It’s no coincidence that an embarrassing performance like the one the Timberwolves delivered Monday — losing to a cellar dweller like Charlotte thanks to recklessly force-feeding one player and not playing a lick of defense — took place with veteran Mike Conley dressed in street clothes on the end of the bench.

Given their depth of talent, the Timberwolves shouldn’t need their starting point guard to beat one of the worst teams in the NBA, but it’s become apparent they’re capable of anything, in the worst way, when they’re without their guiding force.

For the past 11 months, Conley’s value to this team has jumped off the page. He orchestrates an offense beautifully, understands time and score, hits the 3-point shot at a high clip and defends his position well.

Conley deserves the most credit for making the Timberwolves’ two-big roster construction work. And, as it turns out, he is the catalyst for professionalism.

That was lacking for much of last season, as the Timberwolves lost to one inferior team after another as on those evenings they failed to bring the effort and focus required to beat any NBA team. That issue was corrected through the first half of this season. Heading into Monday’s game, Minnesota was undefeated against the NBA’s bottom-five teams. It’s why the Wolves have held the top spot in the Western Conference for two months.

And the first time the Timberwolves had to take on such an opponent without Conley, the team reverted to last year’s form. They played Monday without respect for the game or their opponent. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described it as “an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball.”

Everyone played their role in the shenanigans, but Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards were the heads of the snake. Towns scored 62 points, but put forth one of his worst defensive efforts of the season and took some ill-advised — to put it mildly — shots in the second half. Edwards was a bystander by choice for much of the game.

There was nothing professional about the approach of either player, despite the pleading from the coaching staff throughout the night to correct course, and Minnesota lost because of it.

That such games haven’t happened more frequently is perhaps the highest compliment to Conley, who oozes professionalism. The veteran guard does whatever is required to win on a nightly basis, and is capable of steadying waters with a couple play calls.

Conley is the lynchpin who allows Minnesota to utilize the best assets its other highest-paid players have to offer, while helping to hide their deficiencies.

Late-game execution is chief among the latter. The Wolves have lost both games Conley has missed this season, both thanks to fourth-quarter collapses. In both instances, the Wolves have looked as though they lost their collective minds down the stretch.

Minnesota’s clutch-time net rating as a team this season is minus-3.1.

But when Conley is on the floor in those situations, the Wolves outscore their opponents by 7.1 points per 100 possessions. Much like how the Timberwolves sported a negative clutch-time net rating last season before Conley arrived, and saw that number spike upward upon his arrival. Who was the one seated next to Edwards in the locker room, talking through the defeat Monday as the media entered the locker room? Mike Conley.

Finch noted that ideally, Edwards and Towns would be stabilizers when waters get rocky. But they’re not. The decision-making simply isn’t adequate enough for the Timberwolves’ star players to serve in that role at the moment.

Thankfully for Minnesota, when Edwards and Towns are blatantly steering the USS Timberwolves into an oncoming iceberg, Conley generally can take the wheel and quickly redirect the ship to safety.

At least for this season, Conley must continue to plug all holes necessary to keep the Timberwolves’ title hopes afloat.

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