The Minnesota Timberwolves have now played six games with Ayo Dosunmu since acquiring him from the Chicago Bulls. While it was somewhat of a quiet night for him on Tuesday, he still helped a bench that needed more scoring outside of Naz Reid. In four of his six appearances, Dosunmu has scored at least 11 points.
Before Dosunmu’s arrival, the second-most productive scorer off the Wolves' bench was Bones Hyland. Known as an inconsistent player during his career, Hyland has exceeded all expectations placed on him entering the season. His inconsistencies have begun to show of late, though, and Tuesday marked the fourth-straight contest in which the 25-year-old made just one field goal.
Given Hyland's recent struggles as a scorer and poor defense, it's fair to wonder if he will soon see a reduced role.
Bones Hyland continues to struggle
Playing about 13 minutes on Tuesday, Hyland went just 1-for-3 from the field while missing his only 3-point try. That puts him now at 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) from the field over his last four outings while scoring a grand total of just 11 points.
Compare that to the previous four games for Hyland, the last two of which came with Dosunmu on the team. In those outings, Hyland averaged 15.8 points with two 20-point contests. It’s not like he was just chucking up shots either to get to those scoring numbers. Hyland was quite efficient, shooting 23-38 (60.5 percent) from the field and 13-25 (52.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
Now, plus/minus isn’t always the most reliable stat to look at, but it’s been a concerning one for Hyland over the last 10 games. The team has been outscored by 64 points during his time on the court, and in just one of them has Minnesota outscored its opponent with Hyland playing. Compare that to the previous 15 games when the Timberwolves were a plus-88 with Bones on the floor.
What does Hyland's role with the team look like going forward?
While there has been a small decrease in the minutes Hyland has seen since Dosumnu joined the team, he has still been very much a part of the rotation. The elephant in the room, though, is knowing that Mike Conley is back on the team.
It has not been a very good season for the 38-year-old Conley. Despite many in the fanbase wanting him to play less, Chris Finch has continued to put him out there. Since returning to the team after being traded twice and waived by the Charlotte Hornets, Conley hasn’t played in two of the three games. Still, with Finch’s affinity for the 19-year veteran, it isn’t out of the question that a return to the rotation could occur, and that would likely come at the expense of Hyland.
It’s up to Hyland to get back on track to ensure that doesn’t happen. His next chance to do so comes on Thursday night when the Timberwolves go on the road to take on the Los Angeles Clippers.