For much of the season, the Minnesota Timberwolves experienced injury luck (in that players were remaining healthy) more so than most, or perhaps all, other NBA teams. With so many other clubs seeing players go down with injuries left and right, the Wolves didn’t have that issue.

Unfortunately, with the regular season winding down, the injury bug is beginning to rear its ugly head. The latest news on Monday regarding Jaden McDaniels could mean they are shorthanded for the remainder of the regular season.

Jaden McDaniels’ injury comes at terrible time 

The team announced on Monday that McDaniels will be out week-to-week with left knee patella tendinopathy and a bone bruise. With the conclusion of the regular season less than two weeks away, the 25-year-old could miss the last seven regular season outings.

Although the team is reportedly focused on getting him ready to go for the playoffs, his status for the beginning of the playoffs may be in question as well.

This comes on the heels of Anthony Edwards missing six straight games with right knee inflammation before returning on Monday. Also coming back on Monday was Ayo Dosunmu, who missed the previous two outings with right calf soreness.

It’s a string of injuries for a team that just hasn’t had all that many. The only long-term absence from a player this year has been when Terrence Shannon Jr. missed 25 straight games with a left foot strain. Even Shannon Jr. has been a fringe rotation guy when healthy and not one of their core pieces.

It also comes at a time when Minnesota is in the midst of battling for playoff positioning. With seven regular season games remaining, they sit in fifth in the Western Conference. They are just a half-game ahead of the Houston Rockets, with a future meeting between the two deciding the tiebreaker. The Wolves are 1.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets for fourth, and Denver possesses the tiebreaker.

Starting lineup has been on the court together quite often  

Taking a look at the five-man lineups in the NBA this season showcases how healthy Minnesota has been. Their full-strength starting lineup of Donte DiVincenzo, Edwards, McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert has shared the floor for 710 minutes. That’s 195 minutes more than any other five-man lineup in the league.

That doesn’t even account for sixth man Naz Reid, who has played in 72 of 75 games. Another key reserve, Bones Hyland, has appeared in 52 consecutive outings for the Timberwolves.

Hopefully, Minnesota can enter the playoffs without anything else occurring on the injury front.