"KAT Comin' Back. KAT Will Be Back" - Anthony Edwards Dropped The Bomb That Karl-Anthony Towns' Return Is On The Way

Juan Ocampo. Getty Images.

Anthony Edwards had himself a night in LA against the Lakers last night, playing a big role in the Wolves important 127-117 win.

The Wolves woke up this morning back in the top spot in the West with 4 games to play, so considering MIN/LAL still has the potential to be a first round series, I'd say this win and the Wolves 3-1 record against LAL is pretty significant. They also got a massive night from Naz Reid (30/10) who should definitely be the leader for 6MOY, but that's a different topic for a different blog.

The point of this blog isn't that the Wolves won or that Ant looked great. It's about what he said after the game

I'm sorry, what was that?

KAT, a player who has been out since March 7th is about to be back soon? At first I thought this was just Ant trolling, but then I saw Shams double down and confirm it

and this is HUGE news. Potential conference altering news if we're going to be honest about it. This isn't just a role player coming back into the lineup for the current #1 seed. This is their second best player. The one area you could maybe be nervous about when it comes to the Wolves is their offense, so getting back one of the best offensive big men in basketball seems like a big deal.

Now, while I'm not a doctor, coming back basically after only 1 month after surgery would have me terrified. I remember when Robert Williams did something like this a few years ago, and he definitely was not the same guy. His athleticism wasn't there and it sort of did more harm than good. With KAT, given that he's a different type of player and doesn't really rely solely on his jumping/athleticism, perhaps things will look better for him. This differs of course from Embiid who looks like his old self upon returning from his meniscus injury because he's someone who like had 3+ months to recover. 

I would certainly hope KAT wouldn't be cleared to play if he wasn't 100% ready to go, especially with such a risky injury. But if he is healthy? It changes a lot of how you should be thinking about the Wolves for this upcoming playoff run. Since KAT went out, the Wolves have floated around 14th in the league offensively. Not great, but not terrible. Being able to get just enough offensively from Ant/Reid while still playing elite defense is how they've been able to go 11-5 over that stretch.

When KAT is on the floor this season, the Wolves have a 116.5 ORTG, and to put that into perspective, that's essentially a top 10 offense in the league. When he steps off the floor, that number drops to just 109.5, which would be good for 26th. That's a pretty big drop, and at a time when defenses lock in and things slow down, having your second best offensive option in the lineup (as long as he shows up), could go a long way, especially if they are facing the Lakers size in RD1.

With Embiid back, OG Anunoby back, and KAT on the verge of coming back, as fans this is all you could ask for. This season has been so fun and the parity across the league has been so awesome, we as fans deserve to see what things look like with teams having all their best players healthy. At the end of the day, that's what I want to see. I want to have the best of the best go at it for a chance to win a title. I want the chaos that comes with everyone being healthy and no team in the league having an easy playoff path.

It feels like that's what we're about to get, and boy the Play In/Playoffs can't get here soon enough.