The Minnesota Timberwolves are a talented team, as evidenced by the fact that they've made back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances. If they want to do so again in 2026, and hopefully go beyond that, there are some things they'll have to figure out with a slightly different roster than the season before.

While the team was able to retain Naz Reid on a five-year deal, they parted ways with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a key piece to this Timberwolves team, as they'll look to some of their youth to fill the gaps. However, a major issue with this team to start the year has been their rebounding woes, highlighted in their loss to the New York Knicks.

Speaking after their win against the Utah Jazz on Friday, Timberwolves forward Julius Randle addressed the team's improvement in rebounding, out-rebounding the Jazz 52-40.

"Nah, I think it's a mentality. Like Coach said, sometimes it's not even schematic," Randle said. "We know we gotta box out, hit first, all this stuff. Sometimes, you gotta go get the damn ball. I think that's what we did. We were the aggressors on that end. Attacking the defensive and offensive rebounds."

Randle was a major proponent of this turnaround against the Jazz, sharing the team lead in offensive rebounds with three and leading the team in defensive rebounds with seven. While players like Randle, Anthony Edwards, and even Jaden McDaniels have looked strong offensively this season, it's not enough to look past the issues this team has.

While the Jazz aren't an opponent the Timberwolves will be seeing come playoff time, they were able to hold them to 97 points, holding Lauri Markkanen to just 12 points, as he's been one of the league's top scorers to begin the 2025-26 season.

Looking ahead for the Timberwolves, the next three games present opportunities for them to get back on track and add some wins to their record. They'll face the Sacramento Kings twice and the Jazz again over their next three contests, all games that the Timberwolves shouldn't have any struggles in winning.

It will then set them up for a rematch with the Denver Nuggets, who handed them a 127-114 earlier in the season, where Minnesota not only struggled defensively but allowed a 46-33 rebounding differential.

As Randle said, if this team can be aggressive and have that mentality of attacking the offensive and defensive glass, they'll start to look more like a contender each game.