Is Karl-Anthony Towns playing today against the Dallas Mavericks? Latest injury update from Minnesota Timberwolves (October 5th)

The 2023-24 NBA preseason tips off Thursday (Oct. 5) with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves taking on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. The matchup will take place at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates at noon (ET) on NBA TV. It will be the first of two preseason games in Abu Dhabi between Minnesota and Dallas, with the second scheduled for Saturday (Oct. 7).

After appearing in just 29 games last season, mostly due to a right calf injury, Towns appears good to go to start the preseason. This comes as the star big man is not listed on Minnesota’s injury report ahead of Thursday’s game. The only player currently listed as out for the Wolves is 2023 No. 53 pick Jaylen Clark (Achilles). So, the team should be close to full strength.

As for the Mavs, Doncic (thigh) and forward Grant Williams (hand) are each considered to be day-to-day. However, both players are listed as probable to suit up Thursday.

Chris Finch on expectations for Minnesota with a fully healthy Karl-Anthony Towns

Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and Wolves star big man Karl-Anthony Towns

Last month, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch spoke with NBA.com about his expectations for the Wolves entering the 2023-24 season.

Finch said that having Karl-Anthony Towns fully healthy and starting consistently alongside fellow star big man Rudy Gobert should be key to the team’s success. He also touched on star shooting guard Anthony Edwards’ continued development and the widespread expectations for him to take another step forward in his fourth season:

“Obviously, getting healthy — getting KAT back healthy — and then taking what we learned through the moments when we were all together last year and then build, be better prepared going into this season with the two bigs..

“We’re really excited about all our guys who played this summer internationally and certainly, Anthony’s continued emergence there.”

Finch added that Towns’ calf injury hindered the Wolves’ ability to build chemistry last season after acquiring Gobert from Utah in the 2022 offseason:

“Yeah, going into last season, we felt like it would really take 40 or 50 games to really catch a rhythm with it all. And with that span of time, you’re going to see a lot of defenses, schemes, coverages, things you’re going to have to adjust to. So you’d have a frame of reference going forward. And we really didn’t have that.

"We were trying to figure it out for 20 games when he got hurt, and it was some good, some bad. Then when he came back at the end of the season, it was literally, ‘Get in, fit in and try to figure it out on the fly.’”

Despite struggling with injuries last season, the Wolves still finished above .500 (42-40, eighth in the Western Conference). However, they ended up falling in five games to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. So, expectations will certainly be higher in 2024 as the team will look to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004.