Aldama's sudden scratch stemmed from a pregame knee evaluation, forcing a lineup shift and impacting Memphis's frontcourt against Minnesota's dominance.
Santi Aldama was a late scratch for the Memphis Grizzlies' road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at Target Center, adding another injury wrinkle to an already shorthanded squad.
Aldama, who entered the night listed as available, was downgraded to out less than 30 minutes before tipoff due to right knee injury management. Olivier-Maxence Prosper took his spot in the starting lineup alongside Jaylen Wells, Scotty Pippen Jr., GG Jackson, and Ty Jerome.
After losing 117-110 to the Timberwolves, Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said the decision came down to how Aldama responded in his final pregame workout.
"Like I said in the pregame, if everything went well with the court slot we thought he'd be available," Iisalo said. "But in the last tests he just didn't feel like it was ready to go yet. So it was that type of situation."
Aldama, 25, is averaging 14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists across 43 games this season. Memphis paid for his absence against a Minnesota frontcourt built for this kind of matchup. Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle wore down the Grizzlies' thin frontline in the second half and Minnesota never looked back.
Randle finished with 23 points, 17 of which came after halftime. Gobert battled foul trouble through the first two quarters but stayed on the floor in the second half, clogging the paint and making life difficult for Memphis drives. His presence gave Minnesota a physical edge the Grizzlies couldn't match.
With Aldama out, Memphis lost its best option to stretch Minnesota's defense from the four. He's shooting 35% from 3-point range on 1.6 attempts per game this season. Putting him on the floor next to Ja Morant would have at least forced the Timberwolves into more difficult coverage decisions than they faced Tuesday.
The Grizzlies built an 11-point first-half lead before a 16-5 third-quarter run from Minnesota flipped the game. Anthony Edwards finished with 41 points, seven made 3-pointers, and five steals.
Tuesday did bring some good news on the injury front. Ty Jerome returned after missing two games with a left thigh injury and played 24 minutes, finishing with 14 points and two assists.
Cedric Coward also came back from a right knee injury and scored 15 points off the bench, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as part of a 12-1 run that pulled Memphis within four with 20 seconds left.
Memphis has been short-handed for stretches throughout the second half of the season. Jerome and Coward returning is a step in the right direction, but Aldama's absence continues to thin out a frontcourt rotation the Grizzlies can't really afford to play shorthanded.
Memphis fell to 23-37 with the loss and plays host to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday at FedExForum to close out a back-to-back.