Preseason box scores only tell you so much, but Minnesota’s 116-97 win over Milwaukee on Monday still offered a pretty clear glimpse of what these Timberwolves want to be.
For a team with a lot of moving parts this offseason, that matters. New faces, new rhythms, new ideas - preseason is where you start seeing whether any of it fits. Against the Bucks, the early answer was yes in a few important ways.
The clearest change was tempo. Minnesota finished 10th in pace last season, and with LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga now in the mix, the whole operation looks built to move faster.
That showed up right away. After rebounds, the Wolves were looking upcourt almost immediately, with Ball often jump-starting the action.
The result was 26 fast-break points, a number that topped last season’s average of 16. Even in the half-court, the ball moved quicker and decisions came faster.
That style also seemed to bring out the best in Anthony Edwards and Ball together. The fit has obvious appeal, and Monday gave a first look at why.
Two of Ball’s three assists went to Edwards, including one off a guard-to-guard screen and another after Ball pump-faked from 3-point range, drove, and found Ant. For a star who hasn’t always clicked cleanly with past co-stars like Julius Randle and Karl-Anthony Towns, getting that chemistry started early with Ball is a big deal.
The offense also leaned much harder into pick-and-roll. That was one of the expected shifts after the Ball trade, and Minnesota didn’t hide it in the opener.
Ball’s history as a pick-and-roll organizer makes that a natural adjustment, and the Wolves didn’t limit it to one look. Rudy Gobert was involved, sure, but so were Kuminga and Jaden McDaniels as screeners, along with some guard-to-guard screening.
The variety stood out. This wasn’t just more pick-and-roll; it was more ways to run it.
There was also some early clarity on the back end of the rotation. Ayo Dosunmu, Joan Beringer, and Terrence Shannon Jr. appear set for meaningful bench roles, but the ninth and maybe 10th men are still up for grabs.
In the first half, Chris Finch went 10 deep, and Trey Lyles and Bones Hyland got the nod while Jaylen Clark sat until the starters were pulled. Clark did get minutes later, but the early order is worth noting.
Lyles may have benefited from matching up with Milwaukee’s double-big look, and for now he seems to have a slight edge in that fringe rotation battle.
Beringer, though, may have been the most interesting watch of the night. The upside is obvious.
He finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and a block, and he flashed a lot of what makes him intriguing: rim protection, perimeter switching, strong work on the glass, and real speed in transition. He even showed a little self-creation with a drive into a spinning layup.
At the same time, he picked up four fouls in his first nine minutes, which is the kind of issue that can quickly matter if Minnesota needs him to back up Gobert for heavy minutes. The good news is that he finished his final six minutes without a foul.
So the first preseason game gave Minnesota a little of everything: speed, chemistry, structure, rotation hints, and a reminder of both the promise and the rough edges with Beringer. For one night, at least, the new-look Wolves looked pretty comfortable being new-look Wolves.
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