What We've Learned From Timberwolves' Preseason So Far

The preseason has come, and it's almost gone.

Typically a segment of the season worth a snooze, the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves have had plenty of things to iron out via legitimate minutes against NBA competition. What does the rotation look like? Are there any players that might make a spot for themselves in a crowded group looking to see the floor?

The Wolves have plenty of talent, which was never going to be the issue coming into the season. The question was always how it's going to fit together. With four games now down the hatch, we've learned a couple things that perhaps we previously didn't know or wrote off completely.

The LaMelo Ball - Anthony Edwards combination is better than advertised

The question was never if Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball were a good basketball fit, but just how well and how early things were going to work out. Early on, it would be safe to say things are ahead of schedule.

Shoo-ins to open and close games together, Ball and Edwards have been seamless in moving the ball and finding each other in catch and shoot situations. Ball specifically has shown an elite ability to catch and shoot, and could improve on his 37% mark on catch and shoot threes from last season.

All offseason, it was clear that Ball would be a pressure release for Edwards, who was saddled with playmaking responsibilities last season. So far, it's shown up in droves.

The question remains how often the two will play next to each other throughout a game and how often they will be staggered with second-unit players, specifically with Ball getting paired up with a dangerous lob threat in Joan Beringer. But early on, the top of the card looks to be thriving for the Wolves.

Trey Lyles is the new Kyle Anderson

If there's one thing Chris Finch loves, it's high IQ veteran players who have played a lot of basketball.

Coming out of the offseason, Lyles was seen as largely a background piece, making his way back into the NBA after a season in Spain with Real Madrid. Perhaps he would have seen major minutes before the Jonathan Kuminga acquisition was finalized, but it seemed as though his role at the end of the bench was solidified with the ensuing events.

Not quite.

Finch has shown a gravitation towards players that play high-IQ basketball and have a sense of who they are on the floor. It's what made Kyle Anderson one of the most important pieces on the 2023-24 team, and last season as well. His ability to patch holes that the team was missing earned Finch's trust.

While Lyles has a different skillset to SlowMo, his sense of where to move off the ball, shooting, and size are to this iteration of the Wolves as Anderson's playmaking and switchability on defense were to previous ones.

Lyles is 10th on the team in minutes per game so far this preseason, ahead of both Jaylen Clark and Bones Hyland. The nine players ahead of him are bona fide rotation players this season. While the Wolves have certainly leaned more into their youthful side with this offseason's moves, a wily veteran seems to still have a bookmark in the rotation.

Rudy Gobert's presence will be even more necessary than previously thought

Even with Kuminga's entrance to the roster as the starting power forward next to Gobert, the elder statesman in the frontcourt was still seen as an important fixture that the team would build its defense around.

But waiting in the wings is a fellow French big man in Joan Beringer, who seems to be the future plan at the five spot for the Wolves. Because of this, while Gobert's importance existed, it was perhaps a bit diminished due the excitement generated by Beringer and Gobert's impending contract situation (he has a player option after this season, and could be up for an extension).

But while he's flashed plenty, Beringer has shown after five preseason games that he still has a ways to go in his development, particularly on the defensive end. He leads the team in fouls per game, committing more than three, and has struggled to stay on the floor at points with his positioning in getting taken to the basket.

This essentially leaves Gobert with Lyles being a third emergency center on the roster. Both things can be true: Beringer must work on his fouling issues and staying grounded defensively, but his youth will present up and down moments this season.

In the down moments? Gobert, already the focal point of the defense and will be hitting the floor with a forward-heavy starting five must shoulder more than he already does on a night to night basis.

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