Joan Beringer is forcing the Timberwolves to make an impossible decision

After Joan Beringer's stellar game during his rotational debut earlier this week, excitement was in the air. The French rookie racked up 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 30 minutes. However, this always came with the caveat that the Minnesota Timberwolves were missing Rudy Gobert due to a suspension.

There's no doubt it was an impressive game, but if this performance alone was enough to earn Beringer consistent minutes remained unclear.

With Gobert back on Friday, Beringer earned seven rotational minutes -- something that was eerily similar to the limited opportunities we saw Rob Dillingham earn earlier this season. The tricky part of giving Beringer consistent minutes is that three of the Wolves' top six players are big men. In both of his short stints on Friday, Beringer played alongside Julius Randle and Naz Reid.

And while it's an extremely limited sample size, the results weren't great as the Wolves posted a minus-11.1 net rating. Going forward, how Chris Finch manages giving Beringer opportunities without taking away from anyone else will be a clear challenge.

It's hard to find minutes for Beringer

The Timberwolves' struggles in the non-Rudy minutes were a key reason why fans were so eager to see the rookie. In lineups with Gobert on the bench that feature Reid and Randle, the Wolves have a 122.4 defensive rating -- a number that ranks in the 10th percentile. Beringer can provide some much-needed rim protection in these non-Gobert lineups. He proved that during Tuesday's game.

However, putting Reid or Randle in a position where they have to guard opposing small forwards is risky. I'm not saying it won't work -- it's intriguing, but it's also clearly risky, and during Friday's game, it didn't look tenable. If these lineups continue to struggle, Beringer's path to minutes gets more foggy.

Minnesota can't play Beringer meaningful minutes without either cutting into one of the big men's minutes or playing lineups where one of them is a de facto small forward. Currently, Gobert is averaging 31.7 minutes, Randle 33.5, and Reid 26.6. There could be slight opportunities for reduction here. Even still, it would be minimal. Gobert's minutes have already been reduced a bit this season, Randle is the team's second-best player, and Reid's 26.6 minutes already feel low.

The point is that it's really hard to find minutes for Beringer given the Wolves' loaded frontcourt. Despite Beringer proving that he can contribute now, it feels unlikely that he'll be a mainstay of the Timberwolves' rotation for the rest of the year.

Is this best for Beringer's development, though? No, and I'd love to see Beringer play more, but please tell me what Finch's best path to giving Beringer minutes is when this team is fully healthy.