SB Nation Reacts: Turn off the injury option

As the season is just days away from kicking off, we asked you all for the last time.

Your answer?

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are injured beyond measure. It is our availability, not our ability, that most frightens us. Your playing dinged up does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about playing through ailments so that other teams won’t feel secure in their playoff seeing. We are all meant to load manage as Kawhi Leonard does. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own rest shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

To be fair, most teams likely fear the same thing. Injuries are the great equalizer, or more like “un-equalizer.” Wolves fans are no strangers to this, as we saw just how much it impacted their 2026 postseason run. Having a fully healthy Anthony Edwards, let alone an available Donte DiVincenzo, could have made a huge difference in the 2-4 series loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

Some of you in the comments section specifically referenced the concern of injury to Rudy Gobert. It falls in line with the frontcourt depth concern, as his only true backup is a 19-year-old athletic freak who only started playing basketball around when Anthony Edwards was drafted by Minnesota. The only other realistic options behind him would be Trey Lyles or two-player Rocco Zikarsky. Is 38-year-old Kevin Love kicking open the door to try and help his case to get his jersey retired after Kevin Garnett?

Interestingly enough, another high vote went towards “Winning too many games.” I added that as a sort of joke response, but it is reasonable to be concerned about a team that “replaced moodiness with giddiness” to take things seriously enough. I can already see the media running with a story like: Anthony Edwards spotted laughing while hopping in LaMelo Ball’s Hummer (which a personal driver is at the wheel of) after a four-point loss against the Memphis Grizzlies in March because they’re currently second in the Western Conference.

If you’re into sports betting stuff (I am not), FanDuel has the Timberwolves at +1400 odds to win the Western Conference. They certainly don’t have the concern of the Wolves “winning too much.” Weird, considering Minnesota is most certainly going 82-0.