ORLANDO, Fla. - The Orlando Magic are back home tonight, but the Minnesota Timberwolves arrive carrying the more interesting tactical question: what exactly does this new version of Minnesota look like when the shots, the pace and the spacing all start humming?
The answer, at least early, runs through LaMelo Ball and the overhaul Tim Connelly made to get him. The Timberwolves president of basketball operations sent Julius Randle and Naz Reid out in the deal that brought Ball to Minnesota this summer, and that move has already changed the team’s shape.
For years, the Wolves leaned on size in the front court after Connelly’s 2022 trade for Rudy Gobert. Now they’re moving in a different direction, one built around smaller lineups, a faster tempo and more perimeter firepower with Ball and Anthony Edwards driving the offense.
That shift showed up immediately in Minnesota’s season opener Wednesday in Miami. Ball and Edwards combined to shoot 14 of 30 from deep, and the Wolves launched 50 threes as a team - a franchise record for a season opener.
For perspective, Minnesota finished last season 17th in 3-point attempts per game at 37.2. The message was clear: this offense is going to look a whole lot different.
It’s also going to be tested in a way the old Wolves usually weren’t. Orlando’s perimeter defense gets a real exam Friday, and Ball’s playmaking is central to why.
There will be nights when the fit looks messy, especially against physical teams that can knock Minnesota off its rhythm. That happened in preseason against Detroit, and games like that figure to pop up again.
Big trades come with growing pains.
But the long view is where Ball’s impact could matter most. He should give Edwards more chances to work in his natural shooting guard spot, and that could lead to more nights like the one Edwards had against Miami.
Maybe he won’t go for 45 points every game. Maybe he will.
Either way, Ball’s ability to run the offense and create clean looks for teammates could be the thing that unlocks Minnesota’s attack over time.
The other big question is whether the Timberwolves can stay emotionally steady. This is a group that, according to the source material, can be moody.
Last season, players drifted apart during difficult stretches and seemed to chase their own success more than the team’s. Head coach Chris Finch thinks the summer brought “giddiness” instead, but that still has to be proven over the grind of a season.
Against Miami, the Wolves gave a strong early answer. They were connected defensively, rotated well on shooters, played with consistent intensity and did the little things that keep a game under control. The result was that they were able to hold their own despite the size issues that came with facing Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo still did damage, putting up 35 points on 13 of 19 shooting in 30 minutes. Even so, Minnesota controlled the game defensively by competing with maturity, winning the glass 52-34 and allowing just four offensive rebounds.
So the Timberwolves have already shown one path forward: no mood swings, no drift, just disciplined basketball.
Friday’s matchup still carries obvious risks. Minnesota could get burned inside if Paolo Banchero keeps scoring at will and the Wolves fail to make up the difference elsewhere.
Banchero is expected to see Jonathan Kuminga, who gives up size in that matchup but is stronger than he may look and handled himself well against Antetokounmpo and the Heat. Even so, Banchero should still get his, just as he did with 35 points against Atlanta.
Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. are also threats Minnesota can’t fully erase.
But the Timberwolves already proved against Miami that they can survive without the size advantage they used to rely on. If they defend as a group, limit Orlando’s supporting cast and keep the same mature edge they showed in Miami, they can leave the Kia Center with a win. And given Orlando’s defensive issues in its opener, the aerial scoring punch Ball and Edwards showed Wednesday, and Minnesota’s comfort level on the road, the edge belongs to the Wolves.
In Other News...
Magic Opener Put One New Backcourt Question Front And Center
Opening night offered the first real look at how Sean Sweeney wants the Orlando offense to function, and it came with the kind of early-season uncertainty that can linger for a while. The Magic are trying a point-guard-by-committee approach, and in the first game the ball moved through a few different hands as the team settled into new rotations and responsibilities.
Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner both found themselves in expanded roles, but the arrangement also exposed how much the Magic still have to sort out in the backcourt and on the wing. Wagner handled more of the creation duty than anyone else before foul trouble shortened his night, while Suggs had an uneven opener that reflected both the opportunity and the growing pains of a new system. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Already Face A Worrying Defensive Question After Opener
The opening night loss to the Atlanta Hawks gave Orlando an immediate reminder that its defensive standard has to be sharper than it showed out of the gate. The Magic were left to sort through the film after a late breakdown decided the game, and the postgame mood made clear the issue was bigger than one possession. Players and coaches pointed to the need for better communication, cleaner positioning and a stricter commitment to the teams defensive principles.
For a group that has long treated defense as its foundation, this is the sort of early-season warning that cant be brushed aside. The Magic know the offense will have stretches to find its rhythm, but the defense is supposed to keep them steady while that happens. Instead, the opener left them with a familiar message and an uncomfortable question: how quickly can they turn the lessons from one loss into something more dependable? [Read more 🡒]
Paolo Banchero Just Added Real Heat To The Magic Season
Paolo Banchero opened the 2027 season looking every bit like the player the Magic have been betting on, piling up production with a sharper edge than he had shown at times in earlier years. Sean Sweeney pointed to a more aggressive approach and faster decisions, and the touch data backed up the eye test as Banchero came into the opener with a cleaner, more direct rhythm than the one opponents often tried to bog down.
What matters for Orlando is not just one big night, but the way it feeds into the larger debate around Bancheros game. He has long carried the burden of strong counting stats with skepticism still attached to his efficiency, and the opener did little to quiet that conversation in the abstract. For the Magic, the real question is whether this version of Banchero can keep forcing defenders to adjust and keep changing the story around his production as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]