February 'rough month for injuries,' takes toll on Wolves, NBA stars

The NBA should be thankful February has only 28 days.

The month usually associated with love produced a lot of hurt among a handful of teams across the league when their stars hobbled or were carried off the court. There were a total of 30 injuries last month, according to Rotoworld.

Almost half of this group played an important role in the team's starting five.

The last day of the month took arguably the most notable casualty. Golden State star Kevin Durant is out indefinitely and will likely miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a sprained MCL and bone bruise in his left leg Tuesday night against Washington.

Kevin Love, Joakim Noah, Kyle Lowry, Tony Parker, Wesley Matthews and Jabari Parker are among other notable names struck by the injury bug.

The Timberwolves were among the most afflicted teams. Zach LaVine, one of the Wolves' young stars, tore the ACL in his left knee Feb. 3 and required season-ending surgery. The Wolves announced on Feb. 7 Adreian Payne will be out indefinitely while treated for a blood condition called thrombocytopenia. Lance Stephenson, while on 10-day contract, suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain on Valentine's Day, putting his future with the team in question.

The loss of LaVine breaks up the Wolves' "Big 3" that includes Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins and sidelines 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and three assists per game.

Love, the former Wolves star and member of Cleveland's "Big 3," has missed the past six games with a bad knee and is day-to-day. Michael Beasley, another former Wolves player that now comes off the bench for Milwaukee, banged up his knee and is day-to-day.

Beasley's teammate Parker, the 2014 draft No. 2 overall pick, tore his left ACL for a second time on Feb. 8 and is targeting a return in February 2018.

LaVine tweeted, "Man my thoughts and prayers are with @JabariParker. Know you'll come through this stronger than ever."

Love wishes February good riddance.

"What a rough month for injuries, myself included," Love tweeted on March 1. "League is so much better with everyone on the floor. Stay Healthy @NBA."