Welcome to the Den! Over the course of the season I want to take 10 game snap shots and ask and answer a few questions about the Wolves. Some of these questions are about serious hoop, some of them are the silly questions I think about riding the Green Line to the Target Center. So curl up with a beverage of your choice, get comfy, and stay awhile.
1. Are Ant and LaMelo better together?
If we can take anything from preseason (we shouldn’t), and if head coach Chris Finch is giving us any hints to his plan for the season in his quotes about lineups (he isn’t), then Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball will share the floor a lot. The reasons to keep them separated are obvious. Both players can handle the ball. Both players have tremendous gravity on offense creating opportunities for others. The Wolves have a dearth of ball handling and keeping someone on the court at all times who won’t get bullied in a full-court press is imperative.
So why would Finch ever play a minute without one of his star guards on the court? Well…
- Overwhelming Offense: With both guards on the court, they create a Sophie’s Choice for how to guard the Wolves that leads to easy mismatches easily exploitable with Ant’s athleticism or Ball’s passing. If both players are loaded up on, there are plenty of other players to kick the ball to for easy looks.
- Bench Strengths: Fresh off Terrance Shannon Jr.’s impressive 2026 playoff performance, Finch noted the need to put the ball in his hands to get the most out of him. Ball or Edwards might play well alongside TJ by spotting up for threes as Shannon barrels to the hoop and collapses the defense. That said, both players are better when their usage is higher and the Wolves have other bench shooters that TJ can feed.
- Establishing Roles: Melo knows his primary role. Its the one role he has always known. He is there to stir the drink on offense and get everyone involved. Ant is going back to his best role as a shooting guard. He will move off-ball and create advantages for his team. On the defensive side of things, Ant will need to establish himself on defense and that will be easier when he is not the primary creator.
There will be moments in games where the pair are split up. Ant will likely play more minutes than Melo. To get the most out of both players skillsets, those times apart should be limited.
2. What is Joan’s good/bad ratio?
As reported by Jace Frederick of The Pioneer Press during the short tenure of Rob Dillingham, head coach Chris Finch said of Dillingham,
“If you play three games, you hope that you get one good, one not so good, and one maybe stinker. And you got to turn that into two positives and maybe one negative. Once we get there, then things start to go.”
If Finch is holding Joan to a similar standard, how many bad games can the Wolves withstand for every good game Joan provides. I believe the Wolves can weather two bad games for every one that impresses. For all the talk of a team focused on defense, this is a team built to score in bunches. There will be games where defense is wanting any minute Rudy Gobert is off the floor. So long as the offense is humming and it should be, then the Wolves can handle Joan riding the pine on account of leading the league in fouls.
The second year player needs minutes and needs opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them. The bench defense does rely on him, but this is a team that will win with their offense as they learn and adapt to a leaner and smaller team.
3. How many minutes should Melo average?
In his six-year NBA tenure, LaMelo Ball has only played 61% of games. Much of that was due to injury, some of that was due to being on a team in the tank for a better lottery pick. He has played over 50 games in a season three times. Last season was his second most games played. He also played his fewest average minutes per game at 28 minutes.
The early preseason returns, such as they can be relied on, have shown how dynamic the Wolves can be with Ball on the floor.
It will be imperative for Coach Finch to go against his nature of leaning on his starters. The Wolves do have a bevy of guards to slot into the starting spot should Melo miss a few games but none of them offer the dynamism of size, dribbling, shooting, and passing. To keep LaMelo available while also getting the most out of him, I look to the Wolves former floor general Mike Conley in the 2024 season. At 29 minutes a game, the 36-year-old guard was able to suit up for 76 games.
If Ball plays over 70 games the Wolves will be in contention for a top four seed in the playoffs.
4. How long can effort outlast physicality?
Everyone is talking about it: the Wolves got smaller this season. With Naz Reid, Julius Randle, Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson, and Joe Ingles all playing elsewhere, the Wolves lost just under 32 feet and 11 inches of height. Minnesota added Melo, Jonathan Kuminga, Trey Lyles, Cody Williams, and Isaiah Evans for a total of 33 feet and one inch of height.
Unfortunately this pedantic look doesn’t actually dispel the fact that the Wolves are not as big as their rivals and will need to be creative to counteract this discrepancy. Mostly they will rely on effort in the hopes that sweat equity will overtake size. And it is here that I have my biggest concern for the year.
In the early parts of the season, as teams are trying to figure themselves out and miscommunications are more common, this effort strategy has a better chance of working. In the bleak mid-winter especially with the new anti-tanking rules in place, that effort will be harder to summon and the size issue will still be there. I don’t foresee a trade unless the Wolves are dealing away one of their cheaper contracts and that likely doesn’t bring back much of a needle mover. No amount of weight room work is going to build the requisite muscle in time for it to be of use.
Minnesota will need to get clever in their defense to earn the extra possessions that decide close games. An option could be found in gambling for more steals at the risk of drawing fouls. Per Stat Muse the Detroit Pistons were called for the most fouls last year while also forcing the most turnovers. This style of play led to the third best point differential for the season last year behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Wolves fouled the third most last season while only forcing the 12th most turnovers. In a league trending bigger, general manager Tim Connelly gambled on smaller players. Those players will need to take similar risks to earn extra possessions when the effort to rebound runs into a bigger and stronger wall.
5. Which Wolf Takes the Leap?
Ant, Melo, Rudy Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels all have accolades in their trophy case. There are things each of them could do to improve. McDaniels could move into All-Star territory, though with Ant and Ball on the team, barring the Wolves holding the number one seed, I don’t see them getting three all-stars. Melo could join Ant in the All-NBA space in a best of all worlds eventuality for the Wolves. Ant could win MVP, the pinnacle of the league.
The likely leaper candidates are Jonathan Kuminga, Ayo Dosunmu, Joan Beringer, Terrance Shannon Jr.
- Kuminga’s Case: I will keep beating this drum until he proves otherwise. Kuminga needs to model his game after Josh Hart. He won’t win Most Improved Player, but he will win a decade plus career.
- Sixth Man Ayo: Posting one of four triple doubles for the Wolves last year and scoring 43 points off the bench in the playoffs when Ant and Donte DiVincenzo were injured, Dosunmu showed the ability to morph into whatever player his team needed. If he can find consistency while maintaining this doppelganger, he’ll put himself solidly into the Sixth Man of the Year race and likely the Most Improved Player race.
- Go On Joan: If Joan can keep his fouling to below four a game and increase his rebounding to six or more a game, up from his 2.3 average now, then they Wolves have answered one of their biggest concerns. This leap would likely only be seen amongst the Minnesota faithful and deep NBA stat head sickos.
- TJ Gets a Payday: TJ is on the cusp of a contract extension. For him to earn a payday he will need to win his minutes. Whether that is by scoring, setting up his teammates, or using his leaping ability and size to grab defensive rebounds to end possessions, TJ’s next contract appears directly tied to his EPM for this season.
My bet is on Ayo who has the most versatility.
6. Which Wolf has the Dunk of the Year?
I wish this could be Joan because of how angrily he dunks, but there are few dunks by big men who make the cut for Dunk of the Year. Shaquille O’Neal dunking Chris Dudley to the floor and DeAndre Jordan’s alley-oop dunk over Brandon Knight are top of mind and beyond that a struggle unless the backboard is shattered. Dunks of the Year belong to the players who break the bonds of gravity to violently flush it through the rim. The three most likely candidates for the Wolves are Ant, Kuminga, or TJ.
- TJ treats the rim like it pulled up Urban Dictionary and started listing derogatory terms to describe his mother. He has the speed and leaping ability to capture the imagination. Very strong candidate.
- Kuminga has listened to years of criticism about his deficiencies and has watched his annual earnings drop back to below what he made on the third year of his rookie contract. With a team looking to set him up, if he puts all of his frustration at Steve Kerr, the national media, and maybe his agent into a single dunk, we might see the backboard shatter.
- Ant has the greatest advantage of name recognition and a highlight reel worth of past DOTY finalists. Given the popularity of the Wolves backcourt, if he posterizes an opponent off a Melo alley-oop then…
7. Which Wolf gets a new nationally recognized nickname?
According to Basketball Reference these are the nicknames for the Wolves likely nine man rotation. In bold after them, I have added a few of my thoughts for consideration.
- LaMelo Ball: Melo – LaFrenchConnection LaFrench is his middle name
- Anthony Edwards: Ant, Ant-Man – Ripleyfor when he defeats “the Alien” Victor Wembenyama.
- Jaden McDaniels: Seatbelt, Big Mac, Slim – Sith Lord already sort of out there with the Darth Jaden Memes, The Warden (puts people in cells + Game of Thrones Warden of the North tie-ins.
- Jonathan Kuminga: none listed – DR3 a play on where Kuminga is from, the Democratic Republic of the Congo aka the DRC, heavily contingent on him becoming a + three point shooter.
- Rudy Gobert: The Stifle Tower, The French Rejection, The Gobert Report, Gobzilla, Big Ru – Rudy has plenty and I don’t think I can do any better.
- Quamdeen Ayopo “Ayo” Dosunmu: none listed – Ayo is already too good. It has a singularity to it, it is easy to yell, and conjures both someone grabbing your attention while asking you, “what’s up?” (For clarity, his name is pronounced “EYE-o”)
- Terrence Shannon Jr.: none listed – SouthpawI don’t know if his right hand will ever be reliable.
- Joan Berringer: none listed – The Baron of Blocksmuch as I love Baron J, I don’t see much of a jump shot emerging
- Trey Lyles: TreyMamba – Spanish Honeymaker because he played for a Spanish team last year and you know, el bees, as in this team is twiggy up and down and Finch is gonna need to add some pounds to some lineups
For my money, I think McDaniels is primed for a nationally recognized nickname. Clyde Frazier was calling him Mac during the recent Wolves versus Knicks bout. While a few on this list do not have any and Jaden has three, none are called out with the type of exuberance that leads to water cooler talk where he is spoken about only in nickname.
8. Is this The Year?
In a word…
No.
I think the Wolves are going to be a very good team. I think they have a better than 50% chance to be in the top four of the Western Conference. I even think they could surprise the world and beat one of San Antonio or Oklahoma City and make it to the Western Conference Finals. I do not think they are good enough to beat both of those teams if all are healthy.
All that said… HOWL! 82-0! Hope springs eternal!
9. Where are we in the Marathon?
While basketball was the first sport I fell in love with, distance running was the first sport I was actually good at. I have run a few marathons and given the grind of an 82-game season, I wanted to take a look at where the Wolves are in the grand scheme of the most famous distance race.
The Wolves are wrapping up preseason which equates to the final week before the race. The energy is high, there is a touch of nervousness, mileage and workouts are not maxing out the legs or lungs. The Wolves’ regular season rotations aren’t playing in all of the games, and the deep bench are getting more run than they normally would. In those final days before the race there is a mix of feeling incredible, muscles are relaxed with a spring in your step. Other days any small twinge can feel like a five alarm fire that your body isn’t ready.
The starting lineup makes sense. With Jaden at the point of attack and Rudy minding the hoop, Ant, Ball, and Kuminga are showing the effort needed to force stops. On the other side of the court, the ball is moving more than any Wolves offense in recent memory. Opposing defenses are struggling deciding which player to concede a shot from. Even still, it is a long season and injuries are sure to creep up and sap some of the strength of the team.
On the bench there are bright spots but an equal number of worries, some already mentioned in this article. Can Joan keep his hands to himself enough to stay on the court? Should so much of the point guard duties be foisted upon TJ’s left hand? Is there a more glaring reason Trey Lyles spent a year out of the league?
None of these things will be known until the games start mattering and the minute distribution comes into alignment. At this point, there isn’t much left for Connelly, Finch, or the rest of the Wolves players to do but get to opening day ready and healthy. Anxiety and excitement grows with each passing day until the starting gun fires and all the worry melts away and you have to contend with the course in front of you.
One step at a time.
10. Wolves Record Through Ten
The Wolves first ten games are filled with hard-nosed defensive teams. The Giannis and Bam Heat, the Magic, the Raptors, the Cavaliers, the Rockets and the Spurs. If they can go 50-50 in that stretch, they have the talent to dispatch the Warriors, Clippers, Bucks and Pelicans.
Wolves start the season 7-3.
Canis Comment Section: What questions do you have? How would you answer any of the these questions?
