Wolves 125, Heat 124: Keep Your Secrets!

With the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat tipping off their regular season against one another in just eleven days, Chris Finch and Erik Spoelstra decided that revealing their cards by playing their main rotation players was too big of a risk. So instead of Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball vs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, we got Joan Beringer and Bones Hyland vs Pelle Larsson and Simone Fontecchio. And you know what? It turned out to be a pretty fun game!

For the Wolves, this meant a night off for their starting group and Ayo Dosunmo. With the rest bench crew getting some extra run tonight, it was a great chance for players fighting for minutes to make an extra impression on the coaches. Who was able to do it? Well, read on!

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Two Stats That Defined The Game:

+75: This was the combined plus/minus stat from the starting group. Hyland (+16), Shannon (+17), Clark (+17), Lyles (+9) and Beringer (+16) all put together some solid performances. Considering those are the projected next five on the rotation, that matters a lot more than the deeper bench struggles that let Miami back in the game before Antonion Reeves’ eventual game winner with 2.3 left on the clock.

+9: Fast break point advantage for the Wolves. A lot of the other counting stats ended up falling close together (not surprising in a one point game), but fast break points are going to be a stat that is worth keeping a close eye on all season as this team’s identity continues to form into a more up-pace unit.

Game Awards

Big Ticket Award: Joan Beringer

The Big Ticket Award is named after the franchise GOAT and is given the best player on the floor for the night. Tonight Beringer flashed all of those skills that make him such a tantalizing prospect. Dunks, monster blocks, running and finishing in transition, and even some work driving from the top of the key and drawing contact. He finished the night with a stuffed stat line:

10 points on 5/6 shooting
7 rebounds (2 offensive)
1 assist
5 stocks (4 blocks)

Even though it was backups for both teams, there was still requisite NBA talent on the floor and Beringer, quite literally, leapt off the…

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Publish date : 2026-10-11 03:58:00

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