On a night that was supposed to shine a light on Tyrese Haliburton’s return to NBA basketball, the Indiana Pacers ended up exposing something Minnesota would rather keep hidden: the Timberwolves’ thin frontcourt depth.
Minnesota’s starting five held up well for a second straight preseason game, but once the bench entered the picture, the cracks showed. Indiana leaned into a two-big look with Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac, and Minnesota’s smaller defenders had a hard time absorbing that pressure.
The difference was obvious when Rudy Gobert was on the floor. The Timberwolves’ defense and rebounding tightened up with him anchoring the middle.
Once he sat, though, the protection vanished. Joan Beringer, in particular, ran into trouble.
He was caught in some transition miscommunications and got beaten to a couple of rebounds by being out of position.
That kind of issue has shown up in both of Minnesota’s first two preseason games. Some of it comes down to the way the roster is built. Some of it may just be preseason sloppiness - the kind that shows up in early October when focus isn’t fully locked in yet.
“I think we just have to do a better job,” Ayo Dosunmu explained about the team's rebounding struggles. “I know for sure watching the film, I have to do a better job boxing out.
I think that’s the main thing. Boxing out and then perusing the rebound.
A lot of the times the rebounds we’ve been giving up have been easy fundamental things we can clean up.”
For a camp setting, those missed details can be brushed off. Eventually, though, they stop being harmless. That’s especially true for a team whose biggest concern may be exactly the area that got exposed against Indiana.
Minnesota also spent time switching on ball screens, and that created some uncomfortable matchups. Jaylen Clark and Terrence Shannon Jr. were left dealing with Siakam at times, and the size gap was a problem.
“That ain’t really a new thing for me," Shannon Jr. said about going against bigger opponents. "I feel like I’m physically able to guard a four. I gotta do a better job of rebounding, boxing out.”
That leaves Chris Finch and the Timberwolves with a roster question they’ll have to keep sorting through: do they have enough players who can hold up when asked to defend bigger bodies? Clark and Shannon Jr. had mixed results against the Pacers, while Trey Lyles is another option. Cody Williams has also logged quality minutes for Minnesota this preseason.
Finch, for his part, doesn’t sound overly alarmed. He pointed to the realities of preseason lineup testing and said the team is still in evaluation mode.
“We’re not helping them right now," Finch explained about the struggles of some of the bench groups. "We’re just trying to get guys some minutes right now. I wouldn’t look at things as first, second, and third units.”
The real answer won’t come until the games count. Minnesota opens the regular season against the Miami Heat, and that matchup will force the issue quickly.
The Wolves will have their hands full with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, two of the league’s biggest and strongest scorers. Minnesota’s starting group looks capable of standing up to Miami’s size, but the bench - especially the switch-heavy groups - looks much less suited to slowing down bigger teams.
For now, preseason has done its job by putting the problem in plain view. The question is whether this becomes a one-night concern or a season-long headache.
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