The Minnesota Timberwolves' season is entering a critical point. Yes, they're still 21-13, good for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. However, the expectations are higher for a team with championship aspirations, and the Wolves are a clear notch below title contention right now. With the West pretty open outside of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Wolves must take advantage of this and put together a stellar January.
Over the past four games, though, the Wolves are just 1-3, including double-digit losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets. Changes must be made, and this falls on both the coaches and players. After a 24-point blowout to the Hawks, head coach Chris Finch quickly shot down the idea of changing up the rotation.
"No, no, we are not. We've been flipping the rotations around all season, so no," Finch said when asked about possible rotation changes.
On one hand, I get it, Finch has made changes, including inserting Bones Hyland into the rotation, switching up the young players' minutes, and staggering Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle more. Nevertheless, when the team is struggling, the coach should make changes, and there are plenty of avenues for Finch to make some adjustments.
Chris Finch's unwillingness to make changes is hurting the Timberwolves
Rotation changes could mean several things. Most people think it means changing one of the nine to ten players who could get minutes on a nightly basis (which is still something the Wolves should explore). However, it also involves better lineup combinations.
One thing I've discussed ad nauseam is pairing Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Clark more often in the non-Rudy Gobert minutes. As a refresher, the Wolves have an abysmal 123.6 defensive rating (sixth percentile via Cleaning the Glass) without Gobert. With McDaniels and Clark, this improves significantly to a 111.6 DRTG. Yet McDaniels and Clark only account for 12.3 percent of the non-Rudy minutes.
Pairing your second and third best defenders when your best defender sits is a logical yet powerful solution to this issue. Finch not consistently embracing this solution highlights some level of stubbornness and an inability to maximize rotations.
Beyond this, Finch has recently been pairing Bones Hyland and Mike Conley together (often in the non-Rudy minutes), a lineup combination that makes no sense on paper or in reality. Changing up these lineup combinations would be highly beneficial to the Wolves.
While I can understand Finch's hesitancy to insert another player into the rotation -- the Wolves rank 26th in bench points, and something has to change. I'd like to see if Johnny Juzangcould provide a spark. The 24-year-old can certainly shoot and could give the Wolves the scoring punch they desperately need. I know it's garbage time, but it's not nothing that Juzang poured in 10 points in eight minutes against the Hawks.
Rookie Joan Beringer might not provide a scoring boost, but he could help them maintain some level of defense when Gobert is off the court. The Wolves should give him a chance sooner rather than later, especially since they expect him to play a big role next year. With how poorly the Wolves' bench has played, making a change, even if it doesn't last, can't hurt.
The trade deadline is just over a month away, and this next stretch will dictate just how aggressive they will be. With Nikola Jokic's injury, the Wolves have a clear opportunity to break into the top four of the West.
However, they're underperforming, and if they continue to do so, Chris Finch's inability to make some sort of rotation and/or play-calling adjustments will hurt the team massively. Finch is a great coach, but just like some of the players, it's fair to ask for some improvement on his end amid this cold streak.