The Minnesota Timberwolves' up-and-down season continued on Thursday night with a close loss on the road to the Toronto Raptors. What should have been a relatively easy win once again became a close contest in the fourth quarter that the Wolves ultimately failed to close out, losing their 20th consecutive game in the city of Toronto.
Likely the biggest takeaway of the night was the chemistry, or lack thereof, exhibited between Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. The Timberwolves' two bigs are clearly still struggling to get used to each other's play styles, and the on-court incident that unfolded in the closing minutes against the Raptors was the latest and loudest bit of proof.
As we look at which players are bringing the strongest and weakest performances to the table at the moment, it can be easy to overlook the contributions of one grizzled veteran: Mike Conley. Yes, Minnesota Mike's stats have not exactly jumped off the page this season, but he brings more than just numbers to the table.
Timberwolves podcasters Dane Moore and Kyle Theige pointed out the impact of Conley on the latest episode of The Dane Moore NBA Podcast. Both hosts agree that Mike's presence is highly important to this squad.
Conley's veteran presence is noticeable in several ways
Theige talks about the veteran presence of Conley, and how much the team missed that aura on the court during their loss in Toronto. He questions whether the viral moment between Gobert and Randle would have even occurred had Conley been out there to help keep guys more grounded.
Moore then talks numbers and mentions one particularly telling stat. Minnesota's three worst games this season in terms of offensive rating are the second game of the back-to-back in Portland, the loss at home to Miami, and Thursday's loss in Toronto. Mike did not appear in two of those three games, with the Heat game being the only one he participated in.
So both from an eye test and a statistical perspective, it seems clear that Conley has an effect on this team that is not always quantified simply by his points and assists. Signs are pointing to him being on the floor being a major key to success for the Timberwolves going forward.
We have discussed the possibility of Minnesota being open to moving on from Conley given his age. But given the increasing evidence of his importance to this squad, the Wolves may completely abandon any thoughts of exploring that route.