Target Center shook off the rust for the Minnesota Timberwolves’ sole home preseason matchup. The first game where Minnesota donned the white rebrand jerseys and the first look fans got to check out the new court. The Detroit Pistons, fresh off their saga with Jalen Duren’s agent, came to town as two opposite-conference foes wound down the preseason and got ready to set sail on the regular season.
Minnesota’s offense was clicking early as they put up 38 points in the opening frame. On the backs of Jaden
McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga, the Timberwolves started off humming in front of their home crowd. Jaden McDaniels scored double digits and got to the free-throw line seven times in this quarter. Despite their best efforts on offense, Jalen Duren took it at Rudy Gobert and Joan Beringer to convert in the painted area. The $200 million man made his money by using his strength inside. Despite this, the Wolves still held a nine-point lead after the first quarter.
The Pistons dug in in the second quarter. Their ball pressure and disruption started to bother the Timberwolves’ offense and force some turnovers. This disruption bothered the Wolves’ lead guards and forced them into bad decision-making. They dominated the frame and punched right back in the second quarter. They outscored the Timberwolves 36-20 and left them with a seven-point deficit at halftime.
The third quarter continued with Detroit digging in defensively as they were able to make Minnesota question their process on the offensive end. That did not deter a highlight play that got even the preseason crowd going with a LaMelo-Ball-to-Jonathan-Kuminga lob dunk connection. The athleticism was on full display throughout the game on the home team’s side. Despite this, the Pistons still squeezed the Timberwolves as their field goal percentage continued to go down. They strengthened their lead in the quarter and went up by 15.
While the Timberwolves’ regular rotation players played for longer in the matchup, in the 4th quarter the bench got some run. The main highlight was a couple of treys from Jaylen Clark as he took four of them with confidence. The efficiency from Detroit’s starters was too much to overcome, however, as the Pistons took the win 128-106.
Jonathan Kuminga Fitting In
This was easily Johnathan Kuminga’s best game of the preseason. He scored 16 points and added four rebounds and three assists to his final line. While it is easy to play alongside LaMelo Ball, this was encouraging to see it start to click how he can be impactful without assessing himself too much within the overall team scheme. He offered a highlight dunk and knocked down a couple threes, a big question mark heading into the season. The preseason is for knocking off rust and starting to become acclimated to new circumstances, and Kuminga did both of those things in this one. Kuminga’s processing tonight was a perfect example of how much he can impact the team positively and boost the starting lineup.
Struggles with Physicality
The Detroit Pistons possessed a physical defensive identity that carried them to 60 wins and the top seed in the East last season. While their offensive shortcomings reared their head in the postseason, they still maintained that slugfest attitude that was so key to their success.
They brought that physicality tonight, as they bothered the Timberwolves at every turn. They made a point to pressure the ball and deny ball handlers especially when Rudy Gobert received a pass to run a two-man action.
When swapping out the sheer size and physicality that they had last season, that was a big question mark with the new-look roster. Detroit was a great test for this exact question, and the Timberwolves did show things to be concerned about. They greatly struggled with the physical defense that the Pistons deployed on them in this matchup.
New Court – 10/10
While the rebrand was a resounding success when it dropped, seeing the new court in action was beautiful. The new shades of both blue and green pop strongly and inspire feelings of nostalgia and excitement for the upcoming season. It looked very similar to the “Old Shep” court and jerseys they used during the 2023-24 season and way back when the franchise started.
Pair the colors with the different shades of wood, and it looked great under the Target Center lights.
All three jerseys are a great representation of the team brand, and with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball being an extremely popular and fun pairing, it would not be surprising if they both cracked the top ten in jersey sales this season.
