Josh Okogie a late addition to Timberwolves' COVID list

The realities of playing basketball during a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic continue to force teams to alter their starting lineups and adjust their rotations.

For example: the Timberwolves.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch knew he'd be without Anthony Edwards and Taurean Prince because both were in the league's health and safety protocols when the Wolves tipped off against Dallas at Target Center Sunday night.

But then Josh Okogie found himself added to the list, not long before the team started warming up for the game. With Nathan Knight and McKinley Wright with the Wolves' G League affiliate in Iowa, that left Finch with 10 available players for the game.

Such situations force Finch and his counterparts — Dallas was without Reggie Bullock and Josh Green on Sunday because of the protocols — to be ready to adjust.

"We don't plan a whole lot at this stage,'' Finch said before the game. "We just wait until the last minute, when we have all the information. We kind of have a rough idea of what we want to do. Our game plan obviously doesn't change a whole lot. It just comes down to personnel, rotations. Now [without Okogie) we just talked about that a little bit and how we covered those minutes.''

This is a discussion that could be repeated.

"I guess it's being handled as best it can be, given the constraints that we've put ourselves under with the testing and the playing and the protocols,'' Finch said. "It's just kind of rolling the dice at this stage. It's only a matter of time until, probably, numbers flare up again for those teams that haven't had it.''

Jaden McDaniels continues to battle foul trouble, something that can be difficult to avoid, given the high-profile players he covers and the benefit of the doubt those players seem to get from officials. But Finch said he doesn't want McDaniels to change his approach, even when he's carrying some fouls.

"I just want him to keep competing, largely,'' Finch said.

That said, there are habits the Wolves are working with McDaniels to change. "He leaves his feet a lot,'' Finch said. "Sometimes he gets his hands in too much. Those are things we've tried to work through.''