OKLAHOMA CITY – Jordan McLaughlin has been so ingrained in the Timberwolves' success since late January, it can be easy to forget the point guard wasn't getting significant playing time earlier this season.
Coach Chris Finch said part of that was due to the coaching staff not maximizing McLaughlin's potential.
"He kind of fell through the cracks in our player development structure a little bit," Finch said. "So that was on us for the beginning of the season."
The Wolves had McLaughlin work individually with assistant Pablo Prigioni instead of in smaller groups. They worked on his shot selection and just tried to get him in the right mental state of mind, Finch said.
"It wasn't like he wasn't getting attention," Finch said. "He just probably wasn't getting enough attention to what we needed him to do to get him back to the level of where he was playing last year for us."
McLaughlin said his early-season struggles didn't have anything to do with the coaching staff.
"I wouldn't put that on the coaching staff," McLaughlin said. "I would say it was my fault, not being able to lock in on what I needed to do for the team at that time. I just had to re-focus in and just continue to get better and figure out what I needed to do to help this team win."
Finch said McLaughlin is now one of the most popular Wolves for other players to be on the floor with at the same time.