How can the Minnesota Timberwolves stay afloat without Karl-Anthony Towns?
Although Towns and the Timberwolves avoided the worst-case scenario of an Achilles rupture that would have ended his season, Tuesday's diagnosis of a calf strain still is expected to sideline Towns four to six weeks according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The extended absence for Towns comes with Minnesota on a three-game losing streak to drop to 10-11, hardly what the Timberwolves expected when they traded four future first-round picks and two starters to the Utah Jazz to pair fellow All-Star Rudy Gobert with Towns in the frontcourt.
As much as the Gobert-Towns pairing hasn't worked as Minnesota hoped thus far, the team has also disappointed with Gobert as the lone All-Star big man on the court. For the Timberwolves to stay in the hunt for a top-six seed without Towns, they'll need to find a better formula for success around Gobert.
That, in turn, could help Minnesota be more successful when Towns returns to the court. So how can the Timberwolves do more to unlock Gobert? Let's take a look.