MINNEAPOLIS — Just over three minutes into the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns, Bones Hyland stepped to the scorer’s table to check in, his first meaningful action in nine games.
The Minnesota Timberwolves trailed by six points at the time and needed a boost after yet another slow start against a short-handed opponent. But this was not a reaction in the moment by coach Chris Finch. This was a planned change to the rotation in search of more firepower off the bench. Hyland is in. Rob Dillingham is out, at least for now.
“We’re 24 games in, and I thought it was time to try something different,” Finch said. “He’s been patient. He’s been playing really well in practice, doing everything we ask him to do. We need a spark there.”
The Timberwolves need a spark everywhere right now. A dispiriting 108-105 loss to the Devin Booker-less Suns Monday night felt like penance for squeaking out a few wins over the free-falling New Orleans Pelicans last week. They are 15-9 and in sixth place in the Western Conference, by no means a bad start to the season. However, their success has felt underwhelming given the softness of their schedule and the continuity of a roster that returned nine of their top 10 players from last season’s second straight run to the Western Conference finals.
There have been precious few moments this season when the team has really clicked on all cylinders. A three-game stretch that included a tight loss in Oklahoma City, followed by back-to-back home wins over the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs, serves as the high point. Aside from that, it has been a collection of unimpressive victories over cupcake opponents and games like Monday night, when the Wolves have a clear talent advantage but fail to get the whole to match up to the sum of their parts.
Even during the five-game winning streak that preceded the loss to the Suns, the Wolves consistently fell behind because of slow starts and had to claw their way back into games with frantic efforts in the second half. It was more of the same against Phoenix. They trailed by nine points in the first quarter and allowed 61 points in the first half to a team that started Dillon Brooks, Royce O’Neale, Mark Williams, Grayson Allen and Collin Gillespie.
This time, the Suns were too well-organized under first-year coach Jordan Ott and played too hard to succumb to the second-half charge.
“We’ve not played well to start games,” said Julius Randle, who had 21 points and eight assists but only three rebounds. “Start of the first halves have not been great, and we’ve been easing ourselves into games and cover that with a good amount of energy in the third and fourth, winning that way. … But obviously … we aren’t playing our best basketball. We know we can’t consistently win like that. So I think tonight, we got a little bit of what we deserved.”
Anthony Edwards was terrific with 40 points on 15-of-21 shooting, nine rebounds and only one turnover. But Jaden McDaniels (1 of 7), Donte DiVincenzo (1 of 7), Naz Reid (2 of 12) and Mike Conley (0 of 5) combined to shoot 4 of 31 from the field and 2 of 24 from 3-point range.
Rudy Gobert was ejected in the third quarter for a reckless shove of Mark Williams, a devastating blunder by one of the team’s veteran leaders. Gobert has preached to his teammates the importance of building the right habits and taking every game seriously. He was off to an impressive start with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds in 21 minutes. But after Williams picked up a Flagrant-1 for hitting Gobert in the head under the rim, Gobert returned the favor when he put his elbow into Williams’ back while he was airborne, sending the Suns center tumbling to the court.
After a review, Gobert was assessed a Flagrant-2 and ejected. He now has five flagrant foul points this season. One more flagrant will bring a one-game suspension, and every foul after his seventh point carries a two-game ban.
Without Gobert, the Suns were able to get to the rim easier on offense. They also did not have to worry about his size in the paint on the other end of the floor.
“You can’t make up for Rudy’s absence,” Edwards said. “When he’s in the game, they don’t want to go down there and finish. Of course, he’s truly missed when he’s not on the court.”
Despite his familiarity with the players, Finch has spent the first quarter of the season searching for the right lineups to put together and trying to manufacture the energy and intensity needed to compete at a higher level. He has been using a 10-man rotation in an effort to get youngsters Dillingham, Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. meaningful minutes.
The biggest issue right now is point guard. Edwards has been playing with the ball in his hands even more, but Finch has been looking for the right complement to him. DiVincenzo has played well in his second season and provided spacing with his shooting, but he is not a natural playmaker.
Dillingham has not given the Wolves the pop off the bench that they have needed, and the short shifts he has been given are indicative of a lack of trust in him. He is shooting 35 percent from the field and has made only six 3-pointers in 21 games this season.
Conley has delivered games with great impact but, like Monday night, has also had games when he has struggled to generate offense. He is 38 years old and not capable of being the steadying force night in and night out that he had been since arriving in the trade from Utah in 2019.
That has prompted Finch to go back to Hyland, looking for a more potent offensive threat. He scored 14 points in 16 minutes, going 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3-point range, the kind of quick-strike scoring that no one other than Reid has been able to provide off the bench.
Hyland has fans in high places in Minnesota. Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly drafted him when he was running the Denver Nuggets, and the electricity in his game has made a big impression on the face of the franchise.
“Sometimes you can just see some people are meant to be a star,” Edwards said. “And I feel like I may not know the criteria to being a star, but if I think I do, I think he’s one of them.”
Edwards and Hyland work out together and are often seen leaving the arena together after games. On game days after the morning shootaround, the Wolves hold a pickup game for players out of the rotation to stay in shape. Edwards said he only stays to watch when Hyland is playing. He has been lobbying the coaches to give Hyland more run, believing that his swagger and bucket-getting would boost a second unit that has been short on scoring.
“If you see him play, you know he’s incredible at basketball,” Edwards said. “So it’s just a matter of time until he gets out there, and he showed why he belongs tonight.”
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“That’s just something I appreciate, especially coming from a superstar like Ant,” Hyland said. “That’s something he don’t have to do. He’s got other things to worry about, team-based, just things like that. I’m very appreciative of that, how much he’s supporting me. I’m thankful.”
In keeping with the theme of Timberwolves point guards, Hyland was far from perfect. He turned the ball over three times and got a little wild on a drive to the basket after a steal in the fourth quarter, missing a layup. The turnovers prompted Finch to go back to Conley for a stretch of the fourth quarter, and a three-point deficit grew to seven.
For his first meaningful playing time in a month, it was something to build on. Finch has told Hyland to be patient, that his time would come if he continued to do the right things in practice. With Dillingham and Shannon struggling, that time is now.
“You gotta sit back a lot and enjoy your journey, enjoy the work, enjoy the process, work your tail off and, most important, just be a good person,” Hyland said. “Things come back to you if you’re a good person.”
The way Finch operates, it is likely that Hyland will remain in the rotation for the near future. Dillingham will, at some point, get another chance. But it was clear even in this first game back in the rotation that Hyland is more comfortable with the role that is required of him than the second-year lottery pick from Kentucky is.
“I’m a confident player, but when you have the star of the team, the guy like Ant on the team, the type of guy that believes in you, it makes your job even much easier,” Hyland said. “It takes relief off your back to just go out there and play and be a … wingman.”