It was a home game the Timberwolves were expected to win, with or without Jimmy Butler.
With Butler – the team’s defensive play caller and vocal leader – missing the game with an upper respiratory illness, the Timberwolves looked lost on the defensive end against the Indiana Pacers, one of the league’s worst teams. Losing your team’s star two-way player is tough no matter the circumstance, but Tuesday’s competition still gave Wolves fans hope of a successful evening.
The Pacers are in the middle of a rebuild, after trading away superstar Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder – a sometimes-called “Super Team” the Wolves just beat on the road Sunday – for some young pieces. In addition, the Pacers were without their best player, Myles Turner, who is still recovering from a concussion.
It didn’t matter.
The Pacers got off to a hot start, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter. It was the worst stretch the starters have encountered so far this season, as they proceeded to give up deficits of 9 points or more in three of the four quarters of the game.
“We have to have a toughness to win,” said a frustrated Tom Thibodeau after the game. “You’re down Jimmy. You can’t come out and just think you’re going to go out there and win without putting the work into it.”
This happened in a variety of ways, but it all came back to the defense. They allowed the Pacers to shoot 66.7 percent – or exactly two out of every three shots. Butler’s presence was missed, but the perimeter’s defense played just as poorly as the interior. Even when the second quarter provided some hopes of a better second half, things fell apart quickly. The Pacers shot a staggering 77.8 percent in the second half, putting the game completely out of reach.
While Karl-Anthony Towns, who tied for a game-high 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting, had his best quarter of the season in the second, his individual defensive performance was just as bad as the team’s as a whole. Bigs Domantas Sabonis and Thaddeus Young, who Towns towers over in terms of sheer size, shot a combined 11-of-13 from the field for 24 points and 15 rebounds of their own. Still, he thought the Pacers oftentimes simply had the hot hand.
“They got too many transition points and they were just hitting shots tonight, you have to give credit where credit is due,” Towns said. “Transition I thought we could have been better, but man they were hitting some difficult shots tonight.”
Jeff Teague, who had his third dud of a game in four tries so far, allowed his former backup Darren Collison to have 15 points and 16 assists, most of the damage being done in his first 30 minutes.
There were several bad instances of individual defense. Transition defense may have been the worst of it. The Wolves gave up 18 fast-break points to the Pacers, though it felt like much more. Regardless, the Wolves had just 6 points of their own on the break, and somehow shot 3-of-8 in those situations.
In spots like this in the past three games, the Timberwolves have relied on Wiggins to put them in positions to win. Tonight, Wiggins failed to find his rhythm. Guarded by gritty defender Victor Oladipo, Wiggins struggled to create for himself. Even when he was able to the free-throw line, it didn’t matter much. He shot just 1-of-6 from the stripe.
As Wiggins continued to struggle, the Indiana lead started to pile up, and the odds of a Minnesota win started to whither, the Wolves noticeably lost interest.
It caught the attention of their coach.
“I didn’t like our body language when things weren’t going our way,” Thibodeau said. “You get into things together, you get out of things together. “When things aren’t going right, make some hustle plays. Inspire your team.”
There was no inspiration from anyone on the floor tonight, especially after the second half hit. While inspiration and vocal encouragement are spots Jimmy Butler would have normally thrived in, finding a player willing to admit this loss was on his absence would have been impossible.
“Jimmy is obviously a big player on our team and means a lot but we have to get the job done,” Towns said. “There’s nothing else to say. We have to get the job done. Whoever steps on the court, we have to get the job done.”
It’s possible Butler doesn’t play in Wednesday’s game against Detroit, either. Thibodeau didn’t sound too optimistic.
“We’ll see tomorrow.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday, whether Butler plays or not, there will be the expectation by some to win in Detroit. Regardless, they’ll be expected by everyone to compete. That didn’t happen in this one.
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