The Minnesota Timberwolves may be built to turn games into the kind of grind that the 2025 Pacers used to frustrate opponents all spring.
Indiana’s run was all about pace, movement, and pressure. The Pacers, seeded fourth, pushed all the way to the NBA Finals and took a 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder team to seven games before falling short, with Tyrese Haliburton’s devastating Achilles injury part of the story.
Their attack came in waves: third in assists per game, seventh in pace, and loaded with players who could hurt you from different spots. Haliburton drove the whole thing, but Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, Bennedict Mathurin, and Myles Turner made every possession feel crowded.
That’s where the Timberwolves start to look familiar.
This is not a perfect mirror. Minnesota does not have the same five-out spacing Indiana leaned on, and the Pacers never had a scorer like Anthony Edwards.
But the Wolves do have Edwards, and with LaMelo Ball alongside him, they can punish defenses from deep. More importantly, they have a collection of other offensive pieces who can score on their own or work as spot-up options.
The bigger idea is the tempo. Minnesota finished last season in the top 10 in pace, and that kind of speed appears ready to stick with Ball and Jonathan Kuminga in the mix.
The roster is full of athletes who can run, and that extends beyond the starters. Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr., and Joan Beringer all fit the same fast, aggressive mold.
That matters because Minnesota already has the kind of defense that can make this style miserable for opponents. Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels anchor that end, and the Wolves should have plenty of chances to force turnovers if they really turn up the ball pressure.
McDaniels, Dosunmu, Edwards, and Kuminga give them the personnel to copy Indiana’s high-pressure approach, only with even more physicality. Gobert’s presence also gives them the freedom to be more aggressive on the perimeter.
That is where the comparison gets even more interesting. Indiana had elite perimeter defense, but Myles Turner meant they never had the same level of rim protection.
Minnesota does. With Gobert behind everything and Edwards carrying the offense, the Wolves could end up as a more dangerous version of the Pacers.
Ball is central to that possibility, even if he is not Haliburton. His decision-making still needs work, but he is a high-level playmaker who can keep Minnesota moving in transition and organize things in the half-court.
The Wolves have had no shortage of talent for a while; what they’ve lacked is a table-setter who can make the whole operation hum. Ball changes that.
And if he does, the ripple effect is obvious. Minnesota can lean into an everybody-eats offense, the same kind of problem Indiana created for teams that had to chase one threat after another.
Defenses would have to deal with Edwards and Ball first, then McDaniels and Kuminga, with Dosunmu and Shannon bringing scoring punch off the bench. There simply are not many places to hide.
There is still a chance the Wolves’ offense never quite hits those heights because so many players need touches. But if it clicks, the Pacers comparison makes a lot of sense. And with Edwards at the top of it, Minnesota’s ceiling looks enormous.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Starters Each Face One Issue That Could Define This Season
The Timberwolves spent the offseason reshaping the top of their roster after injuries and uneven play exposed enough flaws to force real change. Trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid for LaMelo Ball and signing Jonathan Kuminga gave Minnesota a different look in the starting group, one built less around familiarity and more around the idea that internal growth can clean up what went wrong a year ago.
Now the early pressure points are clear. Ball has to adjust to a role that asks him to fit next to Anthony Edwards rather than drive everything himself, while Kuminga is stepping into the power forward spot with the job of bringing more juice on both ends. Minnesota is banking on that combination, plus a sharper defensive commitment, to raise the floor of a lineup that still has plenty to prove. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Could Face A Tough Rudy Gobert Call Sooner Than Expected
The Timberwolves frontcourt picture could look very different a year from now if the right pieces start to click. Joan Beringer is expected to open with limited minutes, but the organization clearly sees a path for him to grow into a quality starter, and that kind of development would change the long-term math around Rudy Gobert. Add Jonathan Kuminga into the mix on a short-term deal, and Minnesota suddenly has another moving part to weigh as it tries to balance present-day contention with future flexibility.
Minnesotas decision on Gobert would not come lightly, but salary cap realities always have a way of forcing the issue. If Beringer keeps progressing and Kuminga settles in as more than a temporary solution, the Wolves could face a difficult call next offseason about whether to keep paying for an elite veteran center or pivot toward a younger, cheaper structure. For now, it is more of a planning exercise than a deadline, but it is the kind of roster question that can sneak up fast. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Suddenly Have One Big Problem Fans Will Gladly Take
The Timberwolves have spent much of the summer trying to answer the same question every contending team eventually faces: how do you feed enough mouths without dulling the edge of the ones who matter most? Anthony Edwards remains the centerpiece, but Minnesota now has a deeper mix of shot creators and versatile pieces around him, with Jaden McDaniels and LaMelo Ball adding to a group that can score in different ways. For once, the concern is less about finding enough talent and more about keeping it organized.
Jonathan Kumingas arrival helped settle an earlier frontcourt worry and gives Minnesota another useful option in a rotation that suddenly looks crowded in all the right places. The challenge now is figuring out how the offense can keep everybody engaged, and the answer may come from a quicker tempo that lets the Wolves spread touches around without forcing one player to carry too much. It is a nice problem to have, even if it still leaves the coaching staff with a few lineup puzzles to sort out. [Read more 🡒]