It felt like a feel-good moment when it was announced that Kyle Anderson would be returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves after he was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies. Previously playing two seasons for the Timberwolves (2022-23 and 2023-24), Anderson played a large role in both years, with the latter one resulting in a conference finals appearance.Â
After rejoining the Wolves in early March, Slo Mo quickly was given real playing time by his former, and now current, head coach Chris Finch and averaged 19.1 minutes over 19 regular season appearances for Minnesota. After playing a total of just 12 minutes over the first 2 games of their opening round series, though, it feels like the 32-year-old is on the verge of falling out of the playoff rotation.
Anderson may be getting phased out of rotation
In the 19 regular season games that Anderson played for the Timberwolves this season, he saw at least 12:09 of game action in each of them. Through two playoff games, he hasn’t even combined to reach that number as he is at 11:57.
In that brief time, Anderson has attempted only one shot and hasn’t even scored. His shot attempt came late in the third quarter on Monday when Donte DiVincenzo dished it to him deep in the paint. Somehow, Slo Mo came up well short and airballed the open six-footer.
Sitting out the regular season finale, Slo Mo played his best game with Minnesota in the game prior. With Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid sitting out, the Wolves were still able to surprisingly defeat the Houston Rockets. Anderson was in the starting lineup and put up his best totals in points (17) and assists (nine) during his second Timberwolves tenure. Obviously, he wasn’t able to build momentum off that performance.
Anderson definitely has his strengths as someone who gets others involved on offense, as well as being a player with an excellent defensive IQ. Unfortunately, the Nuggets’ defense isn’t going to respect him as a scorer or as any type of threat outside of the paint. Anderson hasn’t even made a 3-pointer with Minnesota this season, attempting only five.
We know that Finch is already playing more guys than he normally does in the playoffs, going 10 deep in both games. With the series knotted at one, and the stakes feeling larger in each ensuing game, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him shrink the rotation. Slo Mo seems like the most likely to be the one who is no longer playing.
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