The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost six of their last seven games to bring their record down to 5-8 and because of that interim head coach Sam Mitchell wants to make some changes to his lineup. Mitchell will reportedly take Tayshaun Prince out of the starting lineup where Kevin Martin will replace him and the player that may gain the most from this is Shabazz Muhammad who is reportedly expected to see more time, according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The Timberwolves got off to a nice start this season but have floundered lately so Mitchell sees this as the right time to make the switch. Prince was in the starting lineup because Mitchell wanted to take some pressure off of Andrew Wiggins on the defensive end by letting Prince cover the opponents' best player but Prince has not played well. In 22 minutes per game Prince has the lowest PER of the Timberwolves' regular rotation players at 5.7 while making just 25 percent of his threes.
Martin will replace Prince in the starting lineup but he too has struggled so far this season with his shot. In 25 minutes per game Martin has shot just 37 percent from the field and 25 percent from three so the hope is that inserting him back into the starting lineup will get him out of his shooting slump. With Martin taking over Prince's starting spot that could mean that the veteran might find his way out of the rotation altogether which should be good news for Muhammad.
So far this season Muhammad is only averaging 17.7 minutes per game but he has played pretty well in his time. Through 13 games the former 14th overall pick is averaging 7.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on 50 percent shooting from the field. Muhammad is a former number one overall recruit coming out of high school back in 2012 so he has a ton of talent but he has not been getting consistent minutes this season. Although he is not directly included in the lineup change Mitchell is making, he stands to benefit big time because his minutes should become more consistent and his role should be more defined.
Fans have been calling for Prince to be taken out of the starting lineup for a little while now and they will finally get their wish. If Prince is removed from the rotation, like he might be, the Wolves lose a lot defensively but should gain a lot on offense with Martin and Muhammad getting the bulk of the time next to Wiggins on the wing.
