The wear and tear on NBA players over an 82-game season certainly does take its toll. And for those teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, where one of the starters is injured for two-thirds of the season, the rest of the Timberwolves roster found itself absorbing far too many minutes. That became a problem at times.
After all, there is a huge difference in total playing time in a season if you are competing for 28 minutes per game over 82 games, versus 35 minutes per game over 79 games. The first allocation takes up 38.25 grueling hours on the basketball court.