Timberwolves might be on the mend, but key players are still on injury report

HOUSTON – Before the All-Star break, the Timberwolves beat the Western Conference-leading Thunder down half their regular rotation.

Julius Randle (right groin), Donte DiVincenzo (left big toe sprain), Mike Conley (dislocated finger) and Rudy Gobert (back spasms) all were out as the Wolves pulled off an improbable win.

Then Anthony Edwards, who has missed a few games of late because of a hip injury, sat out the All-Star Game because of a groin injury.

Thursday was the first day the Wolves reconvened for practice since the break in advance of Friday’s game against the Rockets.

Just how healthy were they? Well, it seems they are on the mend. First, Gobert, Conley and Edwards all appear in line to play despite receiving the “questionable” tag on the injury report.

Coach Chris Finch said all three were able to practice “largely to full capacity.”

DiVincenzo and Randle, who have each been out for multiple weeks, are both still out for Friday, but the Wolves issued encouraging injury updates on both.

Randle appears the closer of the two to playing, as the team said he has been cleared for five-on-five full contact basketball activities. Randle was able to practice against contact, but “still in controlled fashion,” Finch said. Finch said Randle’s return was likely a little longer than “day to day” as he recovers from the injury that has sidelined him since Jan. 30.

DiVincenzo appears a little further away as he was cleared to resume non-contact basketball activities. DiVincenzo was putting up shots at the end of Wolves practice and was jogging into the shots. He has been out since suffering the injury late in a Wolves loss to Golden State on Jan. 15.

Randle’s and DiVincenzo’s continued absences means more opportunity for the young players on the Wolves roster coming out of the break. With 26 games remaining, the Wolves entered Thursday one full game behind the Clippers for the all-important No. 6 seed, which would avoid the play-in tournament. After a difficult stretch to reopen play (Houston, two games against the Thunder and a road date with the Lakers), the Wolves will have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league by opponent win percentage.

Their youth has served them well. Terrence Shannon Jr. was a key part of that win over the Thunder, Jaylen Clark has played well, especially on the defensive end of the floor, while Rob Dillingham has provided a spark at times, even as Finch has asked him to adjust his game to being more of a playmaker first than scorer.

“Their effort, their confidence, they’re playing with a lot of swagger, a lot of belief,” Finch said. “It’s key for us to keep the game plans as simple as possible for them. That’s one thing we’ve learned. Continue to stay ready as we move through these things. Obviously, every night is a little different and that’s what they have to be ready for too.”

The question for the medium term for Finch will be which of the young players on the bench might get minutes when the Wolves are back fully healthy. That would be a good problem to have again, considering what the Wolves have seen from their bench of late. They haven’t been perfect (see the loss to Milwaukee sans Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard before that Thunder win), but their performances have been encouraging.

“It’s all about trust, right?” Finch said. “Playing time is just a currency of trust. It’s all it is. Get in there, play well, do things to not hurt the team, do things to really help the team. Those are two very different things, and they’ve been able to do both of those at times and keep growing our confidence in them, and their confidence in themselves.”

8:30 p.m. Friday at Toyota Center

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Wolves update: The Wolves had the 22nd-most-efficient offense in the league through December, but they have the sixth-best offense since the calendar turned to 2025. Fueling that is their offensive rebounding rate, which is fourth over that time. G Mike Conley (finger), G Anthony Edwards (hip) and C Rudy Gobert (back) are questionable and G Donte DiVincenzo (toe) and F Julius Randle (back) are out.

Rockets update: Houston lost seven of nine games heading into the All-Star break. In three games against the Wolves this season, guard Jalen Green is averaging 17 points per game. The Wolves have held him to 37% shooting. The Rockets have the fourth-rated defense in the league. F Jabari Smith (hand) is out.