Fresh off their one-point victory over the Miami Heat in which no starters from either team saw the court, the Minnesota Timberwolves are back in action on Monday. In their most important and telling game of the preseason, the Wolves head to the Big Apple to take on the defending champions
Game Info:
- Who: Minnesota Timberwolves (2-1) vs. New York Knicks(0-2)
- When: Monday, October 11 at 6:00 PM CT
- Where: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NY
- National TV: DAZN-MIN | DAZN-MSG | NBATV | MSG
- Radio: 830 WCCO | SiriusXM
What to Look For
Neither the Wolves nor the Knicks have played their starters past 20 minutes in their preseason contests. Figure for more of the same in this bout. In a recent practice clip, LaMelo Ball told Anthony Edwards to look
for the mismatches early.
The Knicks are a team loaded with solid wing defenders in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Expect OG to match up with Ant, Bridges to take the Melo assignment, and Hart to guard Kuminga. If the Wolves are following Melo’s direction, they will hunt Jalen Brunson. As Dane Moore noted on the new Wolves Collectivepodcast, “Three years ago, teams would put their worst defender on Jaden McDaniels… On this team (this iteration of the Wolves), you have to hide your worst defender on Jaden McDaniels.”
This likely means McDaniels gets defended by Brunson. To continue to build chemistry, the Wolves are turning to guard-wing pick-and-rolls on the perimeter. This pulls Brunson into the action and leaves the Knicks with the question of whether to switch the coverage and play at a severe disadvantage.
Wolves fans are well-versed in watching Karl-Anthony Towns try to guard both at the level and in drop coverage, to mixed results filled with whistles. The Knicks no longer have the benefit of defensive stalwart and offensive rebounding savant Mitchell Robinson to back up or play alongside KAT. Should the Big Bodega pick up a few quick fouls, his night likely ends early, and the Knicks become that much easier to defend.
On the other side of the ball, Brunson is one of the craftiest scorers in the league and is unflappable when the game is tightest. Luckily, that won’t really matter in this game. The Knicks know who their core is, so long as owner James Dolan wishes to keep that core together.
They will run through their paces to keep the rust off, using the lethal Brunson/KAT pick-and-roll, spraying the ball out to capable shooters and decision-makers if blunted, all in an effort to put the Wolves’ defense in the blender. What Coach Brown needs to figure out is which of their veteran minimum and training camp invitees can support their title defense. More on that later.
Hustle Factor vs. The Right Play
The play of Joan Beringer in the most recent preseason game was encouraging. Yes, he did pick up his seemingly requisite four fouls, but his normally overflowing youthful energy was tapered. He did a better job waiting for the contact on his screen and giving the ball handler space before rushing to the rim. He held a little block party for himself, notching four of them in his 24 minutes of play, but what impressed me most was how infrequently he left his feet.
Instead, he showed more patience for the play to develop, as well as understanding that getting scored on in the early throws of the game can be preferable to early foul trouble.
While the Wolves starters on Saturday all finished positive in +/-, the bench was woeful save for Norchad Omier, who kept his head above water with a +3 in his nine minutes. Under-contract players like Cody Williams and Isaiah Evans brought a lot of energy, but most of it signified little.
The fringe rotation players and camp invitees are in a tough spot. Their minutes, let alone actual contracts, are on the line. They need to prove something to the Wolves’ coaches and front office or at least present a good enough showing to get a flyer from another team. What this leads to is players who have played little to no NBA minutes struggling to balance their own looks with what is best for the team and playing with reckless hustle detrimental to the right play.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are flush with NBA veterans who know what it means to bring it on any given night, yet are nevertheless fighting for their careers. New to New York are:
- NBA champion Bruce Brown
- Serviceable backup center Andre Drummond
- Former number two overall pick James Wiseman (and technically NBA champion)
- Former lottery pick Ochai Agbaji
- Eight year veteran center Drew Eubanks
- Eight year veteran center Tony Bradley
In the second half, I expect the eager youth to hang with the veterans. That said, unless the Wolves starters build a big lead in the first half, it is not hard to envision the Wolves losing their minutes overall to the more experienced group.
Listen to Your Hart
This one goes out to Jonathan Kuminga. I am of the belief that for Kuminga to really stick in the league and to earn the riches his agent has promised, he must model his game after Josh Hart. When asked about Hart, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said,
“Josh is just a winner. People ask ‘What position does he play?’ He plays winner. I don’t know what position he plays…At one point Spo turned to me and said ‘Some people get 50-50 balls; he gets the 30-70 balls”
I presume Hart will be guarding Kuminga. Barring any Freaky Friday situation that occurs after they collide going for a loose ball, I need him to be watching Hart’s game. How does Hart guard? How does he position to rebound? How does he use his activity to add that touch of chaos that prevents opposing teams from feeling they have a grip on the game?
In his last six years, Hart has averaged greater than seven rebounds and four assists a game. Being three inches taller and ten pounds heavier with generational athleticism, Kuminga has all the tools to pull in as many rebounds and a team chock-full of talent to kick out to if the easy shot isn’t there for him.
If JK can listen to his heart/Hart in the preseason and carry that through the regular season, the Wolves will not only have a bargain of a deal, but a meaningful shot at winning it all.
