The Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t exactly put on a show Monday night, but they did what mattered most: they banked another win, their fifth of the season, against a Milwaukee Bucks group that was there for the taking.
For long stretches, it looked like the Wolves might let the game hang around longer than they wanted. Instead, they steadied things in the fourth quarter and got enough offense from a few key bounceback performances to finish the job.
One of the clearest bright spots was Trey Lyles, who has quickly become the kind of player Chris Finch trusts without hesitation.
“He’s just such a steady, smart player,” he said after the game. “I feel really confident putting the ball in his hands and getting him involved in the action, and you know if you’re not going to get a good shot, you’re going to get a good decision.”
Lyles finished with 12 points and a +4 off the bench, one of the better showings from a second unit that had trouble getting traction. Bones Hyland was off the mark, and Jaylen Clark had a rough shooting night, but Lyles kept the offense organized.
Finch’s point was simple: with Lyles out there, the Wolves usually get the right read. He’s the Toyota Camry of the rotation.
LaMelo Ball also made his presence felt, and Minnesota needed it. After three straight games in which he had averaged 15 points on 35% shooting with 19 assists and 15 turnovers, he badly needed a night where the ball started dropping and the offense could breathe a little.
“I love Trey...he know how to play basketball,” LaMelo Ball said after the game. “I tell him everyday...you one of them ones that know how to play basketball.”
Ball gave Minnesota exactly the kind of scoring burst it needed with Anthony Edwards out, piling up 34 points in what was his first major scoring eruption for the Wolves. Finch said Ball was the one who kept the offense connected early.
“He was the only guy connecting for us early on offense,” Finch said. “What I liked about it most is that it came in the flow...it was through a lot of good actions.”
Ball also reached a notable milestone in the process, becoming the fastest player in NBA history, at 311 games, to reach 1,000 3-pointers. He finished with 34 points, six rebounds and six made threes.
Still, it would be a surprise if Ball keeps hitting that kind of scoring ceiling on a regular basis. The Wolves don’t need him to do that every night, but they do need the creation to stay steady while Edwards is out.
Not everything went well, though. Cody Williams, who had looked promising in the preseason, was supposed to get a chance to soak up minutes with Terrence Shannon Jr. out.
Instead, he had a night to forget. Williams played just six minutes, went 0-for-1 from the field, and finished at minus-15 while struggling on both ends.
For a player like Williams, the path forward seems tied to getting real run, but right now that opportunity doesn’t appear to be lining up.
There were also some bigger-picture concerns around the building. Target Center, usually a loud and lively place, had noticeable empty seats again.
The upper bowl was about 70% full, while the lower bowl hovered around 85%. Roughly 20 minutes before tipoff, lower-bowl seats were still available for three figures, and only the upper bowl on either basket side was under $30.
The crowd numbers were similar last week when Stephen Curry came to town and scored 44 points for the Golden State Warriors, which usually helps draw a stronger turnout. It’s still early, and attendance often rises as the season goes on. Edwards being out is also part of the picture.
But for now, tickets are not moving well on the secondhand market, and that’s something that will have to improve if the season is going to match its potential.
The most glaring issue remains the free throw line. Minnesota entered Monday dead last in the league in free throw percentage, and the game did nothing to change that. The Wolves shot just 53% from the stripe, with Jaden McDaniels missing two.
Rudy Gobert was at the center of that problem late. Milwaukee started hacking him with about four minutes left in the fourth quarter in an effort to claw back, and it worked enough to force Finch to go smaller and take Gobert out for Lyles.
That’s the kind of thing that will start showing up on scouting reports. Gobert has to fix the free throw problem, because otherwise the Wolves won’t be able to keep their best defensive player on the floor when the game matters most.
In Other News...
LaMelo Ball Just Showed Why The Timberwolves Needed This Trade
LaMelo Balls arrival in Minnesota already comes with the kind of upside the Timberwolves were hoping for when they made the move, even if the early returns have been uneven. Through his first stretch with the team, he has averaged 14.4 points and 6.3 assists per game while shooting 39.5% from the field, a reminder that the talent is obvious even as the fit and rhythm are still taking shape.
On Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks, Ball offered another glimpse of why Minnesota took the swing, getting hot from deep early and adding a new line to his rsum along the way. The bigger question for the Timberwolves is whether this is the start of a steadier run for a player whose recent seasons have been interrupted by injury, the same concern that helped push Charlotte to move on. [Read more 🡒]
Joan Beringer Is Giving The Wolves An Edge They Suddenly Need
Joan Beringer has given Minnesota something it has needed in a hurry: extra possessions. The 7-foot second-year big has turned limited minutes into a real edge on the glass, using his size and activity to keep plays alive and create second chances for a Timberwolves group that can use every clean look it can get.
Beringers work has mattered even more with Anthony Edwards sidelined, when scoring becomes harder to come by and every offensive rebound feels bigger. In a recent game against Milwaukee, he was a force around the rim in just a brief stint, the kind of energy play that can swing a stretch of a game even before the box score fully catches up. [Read more 🡒]
Rudy Gobert Just Gave Timberwolves Fans Another Reason To Boil
Rudy Gobert has been a lightning rod for Timberwolves fans before, and a rough sequence against Milwaukee only turned the temperature up again. In a game that had Minnesota in control, Gobert was part of a defensive breakdown that left supporters venting online, with the reaction quickly spilling into the usual mix of frustration and second-guessing that follows him whenever a play goes sideways.
Gobert still did enough in the box score to help Minnesota stay ahead, but the conversation around him has become bigger than one possession. For a player whose value is supposed to start with rim protection and defensive presence, every lapse gets magnified, and this latest one gave critics another opening while the Timberwolves kept pushing toward the finish. [Read more 🡒]