The Minnesota Timberwolves were supposed to have a problem with teams built like the Miami Heat.

After trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid, Minnesota entered the season with understandable questions about its size, rebounding and ability to withstand physical opponents. A faster offense sounded exciting. Finding enough muscle around Rudy Gobert looked considerably less certain.

Then the Wolves opened against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo — and won the rebounding battle by 14.

Anthony Edwards’ 45 points will dominate the conversation after Minnesota’s 131–106 victory Wednesday night. LaMelo Ball’s debut supplied plenty of highlights, too. But the most encouraging numbers for anyone worried about this roster might be found elsewhere in the box score.

Minnesota finished with 52 rebounds to Miami’s 38. The offensive-rebounding margin was even more striking: 17–4. One game cannot settle a season-long concern. It can, however, complicate the assumption that the new Wolves will be easy to push around.

The Timberwolves had been preparing for this test

Miami offered an immediate examination of Minnesota’s new identity. Antetokounmpo and Adebayo can attack with size, speed and power, forcing defenders to absorb contact while remaining disciplined. The Wolves knew what was coming. According to Edwards, they had spent much of the offseason preparing each other for precisely that kind of challenge.

“If you see how we’ve been playing against each other for the past two months, then you’ll know we’re ready for physical teams,” Edwards said in his postgame interview. “We’ve been going at each other for the last two months. So it felt good to go put it on somebody else.”

Ball offered a specific example of that daily pressure, pointing to Ayo Dosunmu’s willingness to defend the length of the floor.

“With Ayo picking up full court every day,” Ball said, describing the team’s preparation in his postgame presser. “You’ve got a lot of players on the team just going at each other, for real.”

That is useful context for a group whose offseason has often been discussed in terms of pace, shooting and personality. The players describe a preparation process that also demanded consistent effort against one another.

Finch saw another benefit from those sessions: players arrived ready to work.

“I’ve never been around a team that we didn’t have to worry about getting anyone in shape this preseason,” he noted after the game.

Conditioning alone will not win a rebounding battle. It does help a team sustain the movement, contact and repeated efforts required to compete.

Rudy Gobert had help on the glass

Gobert did his part, collecting 15 rebounds, including five on offense. Yet Minnesota’s advantage extended beyond its starting center. Edwards grabbed 10 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels added eight. Joan Beringer collected six in fewer than 14 minutes, and Dosunmu contributed five, including three offensive boards.

That distribution matters for a roster relying on more athleticism around Gobert. If the Wolves are going to hold up against bigger opponents, their guards and wings have to participate in finishing possessions.

Wednesday provided a good example of what that can look like. Minnesota repeatedly created another opportunity after a miss while allowing Miami only four offensive rebounds. There is a distinction between playing smaller and accepting that the opponent will control the glass. The Wolves showed they can challenge that outcome through collective involvement.

McDaniels described a similar mindset toward contact.

“Just knowing that teams are going to try to be physical with us and then just embracing the physicality,” he added in the locker room.

He also emphasized maintaining Minnesota’s own game while responding to the opponent. The Wolves do not need to abandon their faster approach every time a bigger team appears on the schedule. They need to support it with enough resistance and rebounding to keep playing it.

Jonathan Kuminga gave Minnesota an important option

Kuminga’s work against Antetokounmpo was another encouraging development. Finch singled him out afterward, praising his willingness to contest catches, meet Antetokounmpo early and keep applying his body throughout possessions.

“He just wasn’t afraid to put his body on him continually,” Finch said when explaining the matchup.

Antetokounmpo still scored 35 points on 13-of-19 shooting. Minnesota did not erase his influence, and Kuminga was clear that stopping everything was never a realistic expectation.

His explanation was straightforward: keep making the assignment difficult.

“I won’t give up because we’re trying to win these games,” Kuminga said in his postgame interview. “We’re trying to establish something over here.”

That persistence gives Finch something valuable as he works through his rotation. Minnesota needs players willing to accept demanding assignments without allowing an opponent’s success to dictate their effort on the next possession.

The opener also left questions. The reserve frontcourt had difficult stretches, and Gobert cannot be expected to solve every matchup. Opponents will study the Wolves, test their depth and force adjustments.

But Minnesota’s first answer deserves attention. Against a powerful Miami frontcourt, the Wolves competed through contact, dominated the offensive glass and received rebounding contributions throughout the rotation.

The concerns about their size were reasonable. After Wednesday, treating physicality as an automatic weakness looks considerably less convincing.