The Timberwolves are 2-0 for the first time since 2021, and the early read on this team goes beyond the lopsided scores. Minnesota opened with a 131-106 rout of the Heat on Wednesday, then followed it up Friday with a 115-93 win over the Magic. The offense looked explosive in the opener, but the bigger story through two games is what the Wolves have done on the other end.
That showed up clearly in Orlando, where Minnesota won comfortably even without a huge night from its top scorers. Edwards finished 5 of 23, LaMelo Ball went 4 of 13, and the Wolves still put eight players in double figures while shooting 43% as a team. The shot-making wasn’t there like it was against Miami, but the result stayed the same because Minnesota’s defense kept driving the game.
Orlando had a rough night trying to solve it. The Magic shot 44% from the floor and just 21% from deep, turned the ball over 16 times, and managed a 93 offensive rating, which was 21.2 points worse than its regular-season average last year.
Minnesota chased passes around the perimeter, covered ground with energy, and never seemed to have a soft spot on the floor. The effort level was constant, and that matters because it’s already becoming a theme.
That same defensive edge has carried over to the glass, too. Chris Finch made a point in camp about rebounding, knowing the Wolves don’t have much size beyond Rudy Gobert.
He wanted the whole roster to attack the ball instead of watching plays finish around them, and so far that message has landed. Minnesota has outrebounded its opponents by 35 through two games, allowing only 12 offensive rebounds while collecting 38 of its own.
Finch put it plainly after the win in Orlando: “It’s the pursuit of the ball on both ends of the floor,” Finch said postgame in Orlando. “We were one of the worst teams in terms of … watching rebounds last year, and not actually pursuing the ball. And this year, we’ve been able to switch our mentality to be more of a pursuit team.”
The numbers against Orlando backed that up. Jonathan Kuminga, Joan Beringer, and Gobert each grabbed nine rebounds, while Ayo Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels finished with six apiece.
Ball had five, and Edwards along with Terrence Shannon Jr. added four each. Minnesota isn’t just chasing misses - it’s swarming them, then finishing possessions.
Kuminga has quickly become a central piece in that work. His first two games in a Wolves uniform have shown exactly why he fits this group.
Offensively, he’s given Minnesota enough spacing by hitting 2 of 3 from deep in both games, which keeps defenders honest when he’s attacking downhill. He also handed out five assists against Orlando and has shown a willingness to move the ball, including a few sharp passes to Gobert while driving.
Defensively, he’s been everywhere. Finch praised the way Kuminga battled against Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday, even with Miami’s new star scoring 35 points.
Against Orlando, Kuminga kept that same level of activity, moving quickly and staying locked in both on the ball and away from it. During training camp, Kuminga said he didn’t have much to prove and wanted to focus on the little things that help winning.
So far, he’s backed that up.
That matters for Minnesota because the team’s ceiling was always going to be tied to its offense, especially after bringing in Ball. Edwards’ 45-point opener only raised the noise around what this group could become, and Ball added 21 against Miami to complete a loud debut.
The Wolves also took 50 threes in that opener, connecting on 42% of them, and Finch admitted he was surprised by that volume. Minnesota wants more three-point attempts this season - it ranked 17th in threes attempted per game last year - but the shot chart can’t be the whole identity.
Friday was a good reminder of that. The long-range shots didn’t fall for Edwards or Ball, and the offense wasn’t nearly as sharp.
In past seasons, that kind of night could have dragged everything else down with it. Minnesota would lose its edge, and the game would unravel on both ends.
Early this season, though, the Wolves have looked more mature than that.
They took their first small dose of adversity in Orlando and didn’t blink. The offense from the stars was inefficient, but the defense stayed forceful, the supporting cast filled in, and the team never drifted from its plan. Two games are hardly a full-season verdict, but Minnesota’s early version has been hard to miss: focused, active, and much harder to knock off course.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Face An Early Test With One Key Piece Missing
The Timberwolves get an early season measuring stick Sunday night at Target Center, where they host Toronto in a matchup that has plenty of preseason intrigue even before the opening tip. It is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be carried on NBA TV, DAZN-MIN, TSN and TSN+, giving both teams a national stage as they settle into the new year.
Minnesota will have to navigate it without Donte DiVincenzo, a notable absence from the rotation as the Wolves try to protect home court against a Raptors team listed as a small underdog. Toronto also has a key injury note of its own, with Nate Bittle ruled out, but the bigger question for Minnesota is how it handles the missing wing depth against a conference opponent that can make a game uncomfortable if the pace gets away from them. [Read more 🡒]
Naz Reid Is Making The Wolves Regret What They Lost
Naz Reids move out of Minnesota always came with some context. The Timberwolves had enough frontcourt depth to keep his role narrower than his talent might have suggested, and in Charlotte he has quickly looked like a player with more to offer when given a larger lane. As a starter, he has bumped up his production across the board compared with his Minnesota seasons, giving the Hornets a more complete version of the big man Wolves fans only saw in flashes.
For Minnesota, the early returns are hard to ignore because Reid is showing he can handle a heavier offensive and playmaking load while still impacting the glass. It is the sort of development that can make a front office rethink how much it was willing to part with, especially in a deal built around LaMelo Ball and a reshuffling of the Wolves roster core. Reid is proving the opportunity mattered, and the question now is how long Charlotte can keep getting that version of him. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Hot Start Is Already Creating A Real Rotation Battle
The early wins have done more than give the Timberwolves a good feeling around the building. They have also turned the back end of Chris Finchs rotation into a real day-to-day puzzle, with the coach still sorting through how different bench pieces fit alongside a team that has come out playing with purpose. Trey Lyles, Bones Hyland and Jaylen Clark have all been part of that conversation, each bringing a different skill set while Finch keeps mixing and matching based on matchups and game flow.
Bones Hylands first non-garbage-time appearance of the season in Orlando was another reminder that nothing is settled yet, and his eight minutes only added to the sense that Finch is still searching for the right balance. The Timberwolves have enough momentum to buy some patience, but the competition for roles is already tightening, especially with multiple reserves trying to separate themselves before the rotation starts to harden. [Read more 🡒]