Shocking revelations about Wolves Abu Dhabi domination of Mavs

Okay, so the Minnesota Timberwolves were, and maybe remain, a question mark to you and to many Timberwolves fans for the 2023-2024 NBA season. But after two preseason victories over the Dallas Mavericks to kick off the Timberwolves preseason, we have a better sense of what to expect, and what not to expect, from the Timberwolves this season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves roster is essentially intact from the team that faced the Denver Nuggets in Round 1 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Essentially, the Timberwolves returned all five starters from that series, two key contributors who were unable to play due to injuries, and a number of key contributors off the Timberwolves bench.

But this is a team with some deceptively effective changes to the roster as well.  The Timberwolves managed to round out the roster this season with a pair of veteran additions as well as a pair of rookies.  And then, to keep things interesting, the Timberwolves signed four players to Exhibit 10 contracts who will, at a minimum, swell the ranks of the Timberwolves G-League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

Wolves wounded early in 2023 NBA preseason games

If you wanted some form of reassurance that the  Minnesota Timberwolves roster is impervious to pain or injury, you certainly found no evidence of that trend in the Timberwolves preseason so far.  Not only is rookie shooting guard Jaylen Clark still very much rehabbing from a known Achilles Tendon injury that is expected to sideline him until February 2024, but the Timberwolves sat two key starters, one in each game, as preseason precautions.

In the first Timberwolves preseason game, the Timberwolves opted to bench their All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards after Edwards tweaked his ankle in practice the day before.  The result of that first game was a Timberwolves team that utterly obliterated the Mavericks.  Of course, that opened concerns that Edwards might not be needed for the second preseason game.  Edwards did play, but the Timberwolves sat small forward Jaden McDaniels due to left calf soreness.

While unplanned, the unexpected absences of a key starter in each of the Timberwolves’ first two preseason games allowed this team to learn a lot about itself. So what shocking revelations did we learn about the Timberwolves in two preseason games? Well, here are some lessons that immediately come to mind:

Lesson III: The Minnesota Timberwolves roster is deep

The Minnesota Timberwolves will never willingly do so, but this team has two very talented and completely separate lineups this season. The Timberwolves’ primary starters this season are:

PG – Mike Conley Jr.
SG – Anthony Edwards *
SF – Jaden McDaniels
PF – Karl-Anthony Towns *
C – Rudy Gobert *

( * denotes NBA All-Star)

But this team has a solid full set of backup players as well:

PG – Shake Milton
SG – Nickeil Alexander-Walker
SF – Troy Brown Jr.
PF – Kyle Anderson
C – Naz Reid

The beautiful aspect of this fact is that the Timberwolves could get double-doubles in any given game out of each of their starter and or backup players. And while they are themselves fully capable of handling the load on any given game, the Timberwolves have even more depth to activate to ensure that their primary players are not overburdened over the course of a grueling 82-game regular season.

The Timberwolves have PG Jordan McLaughlin, SG Wendell Moore Jr., F Leonard Miller, PF Josh Minott, F Matt Ryan (Two-Way contract), and C Luka Garza (Two-Way contract) as well. The Timberwolves even have one slot open on their roster as an incentive to ensure that they have a ready-made reward to offer a preseason standout.

So far, the plan seems to be on track to deliver something very special to the patient and deserving Minnesota Timberwolves fans.  But what about the Timberwolves future?

Lesson II: The Minnesota Timberwolves  have a lot of young players

The Minnesota Timberwolves roster boasts 21 players right now. 14 of those players are aged 25 years old or younger. Even if we factor out four players who are currently on Exhibit 10 contracts, that leaves 10 players on this Timberwolves roster whose best years are still ahead of them.

Still, their future success is not going to just happen.  As much as fans may want to see 100 percent of the Minnesota Timberwolves stars 100 percent of the time, any future success for this team is going to depend a great deal on how quickly and effectively younger players are developed.

It’s almost surreal to accept that Minnesota Timberwolves young All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards is only now 22 years old. But keep in mind that he is competing in his fourth NBA season this year, and has been a starter throughout his NBA career as a starter. So while he is young, he is already a very seasoned and established NBA veteran.

The road to that level of NBA production will not be nearly as easy for young 19-year-old forward Leonard Miller.  But it will be vital for this Timberwolves team to find a path to get younger players the experience and wisdom necessary to fill future roles on this team when their time comes.

It won’t all be on the Timberwolves coaching staff to deliver. We have witnessed just how much offseason work Luka Garza has put in throughout the offseason. So how has that paid off in the first two preseason games?   In two games, Garza has 20 minutes, 19 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, one block, and is shooting one of four from the perimeter.

He is just one young player who is on track to become a huge contributor to this Timberwolves roster over time.

Lesson I: The Minnesota Timberwolves starters are going to be very good, as long as they remain healthy

The Minnesota Timberwolves dominated the Dallas Mavericks in two preseason games. With the exception of the first quarter of the second game, this Timberwolves team never trailed in the games. While the Mavericks were not competing at full strength, neither were the Timberwolves. And that is all very good and positive news indeed.

Still, the lone wildcard to this Timberwolves team is health. And as much as it pains me to say it, the Timberwolves are already showing signs of the wear and tear that comes with a long NBA season. So far, the Timberwolves have been smart about sitting players who were not in full health. And let’s be honest, any decision to sit starters now will likely have more benefits, as it gives precious playing time to young players who need to compete to grow and develop.

But there is also something to be said about getting all five starters into live action to improve their continuity, communication, and chemistry. Those three components were blatantly absent from this Timberwolves team that seemed to struggle with awkwardness for months last season.

The Timberwolves appear to be on track this year. Even when the team rotates in bench players, the continuity and flow of the game appear to happen much more naturally for the Wolves.  Still, it doesn’t take many injuries to disrupt that goodwill and flow.

It was just a start, but this was a very good start for this team. I believe that the Minnesota Timberwolves will be a very good team this season, as long as the team can avoid numerous and or lengthy injuries to the players. Is 50 wins out of reach for this team?  Let us know in the comments section of our Facebook page.

Here are some great stories about the Minnesota Timberwolves:

• Who will be the most shocking surprise on the Timberwolves roster this season?
• Minnesota Timberwolves depth chart nearly ready for 2023-24 NBA season
• Timberwolves won 1st Jaden McDaniels wager. Will they win double or nothing?
• How does this team compare to the 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves?
• How did the Timberwolves maul the Mavericks so easily in the NBA preseason opener?
• How many Top-20 scorers can Timberwolves boast in 2023-24?