Projecting Timberwolves' Starting Lineup, Rotation Without Ant or Donte

The good news is that the Timberwolves, up 3-1 after Ayo Dosunmu's heroics on Saturday night, are one win away from closing out their first-round series against the Nuggets. The bad news is that they'll have to do it without their entire starting backcourt.

Donte DiVincenzo is out for the season after tearing his Achilles just minutes into Game 4. Anthony Edwards is out for multiple weeks with a bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee. The earliest he could theoretically return is later in the second round.

Those two devastating injuries will give the Nuggets some hope of becoming the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit since they themselves did it in back-to-back rounds in the 2020 bubble. The betting odds suggest Vegas believes the Wolves are far from a lock to close out this series.

With that said, there are also reasons to be optimistic if you're Minnesota. The Wolves won the second half of Saturday's game 62-42 without Edwards or DiVincenzo. Edwards is obviously their best player, but he hadn't looked like himself in this series, averaging only 18.5 points on 36 percent shooting. Dosunmu just scored the most points off the bench in a playoff game in 50 years. The Wolves have some real depth they can lean on.

Ahead of Monday night's Game 5 in Denver, let's project the Wolves' starting lineup and rotation.

Starting five

PG: Mike Conley
SG: Ayo Dosunmu
SF: Jaden McDaniels
PF: Julius Randle
C: Rudy Gobert

It would be pretty stunning if Chris Finch rolls with anything other than this group. Dosunmu will obviously move into the starting lineup and will look to keep rolling after scoring 43 and 25 points off the bench in the two games at Target Center. It's safe to say he has the Nuggets' attention now. Conley played 21 minutes in Game 4 and started six games late in the regular season. Finch likes having him on the floor because of his ability to get his teammates in the right spots.

Outside of Dosunmu, Edwards' injury puts a lot of pressure on Randle and McDaniels to carry the scoring load. Randle is the now the default No. 1 option on offense, but the Wolves will need him to be smart and not force too many tough shots. McDaniels has taken between 11 and 15 shots in the four games of this series so far; 15 should be the floor for him moving forward. Those two will need to knock down some threes after going a combined 3 for 22 from deep so far.

Rotation bench players

Naz Reid
Bones Hyland
Kyle Anderson
Terrence Shannon Jr.

Reid and Hyland will be counted on to provide a significant scoring punch as the first two players off the bench moving forward. Neither has had a super strong series thus far, although Reid is coming off his best game with 17 points and 9 boards on Saturday. With the Wolves down their two best three-point shooters, Hyland should have the green light to fire away from long range. Anderson will see time because of his defense, rebounding, and general basketball IQ.

The wild card the Wolves might really need is Shannon. They've got a lot of points to make up for in their backcourt, and outside of Dosunmu and Hyland, Shannon is their best scoring guard. He knocked down a three in Game 4 and showed what he's capable of at the end of the regular season when he scored 82 points in a three-game stretch. His bucket-getting ability should absolutely make him part of the rotation for as long as Edwards is out.

Terrence Shannon Jr. | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Reserves

Jaylen Clark
Joan Beringer
Joe Ingles
Julian Phillips

Clark hasn't seen the floor yet in this series, but it's possible he could play in short bursts if Finch wants more perimeter defense. Beringer seems highly unlikely to play unless Gobert is in major foul trouble. Even with the injuries, Ingles would only play if the Wolves need someone to inbound the ball with a small lead in the final minute. The two-way players (Rocco Zikarsky, Zyon Pullin, Enrique Freeman) are ineligible for the postseason.

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