playoffs for the second straight season. That said, it'll be interesting to see how he handles the role he did not seem fully comfortable in before the injury.