Timberwolves are sending a loud message that Terrance Shannon Jr. cannot ignore

Friday was a feel-good win for the Timberwolves. That happens when you beat defending champion Thunder, handing him his only third loss of the season.

The impressive win also marked the return of Anthony Edwards after the superstar missed three matches due to a foot injury. It also marked the continuation of Terrence Shannon Jr. was given limited minutes in a year where he was expected to do big things with the Wolves.

Limited playing time in the month of December

Apparently the head coach change from Chris Finch to Micah Nori has left 25-year-old Shannon Jr. not helped seeing more floor time. Finch was ejected after receiving two technicals not even halfway through the first quarter against OKC. With Nori taking the reins, Shannon Jr. Friday’s performance with just 5:12 playing time.

It’s hard to accomplish much while playing so little, and that was the case for Shannon Jr. The only stats he put up were two points, which came from the foul line. With Minnesota trailing by two in the final 12 minutes, the second-year wing remained glued to the bench for the entire period.

While Rob Dillingham is often seen as a disappointing player in his second season, Shannon Jr. next to him. He barely played Friday, even with two key reserves (Mike Conley and Jaylen Clark). In eight games in December, Shannon Jr. an average of only 10.6 minutes. If you remove the outing where he played 30 minutes against the Warriors, his December minutes average drops to 7.9.

The Timberwolves could be at full strength for Sunday’s game

The Timberwolves haven’t had all of their rotation players available over the past few games. As mentioned, Conley and Clark were absent from the lineup on Friday. In the previous three games, both Conley and Edwards were out with injuries.

Could Minnesota have everyone available for Sunday’s game against the Bucks? The injury report provided by the team on Saturday does not mention Clark and lists Conley as questionable. Would Shannon Jr. be able to receive a DNP CD when everyone is ready to go?

While I don’t think plus/minus is a perfect stat from game to game, I do think it tells you something over time. TSJ is easily last on the team, with a minus-88 (the next lowest is Dillingham at minus-28). In his 19 appearances, the Timberwolves were outscored in 15 of them with him on the court.

With a field goal accuracy of 40% on the year and the same number of turnovers as assists, the good vibes of Shannon Jr.’s three games in the Western Conference finals are gone this season.

What could disappear even more is his playing time if things don’t turn around soon.