The Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time in 48 hours.
Much of the roster is different, but the Minnesota Timberwolves have not looked much different as a team over the course of two preseason games than the team that was one of the worst in the league last season.
On Saturday, the Wolves were discombobulated on both ends of the floor and fell behind by double-digits before Jaylen Nowell led a fourth-quarter comeback that made the final score look more respectable.
On Monday, the Wolves defense had basically the same issues, minus a true fourth-quarter comeback.
The Grizzlies put up 36 points in the first quarter alone as the Wolves again struggled to contain Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas. Memphis didn’t have any problems getting to where they wanted offensively, and especially in the pick-and-roll game.
The Wolves starting lineup relied almost entirely on D’Angelo Russell to provide offense early in the game. Karl-Anthony Towns and Malik Beasley were ice-cold from the field. Jake Layman and Josh Okogie each attempted only two shots in the game.
Almost as big of a problem as the poor defense was the sloppy turnovers that lead to transition offense for the Grizzlies and plenty of points scored off of Wolves turnovers.
Minnesota’s offense woke up a bit late in the third quarter and scored 10 straight points, cutting the Grizzlies lead from 24 points down to 14. But Memphis stemmed the tide, and the Wolves couldn’t draw much closer in garbage time.
Minnesota Timberwolves Player Grades
Other notable Minnesota Timberwolves performances
Jaylen Nowell didn’t have much of an encore performance, scoring a single point in just nine minutes. Ed Davis only played seven minutes and looked a bit slow trying to move his feet on defense, picking up four fouls and failing to register even a rebound in seven minutes.
Rookie Jaden McDaniels and Jarred Vanderbilt each received some late fourth-quarter run but didn’t do much of note, although their athleticism and length was on full display rebounding the ball and running the floor.
Up next for the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves head south to Dallas to take on the Mavericks in the preseason finale on Thursday night. Then, it all starts for real next Wednesday at Target Center against the Detroit Pistons.