LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards together, not staggered: "My gut tells me I want them out there together," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said, trusting the bench for ball-handling. Ball sees plays way in advance, he said, which lets the team get Edwards off the ball.
Ayo Dosunmu's bench pairing is one Chris Finch may lean on: "The TJ-Ayo combo is really, really good... we might just double down, play those guys together," the Timberwolves coach said. About 20 games, he said, is his metric to "figure a bunch of stuff out."
Nate Ament's preseason debut for the Bucks opened with a catch-and-shoot 3 and a putback off a missed shot. "It was a dream come true. Something I've been waiting for ever since I picked up the basketball," he said. He felt comfortable with the speed but tired late.
Kyle Kuzma started at power forward in the Bucks' preseason opener as Taylor Jenkins tests Kel'el Ware beside different bigs. "I want to see Kel'el with Myles a little bit more," Jenkins said of Myles Turner. He likes two-big length but wants better rim protection.
Feeling "great" and "healthy" after a summer of international basketball, the Bucks' Kasparas Jakucionis says Taylor Jenkins' pick-and-roll emphasis suits him. He barely ran it last year, but "it's in my nature and I always feel the most comfortable playing pick and roll."