Two games into the season, the Timberwolves have already shown enough to give Chris Finch some early clues about how this rotation might settle in.
The results have been loud, with Minnesota blowing out both the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic on its Tour de Florida. More important than the margin, though, has been the way production has come from all over the roster.
The Wolves came into the season with the top of the rotation mostly mapped out, but the deeper bench spots were still up for grabs. Finch has not locked into a permanent setup yet, and he’s still sorting out who fits with whom without giving too much away on either end of the floor.
One of the clearest early signs involves Trey Lyles. He looks like the season’s version of the Kyle Anderson-type bench presence for Minnesota, even if the actual tools are different.
Anderson was the steady veteran Finch could lean on when the offense needed to breathe, when another handler was needed, or when the Wolves had to survive some matchup shuffling defensively. Lyles brings a different package, but the same kind of trust: veteran savvy, smart off-ball movement, a feel for space, and a commitment to making the right play.
His time in Spain last season may have only reinforced that approach.
That kind of profile seems tailor-made for Finch, who has long valued experienced players with high basketball IQs. With the frontcourt depth still thin, Lyles looks fairly settled into the mix.
Bones Hyland, on the other hand, appears to be in a more fluid situation. He and Lyles seem to be part of a small committee that can be used depending on what the game demands.
If the pace picks up and Minnesota needs another ball handler who can run with it and fire away, Hyland can be the answer. He made his first non-garbage-time appearance of the season in Orlando and logged eight minutes, which suggests his role may swing from night to night.
Jaylen Clark also stands out as a player whose value may depend on the temperature of the game. Right now, the rotation feels crowded enough that he doesn’t look like an every-night piece.
But what he offers is pretty clear: real perimeter defense and a level of physicality on that end that few others on the roster can match. In games where the Wolves are already rolling, he may not get off the bench until garbage time.
In nights when they start flat, he could be the guy who helps jolt the group awake.
Finch acknowledged after the opener in Miami that he was still working through the rotation. “I'm still feeling my way through some of the rotation pieces,” he said (h/t Deadspin). “We always have a blueprint, but we always leave ourselves the freedom to deviate off it.”
For now, though, Minnesota can afford to keep things simple. There have been brief moments when the offense gets bogged down, including stretches with Anthony Edwards and Ayo Dosunmu together that can drift toward some of last season’s dribble-dribble tendencies. But that has been rare enough not to be a major concern yet.
Edwards and Ball are sharing the floor during the biggest stretches of the game, and Finch can still use their minutes as a balancing act over four quarters if he wants to. Ball’s presence also seems useful alongside Rudy Gobert and Joan Beringer, which only adds to the sense that there are still multiple workable combinations available.
So far, the Wolves are cruising, and the early evidence suggests the current setup may stay largely intact for a while.
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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 Put Unbeaten Start On The Line In Home Opener
The Timberwolves head into their home opener riding real early momentum after opening the season 2-0 in impressive fashion, becoming just the third NBA team to win its first two games on the road by 20 points or more. After handling the first part of the schedule away from Target Center, Minnesota now gets its first chance to show how that start translates in front of its own crowd, where the building has been kind to them on opening night.
Toronto brings plenty of its own confidence into the matchup, arriving unbeaten and already having looked sharp in both of its first two games. That sets up a solid early test for Minnesota, which has to protect the energy of its start while also dealing with a Raptors team that has already shown it can win comfortably on one night and handle the road on the next. [Read more 🡒]