Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from Summer League win over Bulls

The Minnesota Timberwolves moved to 2-0 in Las Vegas Summer League with a win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.

The game wasn’t exactly a barn-burner, with the teams combining for 62 points at halftime, but the Summer Wolves pulled away in the second half behind a strong all-around performance from Jaden McDaniels.

Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from Summer League win over Bulls

Let’s take a look at three specific takeaways from the Wolves’ victory over the Bulls.

1. Jaden McDaniels was easily the best player on the court

Timberwolves’ second-year forward Jaden McDaniels was the best player on the floor in this game, and outside of the Bulls’ own second-year forward Patrick Williams, it wasn’t close.

McDaniels finished with 15 points (6-13 FG, 2-5 3P, 1-1 FT), eight rebounds, three blocks, an assist, and a steal. He was great on both ends of the court, notching a couple of impressive blocks and looking confident and in control on offense.

McDaniels’ one assist was a thing of beauty: standing on the right wing, McDaniels pulled up off of a crossover and whipped a one-handed pass to John Egbunu for an easy dunk. In one play, it was a simple example of McDaniels’ improving court vision and awareness that we didn’t see a ton of during his rookie year.

For his part, Williams was clearly the second-best player on the floor. He finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds but shot only 6-for-15 from the field and committed six turnovers.

2. Nathan Knight came back to earth a bit, but still looks the part

After a head-turning performance in Monday’s Summer League opener, Knight wasn’t quite the force this time around.

Following 19 points and nine rebounds against the Spurs, the two-way big man and former Atlanta Hawk put up 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists against the Bulls. He had foul issues again, too, and has now committed 13 personal fouls in two games (remember, players aren’t disqualified at six fouls in Summer League).

Still, Knight’s defensive positioning is solid and he’s a good screener, too. He absolutely looks the part of a rotational big at the NBA level with some upside, and we can expect him to be a factor in the Timberwolves frontcourt rotation this season.

3. McKinley Wright joined McDaniels to key stifling defense

To be clear, this was not athestically pleasing basketball. It was offensively challenged, and at times, flat-out offensive to watch.

At the same time, the Wolves legitimately competed defensively. It started with two-way guard McKinley Wright IV at the point of attack, and the likes of McDaniels, Knight, and others were effective in pick-and-roll coverage.

Through two summer games, the biggest overarching takeaway has to be the defensive effort and intensity displayed by the Wolves. It speaks to how the coaching staff prepared the players to play in Vegas, and also to the personnel that is on the team and how hard they’re fighting on that end of the floor.

Next, the Wolves will take on the Milwaukee Bucks at on Friday at 3 p.m. CT on NBA TV.