NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Date: July 13th, 2026
Time: 10:00 PM CDT
Location: Thomas & Mack Center
Television Coverage: Prime Video
The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their first loss of Summer League on Saturday night, falling by 19 points to the Denver Nuggets in a game that technically offered Denver a chance to avenge its first-round playoff elimination at Minnesota’s hands. Well, provided everyone agreed to ignore the minor detail that Anthony Edwards, Nikola Jokic, and almost every other player who made that postseason rivalry compelling was nowhere near Cox Pavilion.
Advertisement
So yes, Denver got its revenge. It was just the least satisfying version imaginable. That does not mean there was nothing worth watching. Summer League has never been about the stakes attached to the final score. It is about searching for evidence, however incomplete, that a young player may eventually become useful when the games matter. It is the NBA’s annual Rorschach test, only with more missed jumpers and significantly worse transition defense.
Minnesota entered the game without the player Wolves fans were most eager to monitor. Joan Beringer, who opened Summer League with an encouraging 18-point, 12-rebound performance against New Orleans, was held out because of back tightness. In a normal July game, losing one prospect should not completely alter the outlook. For this particular Wolves roster, however, Beringer’s absence mattered because he represents one of the few internal options Minnesota has to address its suddenly depleted frontcourt.
Beringer’s development has taken on more urgency than anyone would have expected a few months ago. He is no longer just an intriguing young big who can be allowed to develop quietly at the back of the rotation. The Wolves need evidence that he can eventually contribute, and possibly sooner than anticipated. His debut against New Orleans supplied some early optimism. His absence against Denver left Minnesota short-handed and removed one of the team’s most natural sources of rebounding, interior activity, and defensive size.
The result was not particularly…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/summer-league-preview-timberwolves-vs-190000424.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-07-13 19:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
