After sitting out play-in, Jordan McLaughlin ready to contribute in series against Memphis

Just before the end of the season, coach Chris Finch said bench point guard Jordan McLaughlin was playing some of the best basketball on the Timberwolves.

But in Tuesday's play-in victory over the Clippers, McLaughlin didn't play at all.

Finch explained he went to Jaylen Nowell early in the game because he thought the Wolves needed some scoring, and one of Nowell's greatest strengths is scoring from all levels.

"I just thought we needed a bucket here and there," Finch said. "Then in the second [quarter], I thought D-Lo [D'Angelo Russell] had it going. I wanted to make sure we got back to him as quickly as we could in certain situations."

McLaughlin is more of a facilitator of the offense, a facilitator who has been very effective over the second half of the season and one of the Wolves leaders in net rating and plus-minus.

Finch also said he was worried about the 5-11 McLaughlin's height given the Wolves were playing a switch-heavy defense.

"J-Mac's a great defender, but there's not a lot he can do with a Paul George [isolation] at the elbow," Finch said. "I talked to J-Mac after the game. We talked to him afterward. He was fine."

Added McLaughlin: "[Finch] talked to me the next day, he told me he was expecting to play me. But the way the game was going, matchup-wise and stuff like that, I understand. That's how stuff works. That's how the playoffs work. You might not play one series, and you may play the next series. That's just how it goes."

Finch said he expected McLaughlin to play a big role against the Grizzlies.

"I'm a team player, so when my number is called, I'm going to be ready to go and do whatever I can to help my team win," McLaughlin said. "If it's not called, I'm still going to help my team win, cheering on the bench, talking to guys, telling them what I see and stuff like that. It's never about me."

The NBA fined Wolves guard Patrick Beverley $30,000 on Thursday in reaction to the veteran's "inappropriate statements during a media interview and on social media, including the egregious use of profanity" following the play-in victory.

Beverley played the past four seasons for the Clippers, and after the game he celebrated by jumping onto the scorers' table, throwing his jersey into the crowd and pumping up his teammates.

But the fine came because of his comments suggesting his former team get back to Los Angeles, with variations on the theme in colorful language.

Beverley was also fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for improper conduct toward a game official after being ejected from the Wolves' final regular-season game. He received two technical fouls for complaining about calls that were — and weren't — made in the loss to Chicago.

Forward Taurean Prince missed Tuesday's game because of right knee inflammation. Finch mentioned Prince was able to go through a "medium-intensity" level practice on Thursday. The Wolves did a lot of non-contact drills that Prince was able to get through. It's unknown if Prince will be available for Game 1 against Memphis.