Ahead of Minnesota’s win in Phoenix last week, Mike Conley removed a brace he’d worn to protect his multiple injured fingers. It wasn’t because the ailments had entirely healed.

“I ditched it because I couldn’t play with it. I couldn’t even hold the ball with it,” Conley said. “It’s getting better. Hopefully, give me a couple more weeks and it will be 100 percent.”

Conley has battled a number of physical issues this season while trying to adapt to a seemingly ever-changing role within the Timberwolves’ lineup. He has started, and come off the bench. He has been on the ball, but largely off. He’s been paired almost exclusively with Rudy Gobert as a playing partner, and now is being asked to navigate smaller lineups with Gobert battling a lower-back injury.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has implored the veteran point guard to be aggressive in pursuit of his own offense. But when and where Conley’s shots will come varies greatly from lineup to lineup. And those lineups are shuffling frequently due to the health, or lack thereof, of Minnesota’s roster.

“We’re getting guys back and losing guys and have had to adjust to who is out there. We’ve had a lot of guys step up in the meantime, like Jaden (McDaniels) and Naz (Reid),” Conley said. “So, a lot of the shots I was asked to shoot, these guys are shooting them and making them and playing so well. So, it’s just kind of trying to maneuver around that and just be aggressive when I get an opportunity and be confident when I’m taking the shots.”

The general lack of offensive volume has created a perception that Conley isn’t as productive a player as he was even last season. And certainly there have been dips. Conley’s defense wasn’t as good early in the campaign, and he has struggled to finish in and around the bucket this year.

But what’s clear is the value he still brings to Minnesota. That comes in the decision making; the guard tallies 4.17 assists per every turnover, easily the best mark among Wolves rotational pieces. Conley is also providing spacing, hitting 47% of his 3-point attempts over his past 19 games.

Conley tied for the team lead in scoring in Friday’s win in Miami with 15 points on a hyper-efficient 6-for-9 shooting performance.

“Yeah, he was huge — huge in the first, got us rolling. Also to start the second half, we didn’t have a whole lot out there when (Anthony Edwards) was missing (with an illness),” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters. “He was super aggressive. And we need him to be aggressive in those situations.”

The two-man pairing of Conley and Gobert has remained highly effective for Minnesota this season, even if both players have experienced occasional dips in play. But he’s found ways recently to succeed even without the screen man with whom he’s developed such a successful two-man game.

“Just getting the ball back in his hands a little bit more was key,” Finch said of Conley’s recent resurgence. “I think sometimes, with certain lineups out there, he kind of gets lost and defers too much on the ball. We need him. … When he’s with those non-Rudy lineups, we’ve got to find him when he’s open, too, on the perimeter. And he is a lot.”

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