MINNEAPOLIS, May 3 (UPI) -- Injured Minnesota guard Wally Szczerbiak could play in the Timberwolves-Sacramento playoff series if it "goes long," Coach Flip Saunders said.
Szczerbiak suffered three "transverse process fractures" in his lower back when he crashed to the floor while attempting a fast-break dunk April 24 in Minnesota's first-round playoff series against Denver.
The Timberwolves won that series in five games and open a second-round best-of-seven against Sacramento Tuesday.
"If the series goes long, we could see him at the end," Saunders said in a report Monday in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
"That's very encouraging to hear him say that," Szczerbiak told the newspaper.
Szczerbiak missed 54 games during the regular season with a foot injury. He appeared in three playoff games, averaging 10.3 points.
During the season, the Timberwolves beat the Kings three out of four games including the only two in which Szczerbiak played.
