Juancho Hernangomez considers himself "lucky."
The Timberwolves forward was out for 20 days as a result of contracting coronavirus, but the worst effect he felt from the virus was — boredom.
"I was lucky. I feel like I didn't have a lot of effects," Hernangomez said after the Wolves' 127-122 loss to Dallas on Monday. "I had two days of fever. Just boring. The last 20 days at home. I tried to do something else. I was with my cousin and with my friend. At least I got some company."
Hernangomez has been in the company of the team for about a week, but Monday marked his first time back on the floor in a game since Jan. 13. He came in during the fourth quarter as the Wolves were making a desperate push against the Mavericks, and they nearly came all the way back despite being down as much as 25. Hernangomez played nine minutes and scored five points.
Before the game, coach Ryan Saunders said Hernangomez, who is averaging 6.5 points this season, was healthy enough to play, but hinted that Hernangomez wasn't in the rotation. Perhaps there will be a shift in that after Monday, though Saunders also said the Wolves are monitoring how Hernangomez's conditioning responds to game action.
"He gave nice minutes there," Saunders said. "Probably played him a longer stint than I expected him to be able to play lung-wise."
It's similar to what Saunders said about center Karl-Anthony Towns, who remains out as he ramps up his conditioning. The Wolves are monitoring how his lungs can handle increases in activity before deciding when he can play again.
While Hernangomez was out, others who played at power forward such as Jarred Vanderbilt and rookie Jaden McDaniels did little to discourage Saunders from keeping them out of the rotation once Hernangomez was healthy. Both have provided needed defense and rebounding, while Hernangomez's strengths lie more on offense.
