Timberwolves backup players enjoy spotlight in 138-111 exhibition victory over Maccabi Ra'anana

With the Timberwolves returning most of their top players from a season ago, those young players at the end of the bench face an uphill battle for playing time.

Two-way players like Luka Garza, rookie Leonard Miller, and second-year players Wendell Moore Jr. and Josh Minott will be starting the season as spectators and on the outside looking in at the rotation barring a rash of injuries.

In the preseason, Wolves coach Chris Finch has decided to give a significant chunk of playing time to his starters and first bench unit to help it build cohesion. The one deviation from that came in Tuesday night's 138-111 home victory over the Israeli team Maccabi Ra'anana.

The inactive list totaled nine players, all the starters and first players off the bench, while the end of bench reserves and those fighting for the final spots on the roster got all the playing time.

Along those lines, this season marks an interesting year in the development of Moore, Minott and Garza.

Garza took advantage of the increased minutes with 30 points after scoring 13 in the first quarter.

Moore finished with 7 points, while Minott added 23.

"There has to be light at the end of the tunnel," Finch said. "There just has to be, or guys will kind of lose faith. I think it's always important to remember when guys are in this position that for the first time in their life this is probably the most that they've not played, ever. How they handle that is key to their development and their opportunity."

Moore, the 26th pick of the 2022 NBA draft, appeared in 29 games a season ago and averaged 1.4 points per game. One of the biggest areas he's improving to earn future minutes is his shooting, adding that he puts up 300 to 500 shots per day. His mind has been on that and other areas of improvement and not the battle for playing time.

"I don't really try to think about that," Moore said. "For me, I just focus on myself and what I need to do to play. Not really looking so much at what other guys are doing or what I need to do to beat them out, but just what I need to do in general to get on the floor."

Minott has tantalized the diehard fan base with his athleticism since the Wolves selected him with the 45th overall pick. He had 23 points and 6 rebounds Tuesday. But the frantic energy with which he plays can be a double-edged sword and can cause him to be out of control at times. He is trying to hone his aggression this season.

"I got a year under my belt, so I kind of know what's going on," Minott said. "I just feel a little more comfortable out there. Not so frantic, not so rushed. Just being able to play at my own pace."

"With our roster the way it is, we got a lot of experienced guys … so it's going to be hard, but hopefully we can get them up to speed," Finch said. "You never know when injuries crop up."