After a 26-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves have now lost five games in a row. Of course, not all of this is on a 38-year-old Mike Conley. However, Chris Finch continuing to play Conley has certainly been one of the more frustrating aspects of the Wolves' losing streak.
Since the turn of the calendar, Conley is averaging 16.6 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.7 rebounds on 30/31.3/72.7 shooting splits. During the losing streak, Conley is averaging 2.2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 15/15.4/75 shooting splits. Yet he's still averaging 18.6 minutes.
With all due respect... how?
The Wolves can't keep playing Conley big minutes
Listen, I hate being critical of Conley -- he's had an amazing career and has been a key part of the Wolves' back-to-back conference finals runs. Nevertheless, he's not a rotational NBA player at this stage of his career.
Frankly, this statement shouldn't be surprising or controversial. Most small guards retire at Conley's age, or at the very least, they don't play meaningful minutes at all. Last season, he posted career lows across the board and struggled in the playoffs, shooting 30 percent from the field. Simply put, there's no shame in having a great career but no longer being able to contribute regular minutes at 38.
Finch values what Conley brings as a veteran leader and a high-IQ playmaker. That's fine, however, the rest of Conley's game makes it impossible to justify playing him significant minutes.
Conley significantly lacks advantage creation and the ability to create his own shot. Notably, 90.7 percent of Conley's made field goals are assisted, and an abysmal 43.8 percent at the rim. With declining mobility and limited size, he is easy to target on defense. Plus, Conley has fallen off a cliff as a 3-point shooter -- netting just 33.6 percent of his triples.
His outside shooting was one of the few reasons why he could still be trusted with big minutes, and now that it's nonexistent, you simply can't play him much. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Wolves are 6.3 points per 100 possessions worse with Conley on the court -- a number that ranks in the 18th percentile.
The Timberwolves' bench production has been poor, and Conley has been a key part of these shortcomings. Hopefully, this problem will be addressed at the trade deadline. In the meantime, though, Conley should be cut out of the rotation or his minutes should be reduced significantly.
There are several options if Finch (finally) embraces this change. He could give second-year guard Rob Dillingham another chance, unleash rookie Joan Beringer, and lean into the team's positional size, or give Bones Hyland a bigger role. Heck, Finch could even play Johnny Juzang.
Simply put, when the results are this bad, a change is required, and the more that Finch keeps trusting Conley, the more questionable this decision seems.