The Minnesota Timberwolves' preseason schedule wrapped up Friday night with a 133-116 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Not only did the Wolves sit their starters in the game, but most of them stayed back in Minneapolis.
After two long weeks, training camp is over, and the Timberwolves begin playing meaningful games next week. With that on the horizon, there were still plenty of data points to go over from the Wolves' performance in Chicago.
The newest player on the Wolves' roster, Cody Williams, has been showing flashes of potential throughout the preseason and did so again versus the Bulls. Williams had 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including a thunderous dunk.
With Jonathan Kuminga solidified as the team's lone power forward , the Timberwolves are still on the lookout for a true backup at the four spot. That could be Trey Lyles, who has played a fair amount this preseason, but it also could be Williams, who started for the Wolves against the New York Knicks when Kuminga was out.
The main area Williams will need to improve is his three-point shooting. He took six shots from beyond the arc in this game and made just one of them. While a one-game sample size is far from meaningful, Williams' shooting numbers in each of his first two seasons are rough.
Williams' path to minutes is playing quality defense against bigger defenders, rebounding the basketball, and being anything more than a zero on offense.
Following another fantastic showing in last season's Playoffs, Terrence Shannon Jr. came into the preseason with a fair amount of expectations. He seemed penciled in as the Wolves' seventh man behind Ayo Dosunmu, with the Timberwolves committed to giving Shannon Jr. more on-ball possessions instead of sticking him in the corner.
Shannon Jr.'s performance this preseason has been underwhelming. He has often seemed out of control when driving to the basket, can still only finish around the basket with his left hand, and has not provided much value off the ball. All of those issues were on display Friday night in Chicago.
With Shannon Jr.'s spot in the rotation possibly in jeopardy either right now or down the line during the season, the Timberwolves have a depth issue , one that will be most easily fixed by Shannon Jr. finding the right balance of attacking in transition when needed and playing within the flow of the offense without the ball in his hands in the half-court.
Jaylen Clark has appeared to be on the outside looking in on the Timberwolves' rotation to begin this season. If the Wolves' preseason rotations are any indication, Minnesota will look to Dosunmu, Shannon Jr., Joan Beringer, Trey Lyles, and Bones Hyland before they turn to Clark.
That doesn't mean Clark will not play at all this season, as there will be plenty of matchups where Clark's superb on-ball defense will be incredibly valuable, but with everyone healthy in a neutral matchup, Clark will likely be out of the rotation.
Against the Bulls in the Wolves' final preseason game, Clark put his best foot forward to solidify his playing time as he played well in many different areas of the game. He knocked down three shots from deep, grabbed seven rebounds, got to the free-throw line six times, and, of course, provided outstanding defense with three steals and a block.
With both the Wolves' starting and bench lineups potentially giving up some size and strength this season, the Wolves will be on the lookout for players who can defend across the positional spectrum and protect the team on the defensive glass. If the Wolves' preseason finale is any indication, Clark could be Minnesota's best option.
The Wolves' regular season schedule begins Wednesday night on South Beach against the Miami Heat. There has been plenty of fun basketball to watch during this exhibition season, but now the games actually begin to matter.
The season is set up to be one of the most exciting and interesting in the history of the Timberwolves franchise. The ceiling and floor for possible outcomes are wide.
Last season, it felt like the entire organization was waiting for the playoffs, which caused an incredibly boring and inconsequential regular season. This year is projected to be the exact opposite. For better and possibly for worse, this Timberwolves team should provide plenty of entertainment.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/timberwolves/onsi as 4 Takeaways From Timberwolves' Preseason Finale vs. Bulls .
