The Minnesota Timberwolves started playing their preseason games long before the rest of the NBA. Well, save one NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks. And yet, the amount of press that is splashing the NBA headlines following their first contest, a game in which the Timberwolves roster mauled the Mavericks, did not get nearly the headlines that I had expected it to.
But isn’t this just preseason?
Preseason is what you make of it. I wouldn’t be as focused on the Timberwolves’ ability to win two games in the preseason, as the way individual players performed. And yes, there are plenty of smiles to go around if you focus on how players seemed to show up in the first two preseason performances.
It’s the Timberwolves’ time to snarl, again
The Timberwolves are shooting for more than safe harbors and happy places this season. This is professional basketball, a highly competitive sport that is built upon the blood, sweat, and tears of discipline, of mental toughness, of reaching down when every part of your body is screaming to stop, and finding the strength to keep on going. That is what the Minnesota Timberwolves are discovering about themselves in preseason this year.
Blame the persistence and durability of Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards. He has been a lynchpin in holding the Timberwolves roster together and on track. Even when he appeared to be sorely injured in the 2022-23 NBA season, Edwards continued to resurface during games in which he was ruled questionable, doubtful, or even out for the rest of the game.
Loving what they saw, Timberwolves executives made it a point to find and add similarly tough-minded NBA players. So now that the Timberwolves roster is bursting with tough-minded durable players, what difference are they making this year?
Third: Timberwolves are rebounding well
One of the confusing shortcomings for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022-23 NBA season was the inability of the Timberwolves roster to dominate rebounding. The Timberwolves traded for veteran center Rudy Gobert, a player who dominated the boards and frequently hauled in 10+ rebounds per game.
That was not by accident. Players on the Timberwolves roster were not coached hard to play aggressively last season. Because the Wolves had thrown together a hodgepodge to form a 15-player roster, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch allowed the team to play a bit more free-form than you may have expected. The results were that many players on the team were more interested in shooting than the physical work of hauling in rebounds.
And so too many players stood around and watched others, or were simply out of position to help the team in that regard.
Wolves will work the boards this season
The priorities for the Timberwolves front office appeared to make note of that weakness, and the shopping list for the off-season was reworked to prioritize rebounding skills. The result is not that the team has loaded up on rebound-heavy players. Rather, the team has infused players from the draft and from free agency who deliver a better-than-average effort at the boards.
As a result, the Timberwolves have claimed 187 rebounds in four preseason games, while opposing teams have hauled in just 175 rebounds. While that is only a small sampling from preseason games, keep in mind that the Timberwolves have limited the amount of play of both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, two stars who will deliver rebounds this season.
The Timberwolves are particularly intrigued by the rebounding ability of rookie forward Leonard Miller, who flashes unbridled dominance near the basket of emerging with the basketball.
Second: The Timberwolves are playing well at the perimeter
The most glaring vulnerability that stood out from the Timberwolves 2022-23 NBA season the was futility that this team had in factoring in the perimeter strategy as the team trialed their Timberwolves Twin Towers roster.
What I mean by that is the fact that while the Timberwolves boasted two incredibly gifted bigs in All-Star center Rudy Gobert and All-Star center/power forward Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves strategy failed to consider their flanks. In essence, opposing teams simply stood at the perimeter and launched three-point shots over and above the head of Gobert and KAT.
And there were clearly not enough perimeter defenders to halt that maneuver.
Making matters worse, the Timberwolves roster was rushed and stitched together after the Gobert trade with veterans who might be able to defend beyond the arc, and who could drop shots into the basket from that distance. The trouble was that many of the new faces failed to deliver in either regard. And that compounded a Timberwolves roster that offered little defense in 2021-22. Those players were solely interested in outscoring opponents.
Wolves deliver defense
But in 2022-23, not only did the Timberwolves struggle mightily to defend the perimeter, but formerly proficient perimeter shooters seemed to lose their ability to score consistently from the arc. That created a complicated challenge for the Timberwolves, one that has taken multiple steps to correct.
The first stage of the Wolves’ solution was dealing away offensively-charged D’Angelo Russell, and in return acquiring PG Mike Conley Jr. and SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Conley delivered a stronger and more consistent perimeter shot than DLo, while both Conley and NAW have much greater defensive presences on the basketball court.
But the team was not done.
In the off-season, the Timberwolves added a top-notch defender in Troy Brown Jr., a pair of solid rookie defenders in SG Jaylen Clark and F Leonard Miller, and then bolstered the backcourt defense and perimeter shooting with veteran guard Shake Milton.
In 2022-23, the Timberwolves allowed an average of 115.8 points per game. So far in preseason, the Timberwolves have not allowed any opponents to score more than 112 points, and the team is averaging just 104.5 points allowed per game.
First: The Timberwolves played cohesive basketball
Perhaps the most subtle, but most noticeable improvement in the Timberwolves roster this season is the very active manner in which this team moves the basketball around. These Wolves players were barely making their introductions to one another by the time the 2022-23 NBA season began. And thanks to waves of injuries, the Timberwolves roster played musical chairs for the duration of the 82-game season.
This year, the Timberwolves have all the benefit of that awkward and almost painful experience from last season. And that not only has resulted in much greater familiarity among the players but has allowed the Timberwolves coaching staff to realize that this team needs heightened structure and discipline this season.
Space, Pace, and Pass
One of the less obvious benefits of eliminating a free-flow structure is that players are not vying for similar roles. Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, in a more structured approach, do not end up in the same place at the same time. Like a well-trained hockey team, moving the puck is vital to success. That same tactic of moving the basketball around is vital for the Timberwolves’ success, as the Wolves need to get defenders out of position to open lanes to drive to the basket.
Thankfully, the presence of Mike Conley Jr., Kyle Anderson, Shake Milton, and to a lesser extent Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and Naz Reid allows plenty of basketball movement among teammates.
Okay, enough analysis. The Timberwolves not only appear to be a much more polished team so far, but they all genuinely appear to be having fun. Of course, success makes everything more enjoyable in professional sports. But there is an undercurrent of this team that has the rare combination of enthusiasm and passion for the game of basketball with a clinical almost business-like approach.
In the end, the Minnesota Timberwolves are not just a team that will enjoy success this season, but this team is very much of the mindset that they expect to win.
Here are more Minnesota Timberwolves articles to catch you up today:
- NBA Rumors: Did Karl-Anthony Towns just audition for his next NBA team?
- Shake Milton cements Wolves role as he knocks Knicks around
- Who gets more Timberwolves PF minutes? KAT, Slo-Mo, Minott, or other?
- Minnesota Timberwolves powered by Luka Garza’s 30 to 4th win
- Time to give Timberwolves Tall Ball a fresh look
- Naz Reid: Timberwolves investment that is already paying huge dividends