It’s just over a quarter of the way into the season, but ESPN’s insider Bobby Marks has already expressed his concern about the Minnesota Timberwolves, particularly the minutes of their five starters.

Per Marks:

Starting to get concerned with the minutes overload for the starting 5 in Minnesota. 33-37 minutes per night for the 5. Saw a bunch of tired legs out there last night.

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Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau has been notorious over his career for riding his star players hard and playing them heavy minutes. Jimmy Butler led the NBA in minutes under his watch in Chicago back in 2014-15, while Andrew Wiggins finished third last season in Thibs’ first year in Minnesota.

Thibs also isn’t a believer in periodically resting players, so he will likely keep playing his starting five as long as they remain healthy. And with other teams adopting resting strategies, fatigue could become a more pressing issue for the Timberwolves than other teams.

But perhaps more concerning is the fact that despite Thibs playing his best lineup heavy minutes every game as well as their relatively good health, the Timberwolves are just 14-11 and are still unable to solve their issues defensively.

It will be interesting to see how Thibodeau coaxes improvement from his team while managing his starters' minutes as the season wears on.