The Minnesota Timberwolves’ 117-116 loss against the Utah Jazz was one of the most frustrating in a season full of them. It was another crunch-time loss, reminding fans of the other times the Wolves have lost to inferior opponents. The back-to-back defeats against the Portland Trail Blazers. The inexplicable loss to the Washington Wizards. And an impressively bad result against the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard-less Milwaukee Bucks.
After losing in Utah, the Wolves are 1-3 since the All-Star Break and 5-8 since Julius Randle’s injury. Chris Finch does not expect Randle and center Rudy Gobert to return in the “near, near future.” However, they got Anthony Edwards back for the road game against the Phoenix Suns following Edwards’ one-game suspension for his 16th technical of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Jazz game marked the start of a six-game run against teams below .500. Minnesota will also visit Philadelphia, Charlotte, Miami, and San Antonio before heading to Denver. Given how competitive the Western Conference is, it was a game they could almost not afford to lose.
Minnesota needs to get healthy for multiple reasons. Gobert is a true center. While Naz Reid has performed well, he’s more of a power forward. The Wolves also need Randle as a secondary scoring option.
Gobert and Randle also open the roster up to a level of flexibility they haven’t had since drafting Anthony Edwards in 2020.
Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham, and Terrence Shannon Jr.’s emergence has largely created this flexibility. Each of the three young players offers something different, allowing the Wolves to create lineup combinations with different playstyles than they had before.
Since they traded for Gobert in 2022, the Wolves have tried to make defense their identity. They did that last year, becoming the best defensive team in the league. Clark improves their defense, meaning the Wolves can play lineups with almost unparalleled defensive versatility. A Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Anthony Edwards, and Jaylen Clark lineup allows for more flexibility than they have ever had.
The volume of positive defenders means the Wolves can absorb those with defensive deficiencies. Rob Dillingham has made an admirable effort on the defensive end, but his lack of size will always complicate matchups. When the Timberwolves can surround him with elite defenders across the perimeter and in the paint, they benefit from the offensive spark without a significant loss on the other end.
Shannon’s emergence as a legitimate NBA wing is also exciting. He can get to the rim and collapse defenses. Without any other true slashers except Edwards in the rotation, it’s something the Wolves have lacked. Shannon’s 25 points against the Lakers, followed by 17 points against the Jazz, suggests he has the scoring punch the Wolves need off the bench throughout the rest of the season.
Dillingham and Shannon’s speed also means the Wolves have lineups that can run in transition, something we have not seen much of since the Gobert trade. Gobert originally played alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, and neither player was an effective transition scorer. Minnesota has players who can push the pace and outrun teams in Dillingham and Shannon. Therefore, they can match similar opposition lineups or switch up the offensive pace during any frustrating lulls in scoring and energy.
While the Wolves have multiple options and an array of NBA-caliber players, the coaching staff must maximize this luxury. It means they have suitable matchups for various opponents, depending on team strength. Rotation players should start to play and see rotation players feature in varying minutes depending slightly on the opponent and how the opposing roster looks.
Finch has coached conservatively since he arrived in Minnesota. In the last two years, he has trusted players like Kyle Anderson, Joe Ingles, and Mike Conley to a great extent, even when individual and team performance suggested he might have done otherwise. However, the roster has never had this level of flexibility, and Finch must utilize that if the Wolves are going to get out of the play-in to have any semblance of a successful season.
It doesn’t require a youth movement or a massive shakeup of the starting lineup. Instead, it’s being proactive with minutes and rotations, using the full depth of the roster to its greatest effect. The Wolves don’t need Dillingham, Clark, or Shannon to play 30 minutes a game in the playoffs. However, Minnesota should deploy them strategically for an advantage they didn’t have before using them when the game requires something different or specific, which might be the best thing for the team.
The Wolves didn’t look like contenders with their original eight-man rotation. They don’t look like a contender because of their injuries. However, using their newfound flexibility when the team is back to full health might be the best plan of action if the franchise is going to make any kind of run in the Western Conference playoffs this season.
But first, they have to get there.