Opening minutes of Raptors game showed what Wolves offense can be

Minnesota opened Saturday night's victory on a 16-3 run and never looked back.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels shoots the ball over Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes in the second half at Target Center in Minneapolis on Oct. 26, 2024. / Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The opening minutes of Saturday night's home opener against the Toronto Raptors exemplified what the Timberwolves offense can be this season when all the new pieces begin to click together on the court.

Julius Randle kicked it out to Mike Conley, who hit a 3-pointer for the opening points of the game. Randle later drove into the paint for a layup off a feed from Conley. Conley got a steal and hit a transition 3. Anthony Edwards threw a lob to Rudy Gobert, who slammed it down with authority. Conley found Edwards for a 3, and Edwards found Randle for another one.

The Timberwolves went on a 16-3 run in the first 5 minutes, 4 seconds of the game. Those 16 points game on six buckets, five of which were assisted on, the only exception being Conley's 3 off his steal. And while there were periods of offensive lulls, the Wolves were in control until the end of the 112-101 victory after the fast start by the new-look starting five.

"I think just the early decision-making in the offense, kind of getting into some structure, moving it early for the sake of it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of the offensive improvement from the starting unit. "And spacing. Spacing around (Randle) is just as important as spacing around everybody else. So think that's — feels like we're getting somewhere with that. Like (Gobert's) got to learn a whole new way to kind of space around (Randle)."

It's still a work in progress. The Wolves still haven't played much together, and they're still figuring out the spacing on both ends of the floor. Randle presents a different skillset than Karl-Anthony Towns, and his propensity to attack the rim requires different spacing than what the Wolves grew accustomed to last season. There are signs the Wolves are figuring it out, but there still have been offensive lulls, including on Saturday, when the Raptors were able to stay within reach.

Toronto got within single digits in the third quarter and cut their deficit to as few as seven with 1 minute, 21 seconds remaining in the game. But behind big defensive plays from Gobert and late buckets from Edwards, the Wolves held firm.

"We had a couple slippages during the game, but overall, I'm really proud of the approach and the discipline and the focus," Gobert said.

It's not perfect, but the offensive improvement from Game 1 to Game 3 is encouraging. The ball movement on Saturday was the best it's been in the early stages of the year, with the Wolves posting a season-high 29 assists as a team. They also had a season low with 13 turnovers. They spread the wealth, with six players finishing with double-digit scoring totals, led by Edwards and Randle, who each had 24. They shot 47% from the field and 38% from 3-point range.

It's just a three-game sample size, and it will continue to take time for everyone to get used to playing together. Finch is going to continue mixing and matching lineups as everything continues to come into focus. But the early minutes of Saturday's game and the clear improvement already demonstrate what the offensive can become when it all clicks.

"Finding an open man. Spacing. For me and (Randle), just being able to play with these guys a little bit more. ... (Learning) who likes to cut, who likes to space for 3, where guys are going to be, (Gobert's) screens, just little things like that," Donte DiVincenzo said of what will take some time to figure out. "We can win games without it, but that's the next level where you're going to see games with 15-point leads, 20-point leads grow to 25, 30 with those little things."