The Minnesota Timberwolves are off to a solid 2-1 start to the season after winning their first two games and losing a close one in their home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Timberwolves have gotten such a strong contribution from rookie Karl-Anthony Towns so far this season that it is easy to forget that Nikola Pekovic has been out for a while now. There haven't been many updates on Pekovic's progress recently but there is finally some good news as he has reportedly started towards a comeback, according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Pekovic reportedly did some light running on Tuesday and it was the first time that he had run since undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon in April. This offseason Pekovic also had a procedure done on his ankle so he has had his fair share of issues but it seems like he is finally headed in the right direction. After the Achilles surgery the Wolves expected to have Pekovic back for at least opening night despite not expecting him to play in the preseason but that didn't happen and although he is starting to make progress he is still not quite there yet.
Injuries limited the 6 foot-11 center to just 31 games last season and he has never played more than 65 games before but when he is on the court he is extremely productive. Pekovic is considered one of the strongest players in the NBA and he has a shot at a double-double every single night. For his career he has averaged 12.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
While Pekovic is out the Timberwolves have been going with Towns and Kevin Garnett as their starting frontcourt and that was expected to be the case even if Pekovic was healthy. Behind the starters Gorgui Dieng and Nemanja Bjelica have been the backups and neither has been great just yet. Dieng though, has impressed the Timberwolves in the past and is unlikely to be removed from the rotation and Bjelica has been rebounding at a very good rate as he is averaging 9.9 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Pekovic still isn't exactly on the cusp of a return so a lot can change between now and then but it doesn't seem like there will be too much playing time available for him upon his return. The Timberwolves have found a nice combination in their frontcourt and Pekovic has been hurt in his Minnesota tenure so he will have to stay healthy and prove he is worthy of minutes if he is going to play.
