West Notes: Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns, Pelicans, Grizzlies

Timberwolves

Coach Chris Finch indicated that center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns could be nearing a return.

“Today he’s going to have some live activity on the floor, the first time in forever,’ Finch told Paul Allen of KFAN. “Some controlled, live action on the floor. I know he’s looking forward to that.”

As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic noted, the Timberwolves did not practice on Wednesday, so perhaps Finch was referring to an individual workout for Towns. Either way, it’s progress, as the team looks to make a playoff push.

• Towns has yet to play with trade-deadline acquisition Mike Conley, and the Timberwolves seem to be a more organized bunch with Conley running the point. So they have high hopes of what may await once Towns returns.

Pelicans

• Power forward Zion Williamson (hamstring) doesn’t appear to be any nearer a return, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN. “I think his setback was significant,” Windhorst said.
• New Orleans is just 8-20 since Williamson went down on Jan. 2, as relayed by Christian Clark of NOLA.com. 

Grizzlies

Coach Taylor Jenkins reiterated there is no timeframe for the return of star point guard Ja Morant, via Mark Medina of NBA.com.

“We’re in touch with him every single day,” Jenkins told reporters. “He’s still a huge part of what we do. As I said the other day, we love him. We want what’s best for him. We support him. … It’s a healing process, so if everyone expects something to change overnight, we’ve got to (do) due diligence and be respectful in that. We’re talking about Ja being in a better place personally and also professionally, so to put a timetable on it is disrespectful, in my opinion.”

• The Grizzlies, of course, are also without injured forward Brandon Clarke (Achilles) for the rest of the season. “The margin for error is really small right now,” Jenkins said. “It’s our third rough patch of the year. We always find a way to respond.”
• Jenkins added that Memphis isn’t wavering. “My confidence is high,” he said. “Our guys are confident. They’re together. You’re going to take your lumps every now and then. We’re taking those now right now, but our guys trust the work they’re putting in.”