Like the Dallas Mavericks, the Minnesota Timberwolves are participating in the NBA Global Games in Abu Dhabi. Also, similar to the Mavericks, the Timberwolves have much to prove. Minnesota defeated Dallas 111-99 on Thursday to open the league’s preseason action. The two teams meet again today at noon (ET).
started the preseason off right. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EVbV5b1k2g
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 6, 2023
Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors & Notes: Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Plus More
Timberwolves FSeason-Openerinates In Season Opener
A big part of Minnesota’s victory was getting off to a quick start and the play of their frontcourt. Minnesota scored 21 of the game’s first 26 points and led 37-18 after the first quarter. After shooting 50% in the opening quarter, the Timberwolves cooled off just a little but still took a 66-49 lead into halftime.
Wolves with a dominant 1st half…
66 PTS
47% FG
45% 3PT
135 ORTGKAT leads the way with 18 points.
LISTEN LIVE on @iHeartRadio app (search Timberwolves, click Live Station) or on laptop at https://t.co/E8q3tlyRDd
— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) October 5, 2023
Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid led the way for Minnesota. The trio combined for 35 points, 19 rebounds, and five blocks. Towns led the way with 20 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the field, though he was just 2 of 7 from the 3-point line. Gobert added nine points and eight rebounds, while Reid tallied 16 points and seven boards.
Minnesota finished the game shooting 44.2% from the field and drained 11 of 35 shots (31.4%) from beyond the arc. The Timberwolves got 54.0% of their points from the paint and outscored the Mavericks 60-36 in the paint. The Wolves also dominated the Mavs on the glass, outrebounding them 56-42. Additionally, they turned their 11 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points.
The Exhibition Game Evaluation
Besides the Timberwolves frontcourt play, there were some other things that the Timberwolves did positively. There are also a few things that still need to be worked on.
The Good
- Playing with a sense of urgency. The Timberwolves struggled last year despite paying a high price in the Gobert trade. They then added a third-max deal by extending Anthony Edwards this summer.
“I think we’ve got to find ourselves,” head coach Chris Finch said via video after the game. “We have to figure out an identity, as we talked about. Got to play with great physicality. We’ve been on them. We told them from the beginning we were going to play these games out here. We weren’t going to rest.”
“That’s [urgency] a huge point of emphasis.We’re going to continue to do it that way through most of the preseason because, after Saturday, we only have three games the rest of the whole time. If we don’t get something out of these games, you’re risking putting yourself behind the eight ball.”
The Timberwolves also moved well without the ball. Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Gobert were particularly good at making crispo cuts.
“I thought we punished their switches with our bigger lineups at times, and we got off the ball in a crowd,” Finch said. “Those opportunities were created by people willing to move around and cut and re-space well. It’s going to be key for us as we try to figure this thing out. There wasn’t a lot of ball-holding. Guys got into stuff and got off of it and trusted each other out there.”
- Shake Milton, who was inconsistent with Philadelphia, had a strong debut. Milton finished with 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting and four rebounds in 20 minutes. He also was 2 of 3 from the 3-point line. According to the Athletic’s Jon Krawcynski, Timberwolves coaches “have raved about him in training camp. They like his size, shooting, and playmaking and see him as a viable option as a backup point guard to Conley.”
Finch on Shake Milton (5-6 FG, 2-3 3s, 12 pts, 4 rebs): "We've talked a lot about him internally, being so happy and surprised, even better than we thought he could be."
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 5, 2023
- Alexander-Walker picked up right where he left off last season. Alexaner-Walker, who the Wolves acquired at the trade deadline, became an important starter and perimeter defender during the postseason.
Starting in place of Edwards against Dallas on Thursday, Alexander-Walker had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks. He also knocked down 3 of 5 3-pointers.
He looks like midseason form out there with his fitness level, his sharpness, his decision-making, and his confidence,” coach Chris Finch told the Minnesota Star-Tribune.
- Timberwolves’ defense. The Wolves, who are focusing on defense this year, were very good on that end against the Mavericks. The Wolves held the Mavs to 37% shooting from the field and 30.4% from the 3-point line. They also registered 12 blocks, though fouling was an issue.
Things To Continue To Work On
- Gobert still hasn’t shown the efficiency that he did in Utah. The 7-1 center missed a couple of layups to finish the game 3 of 6 from the field. Gobert, who shot 65.6% from the field last season, had made at least 66.9% of his shots in his prior four campaigns.
- The Timberwolves are not a quick team defensively. Finch told Krawcynski that the Wolves would switch more often to counteract their lack of speed.
Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Clark Dealing With Injuries
Edwards sat out the preseason opener due to a sprained ankle that he suffered during practice on Wednesday. However, Edwards could play on Saturday.
“Just being super cautionary right now with that,” Finch said. “We hope to have him back and playing on Saturday.”
Chris Finch says Anthony Edwards tweaked his ankle in practice on Wednesday, but said he doesn’t believe it’s serious.
Finch said they hope to have him back for Saturday’s game.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) October 5, 2023
Jaylen Clark, the Timberwolves 2023 second-round pick, also was sidelined on Wednesday. Clark is still recovering from Achilles surgery and is expected to be out for the first half of the season. Clark suffered the injury last March.
Jaden McDaniels Contract Situation
McDaniels and the Timberwolves continue working on a contract extension, per Krawcynski. McDaniels is rookie-scale extension eligible and has until October 23 to work out a deal. If the sides don’t come to an agreement, then the 23-year-old forward likely will become a restricted free agent.
Krawcynski said the sides now have a negotiation comparison as Devin Vassell recently signed a five-year, $135 million pact with the San Antonio Spurs. Vasell’s deal could be worth as much as $146 million with incentives.
For his part, McDaniels is concentrating on the upcoming season.
“Really, I’ve just been focused on basketball,” McDaniels said. “I’m working out. I know the contract thing is there, but I just try to let my agents handle it and continue to get better as a player.”
McDaniels is an excellent versatile defender who has improved every year and is coming off a career season in 2022-23. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 blocks while compiling a shooting slash line of .517/.398/.736.
McDaniels will be counted on guarding the opponents’ best player like he did when he checked Dallas’ Luka Doncic during Thursday’s preseason contest. McDaniels does need to stay out of foul trouble.
“Jaden is the most important person on the team, for sure, because he has the most potential,” Edwards said. “I think the world knows we wouldn’t be the Minnesota Timberwolves without Jaden McDaniels. So yeah, I’m looking forward to him having a phenomenal season.”
Minnesota Wants Mike Conley to Finish Career With Team
Conley, soon to be 36 years old, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. While it is unknown how much longer Conley plans to play, the Timberwolves want him to finish his career in Minnesota.
“When we got Mike, our goal was for this to be the last spot,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly told Krawcynski. “You never know how things are going to develop. And certainly, we didn’t get Mike for just to be a short-term thing. When you get a person as special as Mike is, you want to be sure that he doesn’t leave here.”
Minnesota acquired Conley in a three-team deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz. Conley was good last year in his 24 appearances for the Wolves, averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds. He really shot the ball well as he knocked down 2.4 treys a game with a shooting slash line of .460/.420/.863.
Wolves Woking On Improving Offense
While Minnesota is focusing on defense — they ranked 10th in the league on that end this year — Finch is looking for improvement offensively.
Finch, known as an offensive coach, brought a free-flowing offensive philosophy to Minnesota. But the Wolves struggled mightily executing the offense, and they finished 23rd in offensive efficiency last season.
As a result, the Wolves coaching staff is considering shaking things up on that end. Chris Hine of the Minnesota Star Tribune is reporting that Finch still prefers a more free-flowing offense. However, he will incorporate more structure and play calls to help jump-start the offense.
“[Structure] might slow you down a little bit, but we’re not the world’s fastest team to begin with,” Finch said. “It might take away some creativity, but nothing’s going to be overly elaborate. Just set a starting structure. We get in trouble when we don’t have good structure to start an offense.”
