After a late-game slump against the Phoenix Suns, it’s easy to be pessimistic about the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are now 0-6 against teams with a record of .500 or better. Not everything was bad in this game though; the most notable positive for me is that the Wolves committed a season high of 27 turnovers.
In the early stages of this season, Wolves’ defense has been a clear area of concern. According to Cleaning the Glass (which filters garbage time), the Wolves ranked 26th in defensive rating through the first eight games of the season. Fortunately, Minnesota ranks second in defensive rating over the last eight games. This puts them at 12th in overall defense.
The fact that the Wolves forced elite turnovers against the Suns was no fluke either. Over the past eight games, the Wolves rank fourth in opponents’ turnovers per game; through the first eight games of the season, Minnesota ranked 18th in this statistic. It is striking that the Wolves were only 13th in this statistic last season.
If the Wolves want to finish with a top-10 defense for the fourth straight year, maintaining this identity will be critical.
The Wolves’ new defense could change everything
Teams playing a more aggressive style of defense is a trend across the league this season, and the Wolves using this technique will benefit from it. With Jaden McDaniels, Jaylen Clark, Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo on the perimeter, along with Rudy Gobert in the middle, Minnesota has the personnel to force turnovers at a high rate.
Yes, Edwards and DiVincenzo aren’t perfect defenders, but they have the speed and instincts to disrupt opposing ball handlers. Heck, even Rob Dillingham can do this; According to Databllr, he ranks in the 94th percentile for thefts per 100 assets.
But make no mistake, the elite ball pressure of McDaniels and Clark, combined with the safety net that Goberts rim protection provides, makes this style of defense work.
The Wolves are picking up full-court ballhandlers more often. Likewise, they bomb opponent creators more often. This strategy held Devin Booker to 4-18 shooting and only forced nine goals from him.
This strategy has some disadvantages. By selling out a team’s best player, you let role players beat you and risk open shots from others. The Suns shot 45 percent of their three-pointers on Friday, and overall, Minnesota ranks 20th in opponent three-point percentage.
Either way, blitzing allows the Wolves to get into more transition and limit the opponent’s best players. Furthermore, as other elite teams, most notably the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, employ similar strategies, this helps the Wolves counter these opposing defenses. We’ll see if this increased ball pressure helps the Wolves on Wednesday night against OKC.
While the Timberwolves have yet to win a game against a team with a winning record, that won’t be the case all season.
I believe if they win against a good team, this high-pressure defense will be a key factor. Overall, this could help them finish in the top 10 as a defense and put together another deep playoff run.
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