Edwards is aggressive as Timberwolves wrap preseason with loss in Brooklyn

Oct. 15—The Timberwolves' hopes for a perfect preseason came crashing down Thursday in Brooklyn, as Minnesota fell 107-101 to the Nets.

OK, so it wasn't that dramatic.

Yes, the Wolves played their four preseason games to win, but coach Chris Finch had all reserves on the floor late — as is to be expected at the end of any preseason contest.

More important than any win or loss, the Timberwolves — who wrapped the exhibition slate at 3-1 — got through the preseason relatively unscathed injury-wise. D'Angelo Russell missed Thursday's game for rest purposes, and Josh Okogie (right ankle soreness) and Jordan McLaughlin (right groin strain) were out with injuries, but Minnesota avoided any serious injuries.

So now it's on to the games that count, starting Wednesday at home against Houston.

Here are takeaways from the Timberwolves' final preseason contest:

Edwards attacks: If Russell misses time, Anthony Edwards' usage will skyrocket. At least that's what Thursday's game suggested.

Without Russell in the lineup, Edwards was in attack mode from the outset. He was clearly Minnesota's go-to option and offensive initiator. The second-year standout finished with 23 points on 9-for-22 shooting. It was a drastic increase in offensive volume versus the Timberwolves' first three preseason games.

"I was going into tonight thinking like 'Get ready for the first game of the season, be prepared,' " Edwards said. "I told (Taurean Prince) I was going to get my game back, get myself back. It didn't matter how many shots I got up, until I felt good, I wasn't coming out."

Finch said he thought Edwards — who's nearly unstoppable when he attacks the rim — settled a little too often Thursday, something the guard struggled with at times as a rookie.

"You're going to take good shots, you're going to take bad shots," Edwards said. "Hopefully the good outweighs the bad, and at the end of the day, you're a basketball player. You can't be perfect."

Beasley looks for footing: Malik Beasley is the only player on the team who rivals Karl-Anthony Towns' 3-point shooting prowess, so he figures to play an integral role this season.

But Beasley struggled to find a rhythm throughout the exhibition slate, and Thursday was no exception.

Beasley scored 14 points but went just 5 for 15 from the field, though he did hit four of his 11 3-point tries. Beasley hit a couple key threes late as Minnesota's reserves tried to crawl back into the game, but even that stretch was followed up by a couple of misses.

That Beasley was even on the floor in the game's closing minutes was a bit of a surprise.

"He struggled during the game, I thought, for the most part. Hit a couple in the middle of our fight back," Finch said. "Got some good looks, too, that just didn't go down, but he stayed confident in his shot, as he always does. We just wanted him to go out there and kind of get a good run in in this game."

Lineup shuffle: Prince and Patrick Beverley started alongside Edwards, Towns and Jaden McDaniels in Brooklyn. Beverley, Finch said pregame, was going to start regardless of the team's health. It was Prince who entered the lineup due to Russell's absence.

Minnesota used four different starting lineups across its four preseason games. Russell, Edwards, Towns and McDaniels are locked into starting roles, and the fifth spot appears to be a toss-up — perhaps on a game-to-game basis — between Beverley, Beasley, Okogie and Jarred Vanderbilt.