If I felt that the magic bullet was changing the starting lineup, I would’ve done that already,” head coach Chris Finch told reporters after a blowout loss in Detroit on

The Minnesota Timberwolves' starting lineup has played the second-most minutes of any five-man lineup combination in the NBA. Only the starting unit of Tom Thibodeau's New York Knicks has played more — and far more — minutes together.

Two days after Timberwolves coach Chris Finch defended keeping the same starting five, he changed his lineup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night at Target Center.

The high point for Minnesota in Tuesday’s loss in Oklahoma City was a Mike Conley flurry in which the veteran guard drilled three consecutive triples to put the Timberwolves up 12 midway through the third. The wheels fell off immediately after, but that is a major part of what Minnesota believes to be the recipe for the current starting lineup.

A low-energy performance in Detroit was just the latest example of Minnesota's lack of cohesion and chemistry.

This week, when Chris Finch made a change to his starting lineup, he substituted Donte DiVincenzo in at point guard for Mike Conley. Staying in the starting lineup, perhaps to the chagrin of a portion of Timberwolves fans,

Putting DiVincenzo in the starting lineup also gives him a role closer to what he had in New York last season when he thrived as a spark-plug shooter and defender for the Knicks. He started 68 games in the regular season and every playoff game for New York.

When the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired Donte DiVincenzo in the offseason, many assumed he would become Anthony Edwards’ backcourt running mate. Instead, Chris Finch stuck with 37-year-old Mike Conley in the starting lineup for most of the first 34 games of 2024-2025 until he finally cracked on Jan.

Chris Finch had a comical answer when asked about his decision to make some changes to the Timberwolves' starting lineup.