The mystery of how Timberwolves forward Kevin Love broke his hand yesterday has been solved. And it was a really stupid reason.
For the unfamiliar, knuckle pushups are performed by clenching your fists and putting your knuckles on the floor while doing pushups. They are appropriate if you're training as a martial artist or boxer, as they toughen up the hands. If you're training as a basketball player, however, they're not a great idea, since players normally aren't punching their opponents during games. So there's no legitimate reason the 6'10", 260-lb. Kevin Love should be putting that much weight on his hands. The hands that grab rebounds, create shots, and do a lot of important things for a basketball player.
Although Love was originally expected to miss six to eight weeks, best-case scenarios have him missing only five to six, per a tweet by Adrian Wojnarowski. Either way, it still sucks for the Timberwolves; Love was easily their most productive and valuable player, averaging 26.0 points and 13.3 boards per game in 55 games last season.
Love's knuckle pushup debacle comes only a few days after his sleeping injury that made him miss a preseason game. Minnesota fans want Love to be their new K.G., the player to build a contending team around, but there's no need for Love to do everything Garnett does.