Chris Finch

Minnesota's rotation could shift game by game early, Chris Finch said at practice, playing nine or ten deep: "There'll be some guys that don't make the rotation that probably can help us too. It's just hard to play them all." He said 10 to 20 games is when the data matters.

Joan Beringer needs to play, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said at practice: "it could be 14 minutes a night, it could be 24 minutes a night," depending on how he plays. He expects some inconsistency: live game reps are the biggest part of Beringer's development.

Enrique Freeman's energy and move from small-ball center to forward impressed Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, who hopes to keep him "in the program in some way, shape, or form." Asked about filling the open two-way spot right away, he called it "wait and see."

Isaiah Evans spent early camp trying to create his own offense. That has changed, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said at practice: "now he's more in the catch-and-shoot mindset, which is... we saw the benefits of that the other night."

Anthony Edwards is "playing off ball even more now," Minnesota's Bones Hyland said at practice, with LaMelo Ball taking "a lot of pressure off of him." Chris Finch wants Edwards and Jaden McDaniels rebounding better after the team "got crushed on the glass" playing small.

Trey Lyles is still working out his Timberwolves role as Chris Finch keeps "switching up the rotations quite a bit." For now his job is mainly defense, rebounding and switching, but Finch recently got on him for turning down shots and wants him to keep shooting.

Whether to stagger Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball is undecided, but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said "My gut tells me we'll play them mostly together," pointing to Ball's playmaking creating easy shots for Edwards in their most recent game.

Jaden McDaniels is sometimes moved off the ball on defense, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, "maybe mostly to help with rebounding." He beat smaller defenders for offensive rebounds, setting up threes; Finch expects the same from Jonathan Kuminga once the team is healthy.

Joan Beringer is playing only at center for now, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said; he'd like to try him with Rudy Gobert once other things are sorted. He said Beringer, who used to overcommit into fouls, now regulates his energy better, helped by Trey Lyles beside him.

Anthony Edwards, back from an injury at the end of last postseason, hasn't looked limited. From Minnesota's postgame: "I haven't really noticed anything that he hasn't been able to do or anywhere he's been particularly cautious."

Don't read the Timberwolves' bench groupings as a depth chart yet. Beyond the starters, no second or third unit is set. From Minnesota's postgame: "We're just trying to get guys some minutes right now. So I wouldn't look at things as first, second, or third."

LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards together, not staggered: "My gut tells me I want them out there together," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, trusting the bench for ball-handling. Ball sees plays way in advance, he said, which lets the team get Edwards off the ball.

Ayo Dosunmu's bench pairing is one Chris Finch may lean on: "The TJ-Ayo combo is really, really good... we might just double down, play those guys together," the Timberwolves coach said. About 20 games, he said, is his metric to "figure a bunch of stuff out."

Chris Finch expects Timberwolves starters to play in the Oct. 5 preseason game against Milwaukee: "Oh yeah, for sure." But the game is really about the end of the roster, "figuring out which guys... we want to play... that are further down... on the roster."

Jonathan Kuminga has "the green light to kind of play his game," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, adding "we haven't overcoached anything yet." He said Kuminga has room to be more aggressive but has avoided forcing things to fit in, and is a better passer than expected.

Chris Finch says Minnesota will put the ball in LaMelo Ball's hands to play out of early offense, and lean into a Ball–Rudy Gobert pick and roll that could be "one of the hardest things in the league to guard." After years of playing slow, they'll play faster.

Finch also credited LaMelo Ball with changing how Anthony Edwards plays in the open floor: "Ant's getting ahead of the ball better than he has been." Finch said Ball pushes the ball up the floor and encourages Edwards to run.

Chris Finch says Minnesota is adding cutting with cleaner spacing, but must "hold your spacing" for Anthony Edwards isolations and Rudy Gobert pick-and-roll. LaMelo Ball is "near top of the league at finding cutters." Finch on flopping: "We don't teach flopping here."