Entering today’s season finale between the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves, there were some significant names on the injury report on the Minnesota side.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Anthony Edwards (illness) and Karl Anthony Towns (left meniscus tear) are available. For the Suns, Drew Eubanks (right ankle soreness) is available, while Eric Gordon (migraine) is out.
The Timberwolves, who have gone 0-2 against the Suns this season, had listed their two stars as questionable on the injury report yesterday. Towns returned to action after missing 18 straight games with this injury in Minnesota’s 109-106 victory over the Atlanta Hawks Friday, finishing with 11 points, eight assists and five rebounds in 28 minutes.
For the Suns, Gordon was added to the report this morning as questionable, while Eubanks was added to the report yesterday as questionable. Eubanks has appeared in 74 of the Suns’ 80 games this season and had two points and seven rebounds in the Suns’ 108-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings Friday.
Gordon also had two points in this contest and will finish the year having averaged 11.0 points on 37.8% 3-point shooting in 27.8 minutes per game across 68 contests (24 starts). Bol Bol will get more minutes today with his absence, coach Frank Vogel said pregame.
Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) will have officially missed the entire season, as he is listed as out once again after undergoing right meniscus surgery on Oct. 12, 2023.
The Suns can avoid the play-in with a win over the Timberwolves and the New Orleans Pelicans losing to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans are one game ahead of the Suns in the No. 6 seed, but Phoenix owns the tiebreaker over them. Any other outcome and Phoenix will find itself in the seventh seed.
Welcome to a very exciting last day of the #NBA regular season! The #Suns can move up from No. 7 to the No. 6 seed and out the play-in with a win over the #Timberwolves and the #Lakers beating the #Pelicans. Do you think this will happen? pic.twitter.com/3gf353nSQz
— Burn City Suns Talk 🎙️ (@BurnCitySuns) April 14, 2024
The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed to begin the play-in, while the No. 9 seed hosts the No. 10 seed in a separate matchup. The winner of the 7-8 game advances to the playoffs to play the No. 2 seed. The loser plays the winner of the 9-10 game, and the winner of this contest advances to the playoffs to play the No. 1 seed.
Minnesota, who is currently the No. 2 seed by way of the three-way tiebreaker, can clinch the No. 1 seed with a win and the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder both losing. The Timberwolves can also reach No. 1 with a win, Denver loss and Oklahoma City win. They own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Thunder, but not the Nuggets and place No. 2 based on the multi-team tie rules if all three teams tie.
Ideally for the Suns, they would continue their dominance over Minnesota with a win, have the Lakes beat the Pelicans and see Denver and OKC both win. This would put the Suns in a 3 vs. 6 matchup with the Timberwolves, a team they will have fared very well against, and out of the play-in.
Complete Western Conference Playoff and Play-In scenarios for tomorrow's games ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WQ1nLxuiIh
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 13, 2024
Phoenix last played Minnesota just over a week ago at home, winning 97-87, the lowest points it has allowed this season and the fewest Minnesota has scored in a game this year.
Today’s game tips off at 12:30 p.m. MST and will be the teams’ first meeting in Minnesota this season.
Preview: Suns close out season with ultra-important game vs. Timberwolves
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
