Chris Finch addresses why Terrence Shannon Jr.'s minutes have waned

This was expected to be a breakout second season for Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr., who looked poised to be the primary beneficiary of Nickeil Alexander-Walker's offseason departure. Nearly 30 percent of the way through the season, it hasn't played out that way. Shannon missed three weeks with an injury in November and has only seen sporadic playing time early in December.

Through four games this month, Shannon has played a total of 25 minutes and 33 seconds. He's been below ten minutes played in each game, including fewer than five minutes in each of the last two contests. That's a significant drop-off for a player who averaged over 15 minutes a night in his first 11 healthy games this year.

In Monday night's loss to the Suns, Shannon played a season-low 3:38, missed his only shot, and committed three personal fouls.

Shannon has hit 10 of 25 threes this season (40 percent), but he's just 12 of 29 on two-pointers (41 percent) and has more turnovers than assists. However, offense isn't what's keeping him off the floor right now. It has more to do with the defensive side of the ball, head coach Chris Finch said on Wednesday.

"I mean defense, really," Finch said when asked about Shannon's struggles. "Three fouls in four minutes. He's gotta be able to guard without fouling. And we need it. We need him there. To me, it's a lot of stuff at the defensive end, mostly fouling."

"I think it's largely rooted in readiness," Finch added. "He's a great athlete. He's probably spent a lot of his time making up ground with his closing speed. That's a dangerous habit to get into at this level with guys that have either equal or greater athleticism, but also, teams that execute well and can take advantage of that. His screen navigation is poor and that puts him even further behind the play."

That's a pretty honest answer from Finch about things Shannon has to improve to see his playing time tick back up moving forward. And it's backed up by data. Shannon is averaging 4.5 fouls per 36 minutes thus far, which is the highest mark of any Wolves player who has seen at least 40 total minutes this season. His 123.6 defensive rating and -19.5 net rating are easily the worst marks on Minnesota's roster.

Shannon has the athletic tools to be a capable defender, so it seems to be more about technique and the mental side of playing defense for the 25-year-old former first-round pick.

Monday's loss to Phoenix also saw the Wolves insert Bones Hyland into the rotation spot previously held by Rob Dillingham, who did not see the floor. Neither of Minnesota's 2024 first-round picks have delivered much production early in their second season, and neither one is guaranteed a role going forward. Hyland played well on Monday, Mike Conley isn't going to lose his spot, and Jaylen Clark seems to offer the Wolves a lot more than Shannon does right now.

Terrence Shannon Jr. — Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

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