Could Jaylen Clark see more minutes against Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark has been one of the team's more effective defenders against Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, so it wasn't surprising to see coach Chris Finch turn to Clark when Rudy Gobert found himself in foul trouble early on in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

While Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 35 points per game on 51% shooting in the four regular-season games against the Wolves, he shot just 29% when defended by Clark. Most notably, Clark made the likely MVP look relatively pedestrian during a Feb. 13 Wolves win when the Thunder star shot just 6 for 21 and scored 24 points, well below his season average.

The minutes Tuesday weren't abundant — Clark played just six — but his impact was clear from the get-go. He had an offensive rebound and putback in his first stint and forced Gilgeous-Alexander into an ugly-looking jump shot. It wasn't a huge sample size, but Gilgeous-Alexander shot 0 for 1 with no points and one assist when defended by Clark on Tuesday.

Considering Clark's success against Gilgeous-Alexander in the regular season, and the positive impact he made in limited minutes Tuesday night, one has to wonder whether that's a lever Finch pulls as Minnesota looks to overcome its 1-0 series deficit following Tuesday's blowout 114-88 loss. There seems to be an opportunity for Clark to make an impact.

Finch largely hasn't strayed from his eight-man rotation in the postseason, but Clark is arguably their best defensive solution for Gilgeous-Alexander. And while Clark isn't the offensive player that Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are, those two have struggled in the playoffs and haven't given Finch a reason to keep Clark on the bench.

Both DiVincenzo and Alexander-Walker are better shooters than Clark, and both can defend as well. But in the playoffs, the numbers haven't been good. DiVincenzo is averaging 8.1 points per game on just 32% shooting from the field and 25% from 3-point range. Alexander-Walker is scoring 6.6 points per game on 34% shooting and 28% from long range.

If Clark proves to be Minnesota's most effective defender against Gilgeous-Alexander and Alexander-Walker and DiVincenzo continue to struggle, Clark should be in line for more minutes. The ceiling of what he can provide defensively is perhaps more valuable than anything the Wolves are getting offensively elsewhere. Minnesota will be fighting an uphill battle in this series, and Finch may need to pull every lever at his disposal. Right now, that just might be Clark.

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