Jordan McLaughlin strives to regain form on his home turf

LOS ANGELES — Over the All-Star break, Jordan McLaughlin spent time in Southern California, where his old high school, Etiwanda, retired his number.

On Monday, the Wolves were practicing at USC's practice facility, where McLaughlin's picture is hanging on the wall alongside other Trojans who are in the NBA.

It's been a bit of a walk down memory lane for McLaughlin, as the Wolves spend the week in Los Angeles playing the Clippers and Lakers, a reminder of the player he became and the path he has walked to the NBA.

Now, McLaughlin would like to get back to his old self, as he is still trying to round back into form following a left calf injury that cost him a total of 35 games earlier this season.

"It's tough, missing 30-plus games," McLaughlin said. "That was the longest I've missed in a season. To try and catch back up to everybody, it's tough. I've been slowly making my way back, getting in a good rhythm, gaining my confidence back, my little movements and everything. I'm getting there."

Since returning, McLaughlin has averaged two points, 1.9 assists and 0.9 turnovers in 13.4 minutes per game. His impact on the team doesn't always show up in the box score but rather in how he operates the offense, which is with what he and the coaching staff call a ".5 mentality." That means within a half second, a player has to decide whether he's going to shoot, pass or dribble. McLaughlin said he doesn't yet feel like his old self, especially when it comes to motion.

"Not yet," McLaughlin said. "It's just trusting those little movements, being quick on my feet offensively, defensively. Being confident out there and just playing without thinking."

Coach Chris Finch said he and McLaughlin had a talk Monday about how McLaughlin is feeling, and Finch said the amount of time McLaughlin has missed is affecting his ability to get back up to speed.

"He's not the fully fit version that we had with him before," Finch said. "... He's coming down the on-ramp and everyone's going 85 miles per hour. It's really hard this time of the season. It's just going to take him a little time just to get up to speed and get his rhythm and his confidence. Confidence comes from your rhythm."

Over the last two games, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has received significant playing time off the bench after barely playing in his first three games with the team.

Alexander-Walker played 24 minutes against Charlotte and scored 13 points and had 10 points in 21 minutes against Golden State on Sunday.

"When I measure from the perspective of what I can control, for me it's been pretty easy," Alexander-Walker said of adjustment to the Wolves' style of play. "... Offensively, playing with guys like Ant [Anthony Edwards], even Kyle [Anderson], he can get to the paint and he's always looking to find shooters. For me, it's been pretty easy because I'm used to playing off people and just making the right play."

The Wolves like more than just his offensive game, and he has drawn some top defensive assignments when he's on the floor. That's where his focus has been in his first few weeks with the team — trying to make an impact on the defensive end of the floor.

"Defensively there's certain lineups where … we're able to switch one through five and disrupt things, get up into ball handlers, certain things like that," Alexander-Walker said. "Offensively still getting there, but I think with more time, more communication and things and the chemistry builds and the cohesiveness will follow."

Forward Taurean Prince was back with the team after a two-game absence for personal reasons. Center Rudy Gobert returned Tuesday from a one-game absence because of an illness. Guard Jaylen Nowell missed his second consecutive game because of left knee tendinopathy.