Bones Hyland exceeded the expectations of even his biggest supporters this season. Many wondered why the Minnesota Timberwolves brought him back after barely utilizing the 6-foot-2 guard last season (signed him to two-way deal in late February of 2025). Last season, Hyland only played in four games for a total of 17 minutes after joining the Wolves.
Unfortunately, it has been a fairly uneven postseason thus far for the 25-year-old. Bones went scoreless in the Game 1 win against the San Antonio Spurs and didn’t make a field goal in the series-clinching Game 6 against the Denver Nuggets.
Is Bones' rotation spot on thin ice, as Minnesota is three wins away from their third consecutive Western Conference finals?
Hyland went scoreless in Game 1 against the Spurs
Previously playing for the Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, Hyland’s previous playoff history hasn’t been all that good. In 13 postseason outings with those two clubs, Bones shot just 35.6 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Those numbers have actually slightly decreased for Hyland through his first seven playoff games this year. The 2021 first-round pick has made 14 of his 40 field goal attempts (35.0 percent) and 8 of his 28 3-point tries (28.6 percent).
He is 0-for-9 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point distance in the last two contests.
Bones has more games without a 3-point make (four) than with (three) in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if Chris Finch turns to him in Wednesday’s Game 2. Even without Dosunmu, Hyland has only played around 21 minutes total over the last two games (the first also was without Edwards).
That may be contingent on whether Hyland’s ‘Twin Turbos’ partner, Ayo Dosunmu, is available. Ayo has missed the last two playoff contests with a sore calf.
We all know how much Finch loves Mike Conley. With the way he played in Game 1 as part of the starting 5, it’s hard to imagine the 38-year-old not receiving minutes.
This could also be a series for Jaylen Clark to continue seeing time as a defensive pest for San Antonio’s dynamic backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. Terrence Shannon Jr. has put the ball through the hoop much more frequently than Hyland of late.
Is there room for Bones (especially if Dosunmu is back)? If there is, it would be huge for both Hyland and the team to see him once again making baskets, as he often did during the regular season.
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