In the third quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves' Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the Golden State Warriors, Chris Finch made a surprise move when he opted to sub Terrence Shannon Jr. into the contest.
With the Wolves down double digits, Finch rolled with the rookie and it nearly immediately paid off. With the ball in Golden State's possession, Pat Spencer streaked down the lane to the basket, and Shannon stood his ground to take the charge. The possession went the other way, although TSJ stayed on the floor for just one minute and 46 seconds in total.
It may not have seemed like a big development to an outsider, but Finch opting to bring Shannon into the game in a high-stakes playoff game was really a pretty significant matter, even if just briefly. It indicated a deviation from his usual approach of playing the same eight guys during the postseason.
We know what the mantra in the playoffs is, no matter who's coaching on the sideline. Most of the time, it's this: Play your veterans. Don't go searching down your bench for under 20 minutes per game players. But in the kind of situation the Wolves faced on Wednesday, a bit of a different situation required an innovative solution.
Continuing to go to Terrence Shannon will eventually pay off
Minnesota was down by 19 points when Finch made the choice of rolling with Shannon. The fanbase has been calling for the Jaylen Clarks and Terrence Shannons to be getting minutes in these playoffs, and we got our first glimpse of that happening in this series on Wednesday.
TSJ played in three of the five games during the Lakers series in the first round, but finished with just 13 total minutes in the series. Getting Shannon an early look at the floor in this series was certainly a smart idea, especially when everyone else was struggling so much.
It didn't go this way in Game 1, but sometimes a guy coming in and immediately taking a charge is something that can serve to really fire up the rest of your team. I believe this was an example of the kind of fight and energy Finch was looking for while the team was missing so many shots.
If Finch opts to give Terrence Shannon more burn as the series goes on, it's likely to only help the Timberwolves. His energy and athleticism can help in a unique way against this Warriors squad.