Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks' hero in last season's playoffs, has been ruled out of Friday's return to MSG because of a sprained toe, the Timberwolves announced.
This is the Tigers' first DNP of the season for the durable DiVincenzo, and puts a damper on a potential matchup between the offseason trade partners.
Karl-Anthony Towns, who was traded in the opposite direction (from Minnesota to New York), is questionable for this matchup due to a sprained thumb.
As a result, Julius Randle is the most likely traded player to participate on Friday.
And how will the Garden crowd react?
Before the news of DiVincenzo's injury, Josh Hart said that both former Knicks would receive an unending ovation.
“I don’t think there’s anything other than cheers and applause and things like that,” Hart said. “clearly [Randle]he was here for about five years and helped rebuild the franchise.
“[Donte] I've only been here for a year, but I gave my all for the team and the city. So I don't think there is any other option. ”
Jalen Brunson, on the other hand, couldn't have predicted the reception.
“I don’t know how the crowd is going to react to them,” the point guard said.
Just a few weeks after the trade that sent DiVincenzo and Randle to Minnesota, the two returned to the Garden to positive reception heading into preseason games in mid-October.
It included a memorial video and a headline-grabbing altercation between DiVincenzo and Rick Brunson that was quickly fixed.
Friday will be Randle's first game as an opponent at MSG since 2018, as he did not play that night as he is recovering from shoulder surgery.
Randle had a clear motive to beat the Knicks in their December matchup in Minnesota, and gave plenty of indications that no love was lost, without giving his former teammate a hug after the Tigers' loss. left the court.
After reaching the conference finals last season, the Timberwolves (21-19) largely disappointed, and recently tinkered with their lineup, including starting DiVincenzo.
This helped boost the former Nick's growth. He came off a 28-point loss to the Warriors on Wednesday and was forced to miss the game against MSG with a sprained toe.
The Knicks maintained their spot in the All-Star fan vote, but Brunson has increased his support.
In his third return announced Thursday, Brunson ranks fourth among East guards, but only about 35,000 votes separate him from third-place Dame Lillard. In the previous return, Brunson was about 65,000 votes behind Lillard.
Towns ranks third among East frontcourt players, trailing second-place Jayson Tatum by about 40,000 votes. This is almost the same difference as the previous return.
All-Star voting closes at noon on January 20th.
