The Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Detroit Pistons 128-106 in a preseason game on Wednesday at Target Center that served as a dress rehearsal for both teams. In a refreshing twist, only regular rotation players saw the floor for both teams up until the midway point of the fourth quarter.
For the first time this preseason, the Wolves played a rotation that entirely mirrored what we can expect to see on opening night next week in Miami. The results were certainly a mixed bag, with the Wolves scoring 38 first quarter points but then totaling just 44 points over the next two quarters while the defense faltered and Minnesota then fell behind by double digits.
Let's take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the Wolves' loss to the Pistons.
1. Overall Ball Movement + Secondary Break Success
The Wolves' offense was humming early. Exquisite ball movement and a scoring burst from Jaden McDaniels led to 38 points for the home team in the opening frame.
The Pistons applied plenty of perimeter pressure early, attempting to fluster LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards and get the Wolves' offense out of rhythm. The backcourt mostly handled it well and really only struggled when Ball over-dribbled and failed to get off the ball early.
The Wolves were great in transition and on the secondary break, too, which is where they found success generating open three-point attempts. Whether it's Ball leading the break and finding McDaniels and Anthony Edwards on the wings, or Jonathan Kuminga pushing the pace and kicking it back to Ball and Edwards trailing, there are myriad dynamic options and combinations when Minnesota focuses on getting out and running the floor.
The Wolves began to overpass a bit late in the second quarter and ultimately committed 20 turnovers on the night. Edwards in particular had some issues with decision-making while Ball had a pair of silly, preventable turnovers. The two star guards combined to commit seven turnovers against just nine assists on the night.
2. Ball and Gobert in the Pick-And-Roll
With the Pistons overplaying on the perimeter and often putting two on the ball, the Wolves had the opportunity to have Ball and Rudy Gobert continue to work out the kinks in their two-man game.
There were certainly lowlights, such as when Gobert ignored a wide-open Ayo Dosunmu in the left corner and took on a double team at the rim to no avail. But the Ball-Gobert pick-and-roll was largely a fruitful endeavor for the Wolves.
In the second quarter, Gobert's decision-making was on point on consecutive possessions with a made basket in the paint followed by a dump-off to Trey Lyles for an easy bucket at the rim.
Gobert has long been a solid passer out of the short-roll, and it's a skill set that wasn't utilized as much the last couple of years as Edwards was often the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll and skewed more heavily toward getting his own shot.
Ball, of course, will be far more likely to hit Gobert on the short roll or simply throw him a lob, which we also saw multiple times in this game.
3. Defensive Issues
The Wolves allowed the Pistons to shoot 57% from the field, driven by a whopping 64 points in the paint for Detroit.
The biggest issue was the perimeter defense, as the Wolves' ball pressure paled in comparison to what their counterparts threw at them on the opposite end of the floor. All too often, Pistons ball-handlers were able to turn the corner and get into the paint, either because of bad angles by Wolves defenders or miscommunication on pick-and-roll coverage.
The paint defense was okay; Lyles and Beringer both had solid moments walling up and denying the Pistons from scoring at the rim. The defensive rebounding was better than what we've seen for most of the preseason, although the non-Gobert minutes were predictably rocky (Lyles had zero rebounds in 15 minutes and Beringer picked up two fouls in his first four minutes on the floor).
All in all, it was a smart move for the Wolves to schedule a challenging preseason opponent such as the Pistons for their dress rehearsal. The Pistons are physical, and the Wolves' new-look lineup needs to figure out how to deal with ball pressure.
This was a good test, and it showed clear areas in which the Wolves need to improve as the regular season kicks off next week.
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