NBA Preaseason News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/nba-preaseason/ Minnesota sports, but different Sat, 05 Oct 2024 14:48:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg NBA Preaseason News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/nba-preaseason/ 32 32 What We Learned About the Minnesota Timberwolves in Preseason Shellacking of Lakers https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/minnesota-timberwolves-games/lakers-vs-wolves-recap-nba-preseason-opener-2024/ Sat, 05 Oct 2024 14:48:23 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=55786 The Minnesota Timberwolves opened their 2024-25 preseason on Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers, in one of the more exciting Wolves preseason games I’ve watched in a long time. All 10 of Minnesota’s expected rotation players got run, except Anthony Edwards and centerpiece of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, Julius Randle.

Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker all played 10 minutes each. Joe Ingles played 11 and even Mike Conley got in 8 first half minutes, before the Wolves’ 37-year-old leader called it a night. Most of the minutes went to Josh Minott (29), Luka Garza (22), rookie – Terrence Shannon Jr (27) and rookie – Rob Dillingham (25).

Minnesota Timberwolves dominate Los Angeles Lakers in preseason opener

From start to finish, this was mostly a Minnesota Timberwolves beatdown of the LA Lakers, who didn’t have LeBron James or Anthony Davis playing. The Wolves top unit jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter, and passed that off to a 2nd unit that almost buried LA before this contest even got to halftime.

With 10:09 remaining in the 2nd quarter, Minnesota took a 46-25 lead on a Josh Minott 3-pointer, making it feel like the night might get way out of hand. It didn’t. The Lakers made a comeback late in the 2nd quarter, and into the 3rd, even cutting the Wolves lead to two points (82-80), with 3:12 remaining in the period.

The Minnesota Timberwolves then got their flow back, thanks to rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrance Shannon Jr, along with 3rd year former 2nd round pick, Josh Minott, who showed off a lot of skill and rare size to go with it (see below). When the dust settled in Palm Springs, the Timberwolves walked away exhibition victors, 124-107.

But who cares about preseason scores or results. Let’s talk about what we really learned about the Wolves in their preseason opener.

Lesson 1. Donte DiVincenzo might be the biggest key in KAT trade

Donte DiVincenzo -Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers (Preseason)
Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

I am not making this a key, just to be hyperbolic. Night in, and night out, casuals who watch the Minnesota Timberwolves play — and those who just check box scores or watch highlight clips — are going to see Julius Randle.

The guy’s a walking double/double who can get his own shot and act as a secondary takeover option on a nightly basis. If there is too much defensive focus on Anthony Edwards or if he isn’t available, for whatever reason, Julius Randle will be Minnesota’s go-to guy for offense.

Related: Timberwolves Get More (Familiar) Talent Back in KAT Trade

But it took one half of exhibition basketball for Donte DiVincenzo to display exactly why President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly demanded he be part of the return package for KAT. DiVincenzo started, in place of Anthony Edwards.

The brand new 27-year-old Wolf went 4-of-4 from the field and 3-of-3 from deep, finishing with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, in his 10 first half minutes. He showed a level of playmaking ability that most Wolves fans will be surprised by, and even in the preseason, brought a tenacity and IQ on defense that you could see just watching on TV.

The Minnesota Timberwolves desperately needed competent guard depth during the offseason. Drafting Rob Dillingham was a good start and sets the franchise up in the future.

To be a legitimate title contender, though, the Wolves needed a really good guard off the bench who can play lockdown defense, handle the ball and score in multiple ways. I’m not sure Tim Connelly could have found a better player to insert into that role than DiVincenzo.

Lesson 2: Josh Minott might be taking the next step for Minnesota Timberwolves

There were a few Minnesota Timberwolves players who stuck out on Friday night, in a way that others didn’t. Luka Garza was his normal productive self (7/13, 20 PTS, 9 REB, 1 STL, 1 AST), but he did not look like the dominant force we often see when he goes up against 3rd tier NBA talent.

Part of that was due to the talent on display all around him, including out on the perimeter, with Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr (more on them momentarily). But also, right next to him. 6’8″ 2022 2nd round pick Josh Minott, out of Memphis, was in his bag last night.

Related: Knicks Finally Made a Trade Offer for KAT that Timberwolves Could Not Refuse

He was hitting from deep, driving to the hole, elevating to the rim from multiple different angles and blocking shots from the inside and outside on defense. He finished 9-of-11 for 22 points, which led the team. His only two misses were three-pointers… but he made four others, finishing 4-of-6 from downtown. He also added 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Every time the Lakers charged back, Minott would drive through the lane with a monstrous dunk or drop a 3-pointer to halt all of LA’s momentum. We knew Minott’s development was going well, but he showed a level to his game on Friday night that most Minnesota Timberwolves fans didn’t know existed.

Lesson 3: Rob Dillingham is going to be a stud and should contribute immediately

I would imagine their playing time will fluctuate, depending on how they are playing at certain points throughout the grueling NBA season. But there is no doubt that 2024 No. 8 overall pick Rob Dillingham and No. 27 pick, Terrence Shannon Jr are good enough to help the Wolves now.

  • Rob Dillingham vs Lakers: 25 Min | 9/20 FG | 3/6 3PT | 21 PTS | 4 AST | 1 REB | +10 +/-

No doubt, Rob Dillingham is streaky, and he will have some growing pains to work though. He’s noticeably shorter than everyone else on the floor and he isn’t an elite defender, by any means. But this dude’s playmaking ability is next level and something that I am not sure we have seen on the Minnesota Timberwolves since Stephon Marbury.

Related: Why Did the Minnesota Timberwolves Trade Karl-Anthony Towns?

Seriously, the Kentucky product is so quick-twitch, he’s usually gone before the defender can even react. That gives him an innate ability to get wherever he wants to go on the basketball floor, pretty much whenever he wants to get there.

]]> Sat, 05 Oct 2024 09:48:26 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves Games Minnesota Timberwolves This Timberwolves Team Feels… Different https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/this-minnesota-timberwolves-team-feels-different/ Wed, 06 Oct 2021 16:45:53 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36490 The Minnesota Timberwolves played their first preseason game of the 2021-22 season on Monday vs the New Orleans Pelicans. Normally, that wouldn’t be news or blog worthy. But there was a much different feel inside of Target Center, thanks to a Wolves team full of energy and effort, especially on the defensive side of the floor.

Yes, you read that right. The T-Wolves, who played Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards for starter minutes through the entire first half, executed with extreme levels of defensive intensity, tenacity and focus on Monday night in a meaningless preseason game.

That defensive effort made for a high-flying, fast-paced offense that completely dominated an overwhelmed Pelicans squad. When the starters were pulled at halftime, Minnesota held a 65-45 lead. They forced 14 New Orleans turnovers and blocked 5 of their shots, in those first two quarters alone.

Talent isn’t the question

If not newsworthy, what happened at Target Center on Monday is at least a development worth keeping our eyes on. Anthony Edwards was especially disruptive on the defensive side of the floor, which has fans especially aroused on his development.

Sure, New Orleans was playing without Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas but those absences are rather irrelevant to this conversation. There was a different energy in Target Center last night, especially in defensive tenacity, and there wasn’t more than a couple thousand fans in attendance.

Nobody doubts that the Minnesota Timberwolves have enough talent to be playoff contenders. It’s always been a question of their drive to win and willingness to lock down defensively, when needed. Karl-Anthony Towns and the many teammates/coaches, who have been around him during his first 5 years in this league, like to talk about, but not play defense.

Different D-Lo

That wasn’t the case on Monday. Even after the starters left the game, nobody disengaged. Patrick Beverley, D’Angelo Russell and others were engaged in the game from the bench and leading the team hype-train until the end.

There’s been some D’Angelo Russell hype leaking out of Mayo Clinic Square during Wolves training camp and that certainly made its way to Target Center vs the Pels. Russell was tossing dimes all over the floor and finished with 19 points for himself… in the first half.

He looked the best that I’ve personally seen him. Many others, who have watched D-Lo much more often, are saying the same things. Patrick Beverly certainly believes. Hopefully, we really are sleeping on this dude and thus, sleeping on this team.

Consistency Check

The Minnesota Timberwolves will spend the rest of their preseason on the road. Friday, they’ll be in Denver vs the Nuggets. Then, they’ll hop on a quick flight further West to LA, where they’ll play the Clippers on Monday. Their final exhibition matchup will be in Brooklyn next Thursday vs the Nets and the regular season will tip Wednesday, October 30 vs the Houston Rockets.

Before we get too excited, let’s see if the Wolves can bring the same type of energy we saw vs New Orleans, for the rest of the preseason. We should probably even wait until regular season games are being played… though I’m not sure my Wolves or Wild hype levels can wait that long.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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