Although they notched a win over the on Wednesday, nobody on the Timberwolves side seemed particularly happy with the effort.
After a 38-18 third quarter victory over the Orlando Magic, they allowed a 19-1 run to open the fourth quarter and nearly blew the game as a result.
Fourth quarters have been a problem all season, as the Wolves continue to sit at the bottom of the league in fourth-quarter net rating.
“The primary thing is our defense,” Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said at Friday morning shootaround. “What we’re doing is we’re giving up a very high percentage. We’re giving up a lot of points, so we’re not getting stops.”
They still held onto a six-point victory, but the morale in the locker room could not have been worse for a victory. But when the team is winning, and suddenly expected to make the playoffs, that will come with the territory.
They come into Friday with an expectation to, again, beat the Miami Heat, a team they beat on the road nearly a month ago.
That game went into overtime, and featured major nights from both Dion Waiters and Kelly Olynyk. It was a classic night for the Wolves, where most everyone – even the bench – was able to find the bucket, but nobody could stop the opposition from doing the same. At this point in the year, the Timberwolves were in the bottom two in defensive rating.
It hasn’t gotten much better three weeks later, but it has improved. They’re now up to 23rd in defensive rating, and have been steadily moving up since their original trip to South Beach.
The big difference between October’s win in Miami and Friday’s game at the Target Center will be the now-inclusion of Hassan Whiteside. A member of the 2015-16 NBA All-Defensive Second Team, Whiteside missed the first matchup between these two teams, and has had success against the Timberwolves in the past. Last season he averaged 23 points and 13.5 rebounds per game against the Wolves, won both games, and had an insane 139 offensive rating in those contests.
It will be yet another tough test for Karl-Anthony Towns, who has to face a tough guard at center most nights he steps onto the floor.
“They keep coming,” Thibodeau said on the influx of quality centers in the NBA. “They’re putting a lot of pressure on the rim, they’re playing smaller. So you have to deal with help and recover, and doing more than one thing.”
As the Wolves continue their homestand, the goal will be to clean up their fourth quarters, and continue to improve on the defensive end. Friday’s game against Miami, a team that took them to overtime with pure offensive firepower, could serve as a great first test.
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