:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/28330573/20140204_gav_ai9_259.0.jpg)
It seems like it happened in the blink of an eye. After a pretty healthy start to the season, all of a sudden the Wolves were missing their three best scorers last night in their loss to the Blazers. Kevin Love missed the game, his second DNP in the last three after his fall last week. But the shocking news was Kevin Martin's broken left thumb, that will keep him out "indefinitely" according to the team's press release, while Nikola Pekovic continues his recovery from bursitis.
Here's the text of the team's press release about Martin:
Minneapolis/St. Paul - The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that an X-ray taken this morning at TRIA Orthopedics in Bloomington, Minn. on Kevin Martin revealed a non-displaced fracture of the distal phalanx in his left thumb. Martin will be sidelined indefinitely and a further update will be provided when appropriate.
The injury happened in the closing minutes of last night's 98-91 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 6-7 guard has appeared in 48 games this year for the Wolves, averaging 19.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 32.3 minutes per game.
Last night's starting lineup included Chase Budinger, Dante Cunningham, and Ronny Turiaf in place of the missing starters, and while they still competed well, we see from the last few games without Pekovic, or a healthy Love, that they simply cannot keep up over four quarters.
Hopefully they will get healthy sooner rather than later, but this stretch looks like the final nail in the coffin for the Wolves playoff hopes this season. They simply cannot stay afloat with key players on the sidelines.