Ant out 2 months

[Mnwild1128]

Whoever told him to let it naturally heal and take 2 months off during the summer should be fired or murdered. What an effing joke. Coulda had the surgery then took the same "two months" off.

[Mnwild1128]

Interesting take, Q. I think you’re probably right assuming we can continue to count on TSJ’s high level scoring that we’ve seen from him these first four games. I say that because we lose a LOT of scoring punch with Ant out for an extended period. LaMelo and Ayo can score, but they can only do so much. Think about the scorers we had the latter part of last season who we won’t have on the court for at least the next two months — Ant, Donte, Randle, and Naz. We have to count on LaMelo, TSJ and Kuminga to pick most of the slack and that’s a tall order. Our defense will also likely take a step back without Ant.

I personally think the team needs to lean into defense even more now. We have the depth to do it with the likes of Clark and Cody on the bench. Bones will also move up the rotation ladder since he will help provide some additional shot creation.

BTW, given Beringer's ability to crash the offensive glass and keep possessions alive, I would not be surprised to see some Joan/Rudy pairings in limited situations. The tradeoff is horrible spacing, but we now need to think about winning the possession game, which rebounding is a big a part of.

That’s a great take, Q. I agree on leaning more into defense. I like having Clark and Cody in our arsenal to deploy for defense. If either one or both show something close to a reliable jump shot that would be a huge shot in the arm. I like Bones and understand his value offensive, but he’s a pretty poor defender and his shooting is erratic. I worry about relying a lot on him over time.

I’ll add that Beringer’s improvement game to game in just four games has been incredible.

Bones is just fine in a regular season. 80% of the games, he won't be a liability.

[Mnwild1128]

Ugh! Wish they figured this out in the offseason!

Good thing we are pretty damn deep in the backcourt. Ayo and Shannon will get more minutes. Bones and/or Clark might get something. Next man up.

And ball movement should be better!

I wonder if we’ll ever find out exactly what surgery Ant is getting. I read about runners knee, which is the condition attributed to Ant. Based on what I read, the only surgical interventions are far more complex and require 9-12 months of recover and rehab. Maybe it’s not really runners knee. I have a dark feeling that this surgery won’t address the problem and that eventually Ant will be out for a year to undergo more serious surgery. If it was just a simple two-month fix then why didn’t they do it in the offseason? Two months is fine if the surgery if effective. But if the pain is still there or returns shorter after his return then I’ll be very troubled.

Orthoscopic surgery is usually for foreign object removal/bone cleanup/touchup. Orthoscopic is the least invasive you can have.

[Phenom]

Glad that it sounds like it's not a runners knee continuation. Its a bummer of course but he'll be back.

[TAFKASP]

Great, this just as the Vikings are about to come back to earth. We still have the Wild; they won't let us down, right?

[WildWolf2813]

It sucks that I can't even lobby for Evans to play.

[FNG]

Just catching up to this sad news. After the initial shock wore off, I went into self-care rationalization mode. While this will undoubtedly cost us some wins during the regular season, I'm focusing on the bright side:

1) I can't believe this is a serous knee injury...after all, Ant scored 47 points and had some explosive moves last night.
2) This is minimally invasive surgery, unlike more serious surgeries where they open the patient up.
3) While the recovery period from this type of surgery is generally 6-8 weeks, let's not forget that Ant has shown time and again that he is Superman...how many times has he gone to the locker room with what looked like a serious injury, only to return 10 minutes later? And I'll repeat: he scored 47 points last night WITH this injury! If anyone is going to beat the normal time limit, it's Ant.
4) Ant and Melo developed a working rapport right away...it's still going to be there when he returns
5) I'm now thinking Donte will be back in late December or early January. How many teams are going to have the likes of Ant and Donte joining them for the last half of the season?
6) As others have said, this opens up some minutes for some players we are still evaluating...Clark and Williams. Let's see what they can do with the opportunity.
7) While this will probably cost us 5-6 wins during the period he is out, let's not forget how much fun the Wolves were to watch last season while Ant was out hurt. We obviously need a healthy Ant to go deep in the playoffs, but we're still going to be a lot of fun to watch the next two months.

Okay, I've talked myself off the ledge...I'm ready to lay some coin on the Wolves -3 1/2 tomorrow night.

Edit: I agree with most here and am pissed this wasn't addressed in June.

[TAFKASP]

3) While the recovery period from this type of surgery is generally 6-8 weeks, let's not forget that Ant has shown time and again that he is Superman...how many times has he gone to the locker room with what looked like a serious injury, only to return 10 minutes later? And I'll repeat: he scored 47 points last night WITH this injury! If anyone is going to beat the normal time limit, it's Ant.

It's possible his Superman routine, somehow playing after what appears to be a serious injury has contributed to the ongoing issues.

[Phenom]

I'm not liking what I've been reading and hearing about these arthroscopic cleanups. He will be back relatively soon but it sounds like it will be the first in a long line of similar situations. . I hope that's not the case here.

[WildWolf2813]

I'm not liking what I've been reading and hearing about these arthroscopic cleanups. He will be back relatively soon but it sounds like it will be the first in a long line of similar situations. . I hope that's not the case here.

He might be D Wade and may have to adjust his game now.

Now, I wouldn't start removing the meniscus or anything, but it's good that he's worked on the jumper and we can see how that's not being affected by the knee.

The days of dunking over Watanabe and Collins might be over though.