Minnesota Timberwolves F Kevin Love To Miss 6-to-8 Weeks With Broken Hand

Minnesota Timberwolves forward and Lake Oswego native Kevin Love will miss 6-to-8 weeks with a broken right hand.

The Timberwolves announced Wednesday that All-Star forward Kevin Love has suffered a "hand injury" that will sideline him for 6-to-8 weeks.FoxSportsNorth reports that Love "broke his third and fourth fingers in his right hand while working out [Wednesday] morning."

Love, 24, is a two-time All-Star who was named to the All-NBA Second Team last season and finished sixth in the 2012 MVP voting. He averaged a career-high 26.0 points and 13.3 rebounds per game last season.

If Love misses exactly six weeks, this injury would cost him the rest of the preseason plus the Timberwolves' first 14 regular season games. If he is sidelined the full two months, he would miss 22 regular season games, more than a quarter of Minnesota's schedule.

The Timberwolves are generally projected to finish third or fourth in the Northwest Division. Obviously, such a long absence could change that projection significantly, perhaps to the benefit of the Portland Trail Blazers, who are generally seen as the Northwest's fifth team.

Given his rehabiltiation timeline, this injury could also impact Love's All-Star candidacy. Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge is one of a number of power forwards perennially fighting for a spot on the West squad.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter