The biggest question around the Minnesota Timberwolves heading into the 2026-27 season is their power forward room. With Naz Reid in Charlotte and Julius Randle in Brooklyn, the Wolves' former strength is now a massive question mark.
With the NBA schedule officially released, it's clear Minnesota's new-look frontcourt will be challenged early in the season. Six of the Timberwolves' first nine games are against formidable and physical frontcourts.
The Wolves open up the season against the Miami Heat; their next game is against the Orlando Magic; then they have three more October games against the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and San Antonio Spurs, and their second game in November is against the Houston Rockets. All of these matchups will provide unique challenges to the Wolves' frontcourt.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo are physically imposing frontcourt players. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have a ton of strength, size, and skill. The Raptors can present a similar challenge with Scottie Barnes (and likely Kawhi Leonard). Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are a quality double-big duo. Of course, the Spurs have Victor Wembanyama. And with Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, and Kevin Durant, the Houston Rockets have a ton of size.
Frankly, these are six of the teams that can challenge Minnesota's frontcourt the most.
What to look for in the Timberwolves' early matchups
It remains unclear what the Timberwolves' plan is for the frontcourt. Perhaps they make a late offseason addition who can carve out a meaningful role. For now, though, a makeshift power forward rotation feels likely.
Chris Finch has said that he doesn't envision Jaden McDaniels as the power forward. However, I think it depends on the matchup. Yes, most of the time, keeping him at the point of attack would be ideal, since he's an elite on-ball stopper. But take the Heat matchup, for instance. There's not a high-end perimeter player for him to guard, so it would make sense for him to guard Bam and Rudy Gobert to guard Giannis.
The early portion of the season could give us a sense of how McDaniels will be used in a variety of roles on defense.
During the Magic game, we might see him and Anthony Edwards (or maybe Ayo Dosunmu) guard Paolo and Franz. With Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard on the Raptors' side, I'd anticipate more of the same. In addition to Edwards and Dosunmu getting some reps guarding fours, I'd expect Josh Green, Jaylen Clark, and Terrence Shannon Jr. to share some of this responsibility.
The Cavs game is perhaps the most interesting one. Will the Wolves opt to keep McDaniels on Donovan Mitchell, or have him guard one of the bigs?
Dealing with Wemby is challenging, but Gobert will take him, and Jaden will stay on one of the guards. For the Rockets game, I'd expect Jaden to guard Durant and Gobert to guard Sengun, but who will guard Smith? Rebounding is a major concern regarding the Heat, Cavs, and Rockets games in particular.
Flexibility is the main theme I'd expect from these games. The Wolves will have to adapt to different frontcourt styles.
Without a doubt, it will be interesting to see how the Wolves guard different types of frontcourt players, how they hold up physically on the ball, and how big of an issue rebounding is.
Overall, this early stretch in October and November can give the team a glimpse at what's working and how big of a problem (if at all) the lack of traditional forwards is.
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