After the Detroit Pistons beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105, Chris Finch said he wouldn’t adjust the starting lineup.
“You guys ask me this all the time,” Finch said, partially in jest, after the Detroit Pistons beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105. “If I felt that the magic bullet was changing the starting lineup, I would’ve done that already.”
Therefore, Wolves fans were surprised to see a change to the starting lineup for their home game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 6. The lineup featured the guard Donte DiVincenzo in place of Mike Conley. After the game, Finch commented on his switcheroo (technical term) from his previous comments.
“You know, I just read all the papers, Jon (Krawczynski), and that’s what everyone was telling me to do,” Finch said with a smile, “and I thought, ‘Well s—, I should change the starting lineup.’”
The move tweaked the starting rotation by adding more shooting. But more importantly, it unlocked a Naz Reid rotation from last season, allowing them to play more consistent minutes together.
Starting DiVincenzo next to Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert created a trickle-down effect on the bench unit. Instead of subbing Conley out at the six-minute mark for DiVincenzo or Nickeil Alexander-Walker, he subbed Conley in at that time against the Clippers.
Swapping Conley for DiVincenzo probably sounds mundane, but it positively affected Reid. When Conley started, Finch would usually sub him and Gobert out at the six-minute mark and put Reid into the game.
However, with DiVincenzo in the starting lineup, the Wolves sub out DiVincenzo and Randle at the six-minute mark, allowing Conley to check in with Reid and form a cohesive lineup. Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Reid and Gobert played 42 games and 200 minutes together last season. Due to Karl-Anthony Towns’ meniscus injury, their 200 minutes together became Minnesota’s second-most used lineup last year, creating chemistry this season.
The lineup last season wasn’t particularly elite. Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Reid, and Gobert posted a 102.1 offensive rating and a 102.1 defensive rating together, resulting in a zero net rating overall. Among all lineups the Wolves trotted out last season, it finished last in rebound percentage (70.2%), last in assist percentage (61.7%), second to last in true shooting percentage (56.3%)
However, it helped the Wolves win games. They posted a 32-10 record when they played Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Reid and Gobert together.
All of that data is relative to last year. The lineup has been sensational in 29 minutes this year. They’ve posted a 116.3 offensive rating and a world-breaking 63.2 defensive rating in a much smaller sample size. Their net rating is a ludicrous 53.2.
Minnesota’s rebound percentage has climbed to 75% when using that lineup. Their assist percentage improved to 66.7%, and their true shooting has risen to 58.5%. That lineup has yet to impact winning; the Wolves are 8-8 in games when they’ve used that lineup. However, that’s because the lineup has only averaged 1.8 minutes together per game.
Against the Clippers on Monday, that lineup was nothing short of spectacular again. Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Reid and Gobert outscored the Clippers by eight in the 10:36 they played. They posted a +38.5 net rating in a game the Wolves only won by two points. That lineup also posted a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and assisted on 80% of their made baskets. In the second quarter, they outscored LA by 12 to give the Wolves a chance to come back in the second half after falling behind 19.
Moving Conley to the bench should also better pair Randle with DiVincenzo for larger stretches. They have a history with the New York Knicks, posting a 1.2 net rating on the season for the Wolves in the 502 minutes they played together.
That’s despite DiVincenzo’s slow start to the season. He shot 26.7% in October and has been steadily improving every month. Last month(December), he shot a season-best 39.8% from distance.
Randle is nearly as effective with DiVincenzo as with Edwards. Their net rating is only 1.7 in 987 minutes. Like the Reid lineup, this two-man pairing also flourished against the Clippers, going +8 in 22:25 of play and posting a +15.5 net rating together.
Moving Conley to the bench sets up two lineups that are more familiar, pairing last season’s Towns-less Wolves starters and a starting lineup with Randle and DiVincenzo.
Finch spoke about this intentionality of finding lineups that work together, specifically regarding Conley moving to the bench.
“It was all about Mike, getting him with a group of guys that accentuated his talents better,” he said. “It was really a way to help him get going.”
The changes reflect that Finch is adjusting his personnel and lineups to get players who work with each other more time together on the floor. It may not mean Finch is reading everything people write, but it means that the Wolves are still serious about competing this season.
