Thin Bulls Frontcourt Meets a Banged-Up Wolves Group in Preseason Test

Chicago's lack of frontcourt depth could give Minnesota a narrow preseason edge at the United Center.

MIN @ CHI Oct 17, 2026 at 12:00 AM UTC

Friday night's preseason matchup between the Timberwolves and Bulls at the United Center (8:00 PM EDT, CHSN) is less about the result than about who has enough bodies to run a coherent rotation. On that front, Chicago has the more obvious problem.

The Bulls continue to lack depth in the frontcourt, and Zach Collins' availability is in doubt. Yahoo also lists Nic Claxton as questionable. If Collins and Jalen Smith are both out, Sports Illustrated's preview points to Awaka, Miller or Orlando Robinson as the likely fill-ins. That is a lot of minutes for players fighting for roles, and it could leave Chicago stretched on the interior and on the glass when the game gets choppy. First-year head coach Tiago Splitter will likely be forced to experiment with lineups more than he would like.

Minnesota is not at full strength either. Donte DiVincenzo is listed as out with an Achilles injury, and Freeman and Zikarsky are questionable. That trims the Wolves' options on the perimeter and the end of the bench, so a few players may be asked to carry heavier preseason workloads. Even so, nothing in the available information suggests Minnesota's problems are as pointed as Chicago's positional shortage.

Preseason rotations are unpredictable, and starters may play only limited minutes. That makes depth more important than usual, because the game is likely to be decided by reserves in the second half. Chicago's thin frontcourt could be exposed once the rotations stretch. Minnesota's absences hurt, but its group should hold together slightly better over 48 minutes.

Prediction: Timberwolves 112, Bulls 107. Chicago should stay in range at home, but the frontcourt shortage gives Minnesota the edge late.

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