Report: Wolves' Karl-Anthony Towns Has Torn Meniscus, Out Indefinitely with Injury

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and is out indefinitely.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Towns has been gathering second opinions on the injury to determine his next steps.

Towns made his fourth All-Star team last month, putting up averages of 22.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. The Timberwolves are on pace for their second-best season in franchise history at 43-19 and are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Towns' absence will almost certainly send them plummeting down the standings. The Timberwolves, Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers are all within 2.5 games of one another while vying for the top four spots in the West, and Minnesota is a clear No. 4 in those rankings without Towns.

Fellow All-Star Anthony Edwards and Defensive Player of the Year favorite Rudy Gobert can help shoulder the load, but the Wolves do not have the offensive firepower to withstand losing Towns. Edwards and Towns are the only Minnesota players averaging more than 15 points per game this season. Gobert has never fared well when asked to take on a bigger offensive role, and relying on Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels to exponentially increase their scoring load seems like a fool's errand.

We're likely too far into the season for the Wolves to fear missing the playoffs outright, but home-court advantage in the first round could be in question. The New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings are all within 7.5 games of Minnesota and are potentially one hot run away from nestling into the top-four conversation.

At this point, the Wolves will just have their fingers crossed Towns can return before the end of the regular season to ramp up for the playoffs.