Ayo Dosunmu after Detroit’s physicality: ‘Today was definitely a bit of adversity that we needed’

MINNEAPOLIS — Oct. 14, 2026 — Ayo Dosunmu did not sugarcoat a 128-106 preseason loss to Detroit at Target Center. After 10 points, three assists, a steal and a block in 24 minutes, the Timberwolves guard said the night was the kind of adversity Minnesota needed before opening night — and that the fix starts with screens, pace and moving the defense side to side.

Dosunmu shot 3-of-8 from the field, 1-of-3 from three and 3-of-4 at the line. Anthony Edwards had 20 points in 28 minutes. LaMelo Ball managed three points and six assists in 18 minutes. Minnesota fell to 1-2 in the preseason and closes Friday at Chicago.

Physical early, then get them moving

Detroit’s perimeter pressure was constant. Dosunmu’s answer was not a single matchup tweak — it was collective strength and screening.

“We just got to just do a better job as a team to just be stronger, set screens for each other and just create opportunities for each other to be able to get downhill, not to just score, but to create actions and get the defense moving side to side,” Dosunmu said. “Yeah, they play initial defense physical, but once we get movement side to side, that’s a challenging part when you play so high and know physical like that.”

‘Today was definitely a bit of adversity that we needed’

Asked how the group feels with new faces in the mix, Dosunmu pointed to chemistry first — then to the hard nights that still have to come.

“I think we are coming together great. We have the bond. We’ve been having a lot of chemistry, but at the same time, adversity is going to come and I think we faced a little bit of that in this preseason,” he said. “As the season starts, it’s going to be adversity. It’s not always going to be easy sailing. So we just have to keep staying together as a group and keep our camaraderie high, keep our spirits high and just keep competing and just keep taking it one game at a time. But for the most part, I like where we stand as a group.”

Later he circled back to the same theme. “Today was definitely a bit of adversity that we needed,” Dosunmu said. “But at the same time, the overall portions that we have, the sample size, the preseason that we have, I’m pretty confident in it, and it’s also areas that we have to improve on.”

Positionless ball — and no one-pass possessions

With Ball out of stretches, Minnesota has shared the ball among Dosunmu, Bones Hyland, Edwards and others. Dosunmu rejected the idea of one fixed primary initiator.

“I can’t say it’s going to be one primary ball handler. It could be [Terrence Shannon Jr.], it could be Bones, it could be me, it could be Ant, it could be LaMelo,” he said. “It’s a positionless basketball and we have so many different sets and it all depends on who’s getting the shot, who’s creating the shot, who we want in the action.”

The second-half stall, he said, was simpler: the ball stopped.

“What got us bogged down the second half was one pass, one shot, and no one can catch a rhythm like that,” Dosunmu said. “So we try to do a better job of understanding, okay, we just had three or four bad possessions… Now we have to get a great shot. Let’s get in the paint. Let’s kick out. Let’s get the ball moving.”

Trusting Gobert — and keeping Jaden involved

Dosunmu praised Rudy Gobert’s short-roll decisions and free-throw work, and said Jaden McDaniels stays involved when the offense keeps moving rather than hunting isolation.

“He’s been doing great this preseason… especially in that pick and roll, when they’re blitzing, we have him in the pocket,” Dosunmu said of Gobert. “Him being able to make those passes. He threw a great dump-down pass. I told him one time he missed me when he missed a dunk, but he understands that. He made his free throws today. I think that’s very important for him.”

On McDaniels as a barometer of the offense, Dosunmu kept the burden on the group. “As a team, we have to do a better job of getting better shots whenever it seems like it’s getting bogged down,” he said.

Why it matters

Minnesota’s dress-rehearsal rotation got a physical test and failed the second-half ball-movement exam. Dosunmu’s message matched the box score: screens early, get it up the floor fast, and treat a night like this as practice for October rather than a verdict. Opening night is Oct. 21 at Miami.