Chris Finch wanted his players competing before training camp. At times, listening to what was happening inside the Minnesota Timberwolves’ practice facility, he wondered whether the competition had crossed a line.

The offseason sessions were supposed to help a changed roster get comfortable together. Apparently, getting comfortable involved making life extremely uncomfortable for the teammate standing across from you.

“That September gym, I thought at times there was a lot of kind of bad blood there,” Finch said after Minnesota’s win in Orlando, in his postgame press conference. “There were a lot of times I thought it had boiled over.”

That is a striking description from a coach whose team spent much of the preseason talking about chemistry, enjoyment and the excitement surrounding LaMelo Ball’s arrival. Behind those good feelings was an environment built around testing one another.

Two games into the season, Finch believes the intensity has carried over.

The Timberwolves made each other uncomfortable

Minnesota’s offseason changes created an obvious challenge. Julius Randle and Naz Reid were gone. Ball and Jonathan Kuminga arrived to help build a faster, more versatile team around Anthony Edwards. The Wolves had different ways to generate offense. They also had to prepare for opponents looking to exploit their smaller frontcourt.

Their answer began well before the first regular-season possession.

“But it was great to see the intensity,” Finch continued. “Those guys were really going at it, and they enjoyed it. And they’ve been able to bring that edge into training camp and now the season.”

That last part matters. Finch’s account describes teammates embracing competition fierce enough to concern their coach. The players describe those sessions as useful preparation, with a shared purpose behind the pressure.

Ayo Dosunmu said the work extended over an entire month.

“It definitely got us right physically as a team,” Dosunmu said in his locker-room interview. “We were going at it for a month straight, competing. No one wants to lose, everyone playing hard, making it hard on each other.”

His explanation of the payoff was simple: “So now it’s kind of easier in the game.”

Dosunmu was among those delivering that pressure. After the opener in Miami, Ball specifically mentioned Ayo picking up full court every day when discussing how teammates had prepared each other. A new point guard learning his teammates was also having to deal with someone making him work before the offense could even get organized.

Minnesota’s preparation faced an immediate test

The schedule gave the Wolves little opportunity to ease into their new identity. They opened against a Miami frontcourt featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, then traveled to Orlando to face another team with size across its lineup.

Minnesota won both games by more than 20 points. The second victory was especially revealing because Edwards and Ball struggled to make shots. They combined to shoot 9-for-36 against Orlando. The Wolves still won 115–93, collected 61 rebounds to the Magic’s 43 and generated 33 assists.

The team had ways to remain effective when its two most prominent scorers were missing. Rudy Gobert connected that resilience to the environment players had created together.

“Very, very competitive,” he said when asked about those workouts in his postgame interview. “Iron sharpens iron.”

Gobert described teammates helping each other improve and prepare to handle adversity. He also pointed to physical preseason opponents as part of that process.

“We know that that’s what teams are going to bring to us,” Gobert said. “They’re going to try to be very physical.”

The challenge was expected. Minnesota had already spent weeks rehearsing its response.

The pressure is reaching Minnesota’s younger players

For Joan Beringer, those demanding sessions were another opportunity to prepare for greater responsibility. The second-year center followed a difficult opener with nine points and nine rebounds against Orlando, including seven offensive boards. Asked whether the work before training camp had helped the group compete, he gave an emphatic answer.

“We went very, very, very hard against each other,” Beringer said in his locker-room interview. “You can see now in the games. It just pays off.”

He also explained why he values Dosunmu’s direct approach. “He’s like a big brother for me,” Beringer said. When his performance drops, Dosunmu will tell him to “wake up.”

“I love this type of energy,” Beringer added, describing the encouragement he receives when he is struggling to play his best.

That exchange helps explain how the Wolves can speak about togetherness while their coach recalls practices nearly boiling over. Teammates are building relationships that allow them to challenge one another. The next test is sustaining those standards through losses, fatigue and frustration. Two victories cannot establish how a group will respond to everything an NBA season brings.

But Dosunmu made clear that Minnesota does not intend to postpone that work: “We can’t wait for the playoffs just to say, ‘OK, we’re going to turn it on,’” he said after the game.

Finch heard an edge in the gym that sometimes sounded excessive. So far, he has watched his players bring it onto the court—and give their opponents the difficult evening they had been giving each other.