Preseason Preview #4: Wolves at Knicks Game Thread

Fresh off their one-point victory over the Miami Heat in which no starters from either team saw the court, the Minnesota Timberwolves are back in action on Monday. In their most important and telling game of the preseason, the Wolves head to the Big Apple to take on the defending champions

Game Info:

When: Monday, October 11 at 6:30 PM CT

Where: Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, NY

National TV: DAZN-MIN | DAZN-MSG | NBATV | MSG

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What to Look For

Neither the Wolves nor the Knicks have played their starters past 20 minutes in their preseason contests. Figure for more of the same in this bout. In a recent practice clip, LaMelo Ball told Anthony Edwards to look for the mismatches early.

The Knicks are a team loaded with solid wing defenders in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart. Expect OG to match up with Ant, Bridges to take the Melo assignment, and Hart to guard Kuminga. If the Wolves are following Melo’s direction, they will hunt Jalen Brunson. As Dane Moore noted on the new Wolves Collective podcast, “Three years ago, teams would put their worst defender on Jaden McDaniels… On this team (this iteration of the Wolves), you have to hide your worst defender on Jaden McDaniels.”

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This likely means McDaniels gets defended by Brunson. To continue to build chemistry, the Wolves are turning to guard-wing pick-and-rolls on the perimeter. This pulls Brunson into the action and leaves the Knicks with the question of whether to switch the coverage and play at a severe disadvantage.

Wolves fans are well-versed in watching Karl-Anthony Towns try to guard both at the level and in drop coverage, to mixed results filled with whistles. The Knicks no longer have the benefit of defensive stalwart and offensive rebounding savant Mitchell Robinson to back up or play alongside KAT. Should the Big Bodega pick up a few quick fouls, his night likely ends early, and the Knicks become that much easier to defend.

On the other side of the ball, Brunson is one of the craftiest scorers in the league and is unflappable when the game is tightest. Luckily, that won’t really matter in this game. The Knicks know who their…

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Publish date : 2026-10-11 21:38:00

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