Minnesota Sports Forum

The internet says an abductor strain takes 7-10 days to start to feel better. Anyone who has tried to play basketball with an injury in that area though knows how they can linger, and let's face it...PatBev isn't exactly Lou Gehrig when it comes to staying healthy. The Wolves have looked really good the past five games (and even after Pat went down against the Heat). So how Finch decides to roll the next few weeks will be interesting. Tell us who you would put in the starting lineup, and show your work.

I believe McDaniels is the choice for the next game vs Charlotte. He can cover Hayward with Ant on Ball. Beasley comes off the bench and (hopefully) is our flamethrower. The big issue here is does JMac deserve any time on the court right now? We need a competent guard to fill about 20 minutes and I just don't think JMac is it anymore.

There's a decent argument for both Malik Beasley and Jaden McDaniels to get the start in place of Patrick Beverley as he's out with that groin injury. Both of them have qualities that mesh well with the four other starters.

I also won't be upset with the decision as long it's one of those two. Josh Okogie was available to play against Miami and I'd expect him to be available against Charlotte. My hope is that Chris Finch doesn't overthink this and try to get Okogie's point-of-attack defense in the lineup to replace Beverley at the expense of the team's spacing. You can't, or shouldn't, play Okogie and Jarred Vanderbilt together all that often and the latter is much more vital to the Wolves success. Leave Okogie on the bench. I don't even think he should be in the rotation every night.

Lastly, I don't think McDaniels has played well enough to deserve a promotion so I'd opt for Beasley at this point if I had to make the decision myself. Beasley got off to a horrid start, but he's shooting 36.4-percent from three on just over nine attempts per game over his last six games. Give me the proven outside shooter in the lineup and I'll gamble that the team defense can continue to be effective.

Jace Frederick:

Chris Finch said the Timberwolves would like to keep Malik Beasley in his role coming off the bench. That said, I'm sure he'll play A LOT of minutes moving forward.

Makes sense. We need to set the right tone defensively knowing that if we need a shot in the arm on offense, Beasley will be ready.