Over the past three seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ impressive team health has allowed them to limit their number of starting lineup combinations. Core impact players Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert have all played and started in 70+ games over the past three seasons.
These circumstances have given Minnesota the privilege of not needing to dive deep into the end of their bench.
Still, the next man up has always had chances, because wear and tear has occasionally taken a rotational player out of a game. However, younger, unproven players have always had a tough time earning Chris Finch’s trust.
Much of the situation stems from the Wolves being among the league’s best teams over the last four seasons. However, if there’s one downside to their success, it’s that their injury history is forcing them to play fringe rotational players.
Before Tuesday’s 139-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Wolves announced that Anthony Edwards would sit due to foot maintenance. The league suspended Rudy Gobert for that game after he got his fifth flagrant foul on a reckless closeout against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
Gobert’s suspension was going to create an opportunity for somebody, and Joan Beringer was going to be the clear beneficiary of Tuesday’s circumstances in Milwaukee.
Tuesday’s game was going to be the first real litmus test for what Beringer can provide as a 19-year-old rookie in regular-season minutes. We have seen Beringer in the Summer League, the G League, and in garbage-time flashes. Still, this was a regular-season game on the road against Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Before Tuesday’s game, Chris Finch said that Beringer would get an opportunity in the rotation. Three hours later, Beringer would be celebrating a 33-point victory, where he tallied career-highs in minutes (29:40), points (13), rebounds (5), offensive rebounds (4), and assists (2). He finished +30 in Minnesota’s dominant win.
Chris Finch and the coaching staff maintained reasonable expectations for Beringer.
“We just went through a few things in detail in shootaround, and just let him go,” Finch said after the game. “We didn’t want to overburden him, just wanted him to play on energy and instinct.”
The coaching staff was wise to let Beringer play his game and not overthink it. They showed the utmost confidence in him, believing he could hold his own despite his lack of experience.
Beringer has a fairly straightforward role. Ho operates as a play-finisher on offense and leans on drop defense. Occasionally, he extends his coverage to the perimeter on switches. Playing rotational minutes as a freshly turned 19-year-old in real NBA minutes is hard, and Beringer looked the part.
Defensively, Beringer looked comfortable. He committed four fouls, but three of those were one-on-one against Giannis. Slip-ups defending in space against one of this century’s best players are acceptable.
Beringer’s team defense also stood out. He was able to maintain his position in drop coverage, contest shots around the rim on the help side, and showcase his mobility when extended out to the perimeter. It’s easy to see how his raw tools of size, length, and mobility can mold him into a versatile defensive player.
Minnesota’s decision to place him on Kyle Kuzma showed that the coaching staff is comfortable with him as a help-side rim protector and a switchable defender because he’s fleet of foot.
Beringer’s defense will fluctuate based on matchups. He’s not going to be a stopper one-on-one against proven scorers. However, his upside is tantalizing. It’s rare for a 19-year-old big to show this much defensive promise, let alone for a player who picked up a basketball for the first time just five years ago.
Beringer’s mobility away from the ball as a help defender and switchable piece is going to be the earliest place of upside development as he fills out his frame. A good example of this came when Beringer had reps with the Iowa Wolves. The standout trait of his defense was his ability to stick with mismatches.
Offensively, Beringer played as advertised. He’s a play-finishing big. In the half-court, Beringer sticks in the dunker spot or sets ball screens, which open up all of his scoring potential.
Beringer isn’t going to be a dominant scorer, but he finds good areas to impact the game without the ball through pure effort. His ability to outwork opponents allows him to snare offensive rebounds and also get out in transition on rim runs. Beringer also moves like a gazelle in the open court. His long strides are a weapon, and allow him to outrun other older, slower bigs.
He projects well as a modern, rim-running, non-shooting big. Beringer has capable hands, which allow him to finish lobs and corral the ball in traffic. They also provide upside moving forward as a potential short-roll passer and handoff hub as he continues to develop.
There were small flashes in the rotational debut against Milwaukee, but Beringer will need to continue to develop his offensive base before he advances his game.
His offensive blueprint is simple. Still, it’s easy to see how Beringer can become a winning player with his ability to create extra possessions on offensive rebounds and to give others an outlet as a finisher around the rim. Anything else added will be a luxury.
Now, it is just a matter of whether Beringer’s impact performance against the Bucks is enough to force Chris Finch’s hand into playing him in more spot rotational minutes.
The Wolves have evident defensive shortcomings when Naz Reid and Julius Randle share the frontcourt with Rudy Gobert out. That’s the most realistic spot for Beringer to make an impact on Minnesota’s continued winning and serve as a potential antidote to one of their biggest deficiencies this season.
Minnesota has already toggled between Jaylen Clark, Bones Hyland, T.J. Shannon, and Rob Dillingham in the final rotational spot. Therefore, there should not be much stopping Finch from adding Beringer to that grouping.