MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love will sit out again Tuesday night against Memphis after suffering a mild concussion last Wednesday in Denver.
Tuesday's game will be the fourth consecutive full game the power forward has missed, and in that time his team has gone 0-4, including the game in which he was injured in the first quarter. Against the Nuggets, Clippers, Thunder and Pacers in the past week without Love, the Timberwolves have been outscored, 434-387, by an average margin of 11.8 points.
Coach Rick Adelman said he didn't know if Love would be in the building for the Timberwolves' game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday, and he wouldn't say whether he expects Love to miss the rest of the season. If Love is cleared to play before April 26, the team's final game, Adelman said he'd like to see him return.
"I think it'll be how he feels and the doctors and Greg (Farnam, athletic trainer) telling us that," Adelman said. "I know he's got to pass those tests. There's nothing that's going to happen until then. After three more days, you only have two games left, so we'll just have to see what everybody's thinking at that time."
With regard to the team's other injured players, Adelman said he's becoming increasingly pessimistic about Luke Ridnour's return. After originally projecting that the point guard, who has missed seven games with a sprained ankle, might return last Saturday against Oklahoma City, Adelman said that the best-case scenario may be a Sunday return against Golden State.
In addition, Adelman doubts Darko Milicic will return this season. Milicic has missed time with various injuries and has done nothing to ingratiate himself to his new coach this season. Nikola Pekovic, who took Milicic's starting job in early February, has been suffering from bone spurs in his right ankle, and though he returned to the lineup April 2 after missing seven games, that ankle has been bothering him recently. Adelman said Pekovic would start Tuesday, but if his condition worsens the coach might consider shutting him down for the season.
"He's a pretty tough guy, and if it's really bothering him then it doesn't make any sense to play him," Adelman said.
With so many key players hurt, injuries have become a part of Adelman's nightly routine. At this point, he said, there's less to analyze: He just shows up on game nights, finds out who's available and constructs a lineup. It's as simple as it is demoralizing.
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