Timberwolves haven't fully realized exciting Joan Beringer truth

I don't like overreacting to a rookie's first two games playing meaningful minutes. However, in the case of Joan Beringer, it's hard not to. The Minnesota Timberwolves center averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in games against Victor Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This is especially impressive, given that Beringer is just 19 and was considered a raw prospect when the Wolves drafted him in June.

Both these games came with Rudy Gobert sidelined, and the second game came with Naz Reid leaving early. Regardless, Beringer's stellar two games proved that he can contribute high-quality minutes on a winning team. Unfortunately, this (somehow) hasn't been enough for Beringer to earn a consistent role in the Wolves' rotation.

The Wolves have had two games with a fully healthy frontcourt since Beringer's incredible performance against the Milwaukee Bucks last week. In these games, Beringer has earned seven and five minutes, respectively. While I understand that minutes are limited in the Wolves' frontcourt, seeing Beringer getting such few minutes is a bit baffling.

Minnesota could certainly use Beringer's rim protection and energy. This is especially true for the Timberwolves' recent loss against the Utah Jazz. If the Wolves continue to keep him on ice when they're fully healthy, this handling of Beringer will become truly unacceptable.

Beringer can help the Timberwolves, they just need to play him

Beringer is ahead of schedule and ready to contribute real minutes now. The Wolves could use some rim protection outside of Rudy Gobert -- making Beringer's emergence all the more crucial. In the non-Rudy minutes, Minnesota has a 123.6 defensive rating per Cleaning the Glass. However, with Beringer in the non-Rudy minutes, this number improves to a respectable 115.1 DRTG.

The results are clear: Beringer belongs in the Wolves' rotation. Frankly, this seems obvious to everyone but Chris Finch. In his two games playing real minutes, Beringer proved that he can make a real impact, and that's not something that the Wolves should ignore.

To defend Finch, the main hurdle with playing Beringer is that three of the Wolves' top six are bigs. As such, if Beringer plays real minutes, it would require either Julius Randle or Naz Reid to play some minutes as a small forward. That's not ideal, and the results from these limited minutes have been awful. Notably, in nine possesions this three-man pairing of Beringer, Randle, and Reid has a 180 defensive rating.

However, that doesn't mean Finch should abandon this possibility entirely. Simply put, you need to find Beringer some real minutes, even if it's a funky lineup combination. Not only would this help his development, but it would help the Wolves win games now.

My ultimate point is that Beringer is better than ever expected, and the Wolves need to take advantage of this immediately.