For two years in 2022-23 and 2023-24, as long as both were available, the Minnesota Timberwolves started a double big lineup featuring Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. It worked well as evidenced by the 2023-24 team finishing first in the NBA in defensive rating and reaching the conference finals.
The Timberwolves will begin summer league action on Thursday as they will take on the New Orleans Pelicans. Obviously, the stakes aren’t quite as high in summer league as they are in the regular season or playoffs. Nonetheless, the plan seems to be employing a double big starting lineup with second-year players Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky.
Andrew Dukowitz of Zone Coverage recently asked Beringer for his thoughts on playing the four in summer league.
“Yes it’s a big change, but I feel good about playing the four.” Beringer said. “I’ll play with Rocco so I’m very, very excited.”
It will be interesting to see Beringer’s comfort level sharing the floor with another large man.
Summer league twin towers
Both Beringer and Zikarsky were 2025 draft picks. Beringer was selected 17th overall and Zikarsky was taken in the second round with the 45th pick. Zikarsky is listed at 7-foot-3, and actually tied a franchise record for their tallest player ever when he made his regular season debut on February 22. Beringer is listed at 6-foot-11.
Summer league is often about getting the best players from a club on the floor to get them needed reps for the upcoming season. It can also be used to experiment with certain strategies to get a better idea if it’s something the team wants to later try in the preseason, and perhaps then the regular season.
One of the reasons this pairing could work at times is because Zikarsky is capable of stretching his offense to outside the 3-point line. That is reminiscent of Towns also doing the same with the Wolves while Gobert focused on remaining near the paint.
The double big lineup probably won’t be seen all too much in the regular season. Zikarsky will likely be on a two-way deal again, and Minnesota rarely utilized their two-way guys in NBA games this past year.
A lineup of Gobert and Beringer will likely clog up the paint and it’s not something I expect to see Chris Finch utilize all that much. Right now, the Timberwolves' power forward depth chart isn't stockpiled with players, but even so, the two big men don't fit together on offense.
Still, it’s important to see Beringer get reps at the four. He turns just 20 on November 11. Zikarsky turns 20 in a few days (July 11), and maybe at some point he can become a rotational NBA player and the two can share the court together with Minnesota.
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