In their first game after the All-Star break, Chris Finch slightly changed up the Minnesota Timberwolves’ rotation. The starters remained the same, but Joan Beringer received early minutes. Jaylen Clark didn’t leave the bench, and neither did Mike Conley (who was always a part of the rotation before being traded).
Another player who was always a part of the rotation before getting hurt is Terrence Shannon Jr. Available for the first time in nearly two months on Friday, the 25-year-old was a DNP-CD.
Shannon Jr. is back, but not in the rotation
The last time that TSJ appeared in an NBA game was on Christmas Day. He suffered a left foot injury in that outing, and that would sideline Shannon Jr. for 25 straight contests.
After making two appearances for the Iowa Wolves in the G League right before the All-Star break (scored 36 points in just 21 minutes in the second game), Shannon Jr. was deemed ready to return to the Timberwolves. Prior to Friday’s game, Minnesota had 26 regular season games remaining for TSJ to turn around what has been a disappointing second season.
Unfortunately, he won’t be able to do that while remaining on the bench. Shannon Jr. received no playing time in the Timberwolves’ 122-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Earlier this season, in November, he missed 9 straight games with a different left foot injury. Otherwise, the 27th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft appeared in each of the first 22 games he was available, so Friday is his first DNP-CD of the season.
Those 22 games all come though before the acquisition of Ayo Dosunmu. Dosunmu is taking the role of a scoring guard off the bench that was expected of Shannon Jr. entering the year. Instead, TSJ has only averaged 4.5 points while shooting 39.5% from the field.
He has more games that he has appeared in where he hasn’t scored (six) than double-digit scoring outings (four). Along with Rob Dillingham (now a member of the Chicago Bulls), Minnesota saw its two second-year players fall well short of preseason expectations.
This doesn’t mean that Shannon Jr. will remain glued to the bench for the remainder of the season. Although the Timberwolves have remained mostly healthy, an injury can open up playing time. Then, it would be a question as to whether Finch would turn to Shannon Jr., Clark, or Conley to fill those available minutes.