Sometimes stats don’t paint the whole picture. In Game 1 of their series, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ bench outscored the Denver Nuggets’ reserves by the score of 22-20. Despite the small lead in bench scoring, though, most would agree that Denver’s non-starters made a greater impact.
The Timberwolves are now down 0-1 in the series, with Game 2 taking place on Monday.
Surprisingly, Chris Finch went 10 deep in Saturday’s playoff loss, and all of them played in the first quarter. Not among those 10 players was Terrence Shannon Jr. Perhaps Finch should give TSJ a look on Monday to see if he can provide a spark.
Chris Finch should give Terrence Shannon Jr. a chance
Saturday saw Finch go out of his comfort zone. For much of the last two years, he has utilized an eight-man rotation come playoff time. So to see 10 guys play within the first 12 minutes probably wasn’t something many expected to see.Â
Only Ayo Dosunmu saw major minutes in the second half, though. Bones Hyland didn’t see any time after the second quarter. Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson, in their combined nine minutes after halftime.
The Timberwolves needed a spark in last year’s Western Conference finals. Beginning in Game 3 of that series, Finch added TSJ to the rotation. While they won just one of the final three games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shannon dropped 35 points in that time, playing about 37 total minutes.
In and out of the rotation much of the year, and also missing nearly two months with a foot injury, the 25-year-old had a similar ending to the regular season as he did in last year’s playoffs, just in extended time. In the final three regular season games, Shannon scored 82 points in about 94 minutes. He went 5-of-7 from deep in each of the first two games of that ending stretch, and he attempted 18 free throws in the regular season finale.
Would that stretch be enough to ensure that the 27th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft would be a part of the playoff rotation? Even with Finch extending the number of players he normally plays in the postseason, apparently the answer is no.
Making changes after one loss can seem desperate. The Wolves need a shot in the arm, though, after scoring just 43 points in the second half against a Denver team that has played subpar defense much of the season. Despite his inconsistencies over his first two seasons, that is something that TSJ has proven that he can provide.
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