The Timberwolves have flashed their offensive ceiling this preseason, but Friday’s finale against the Chicago Bulls is still about tightening the edges. It’s one more rep before the games start counting, and one more chance for Minnesota’s younger pieces to leave a mark.
At the center of the story is the pairing of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball. Both guards bring the same kind of problem for defenses: they can score on their own, get downhill, and set up teammates when the floor opens up around them. That kind of firepower gives Minnesota a lot of ways to attack.
The trick is making it all fit. Edwards is most dangerous when he’s hunting one-on-one matchups and forcing the defense to react.
Ball, meanwhile, changes the rhythm when he’s pushing tempo and turning possession after possession into movement for everyone else. When he has the ball humming and teammates in the right spots, Minnesota gets a whole lot harder to contain.
And the answer is not necessarily the two guards constantly searching for each other. The better version of this group may be the one where their separate strengths create openings all over the floor, especially for Jaden McDaniels. With so much attention on the backcourt, opposing teams may be forced to stash lesser defenders on him.
Friday is another checkpoint for that process. The Timberwolves need to see whether those roles are settling in naturally, with the regular season right around the corner.
Jonathan Kuminga is another name worth tracking. Minnesota’s rotation still has room to sort itself out, and Kuminga’s blend of athleticism, power, and rim pressure gives the Wolves a different kind of weapon. He can create offense outside of the backcourt, which adds a layer Minnesota has lacked in recent years.
He gave a glimpse of that in Minnesota’s recent game against Detroit, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He added three assists and four rebounds, a clean, productive line in limited minutes and the lone bright spot in a rough outing.
What happens on the other end matters, too. Kuminga has the tools to guard more than one position, and if he brings consistent effort defensively, he can make a stronger case for a bigger role. With Minnesota already carrying plenty of scoring options, doing the little things well could carry real weight.
Chicago, though, won’t make anything easy. The Bulls are coming off a 125-104 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, led by Matas Buzelis, who scored 19 points. Former Timberwolf Leonard Miller chipped in 18 points off the bench, and Josh Giddey handed out nine assists.
Giddey’s playmaking is a big part of what Chicago does on offense. If Minnesota lets him set the pace and steer the flow, the Bulls can manufacture clean looks without leaning on one primary scorer.
Buzelis is another problem Minnesota has to solve. He can score from deep, and he brings a defensive presence along with his athleticism. If the Wolves give him too much space, he has the kind of game that can tilt possessions quickly.
So Friday gives Minnesota a useful final test on defense before the season begins. Chicago has enough different ways to score that the Timberwolves will need to stay locked in as a group to keep the Bulls from finding easy answers.
In Other News...
Wolves Already Have A LaMelo Problem Teams Will Try To Exploit
LaMelo Ball has already given opponents a look at the kind of pressure they may want to keep sending his way. In recent preseason games, Mikal Bridges and Ausar Thompson leaned into him physically, and the results were pretty ordinary by his standards, with modest shooting and some turnovers mixed in. It was a reminder that when defenses crowd him and make him work for every touch, the margin for error shrinks fast.
For teams like the Timberwolves watching the league map out ways to attack Ball, that matters. His slight frame and his issues finishing at the rim have long looked like pressure points, and aggressive on-ball defense can turn those into a game plan rather than just a scouting note. The Spurs and Thunder, in particular, have the sort of personnel to try it, which is why the early preseason tape already feels like more than just October noise. [Read more 🡒]
Jonathan Kuminga Gave The Timberwolves Something To Feel Better About
Minnesotas preseason loss to Detroit came with the usual caution attached, but it also offered a small early reason for optimism in Jonathan Kuminga. The newcomer scored 16 points on efficient shooting and looked increasingly comfortable in his first taste of a Timberwolves uniform, giving the game a more useful subplot than the final 128-106 score suggested. For a team still sorting out its rotation and learning how its new pieces fit, Kumingas presence was one of the clearer signs that there may be something to work with here.
Chris Finch singled out Kumingas quick decision-making, a notable compliment for a player still adjusting after signing a two-year deal with Minnesota. The Timberwolves expect him to be a key starter, so every preseason minute matters, even in a lopsided result like this one. The offense and defensive details will keep getting refined, but Kuminga at least gave Minnesota a better feel for what its new-look lineup could become once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Buzz Feels Different But One Challenge Just Got Bigger
The Timberwolves are carrying a noticeably different vibe into this preseason, and it starts with what Chris Finch has seen inside the locker room. After a stretch he described as more moodiness, the head coach said the group now feels lighter and more upbeat, a shift he partly credited to the arrival of LaMelo Ball. His playmaking and energy have already been a fit with players like Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels, giving Minnesota a jolt of chemistry that has been hard to miss.
Finch, though, is not interested in letting the atmosphere become the story by itself. For a team with championship expectations, the challenge is turning that good feeling into something sturdier when the games start to count, which means keeping the edge that comes with serious title aspirations without losing the looseness that has helped the group click. The buzz around the roster is real, but the bigger test is whether it can survive the grind that follows the preseason glow. [Read more 🡒]