The Minnesota Timberwolves’ long-term plan of action has always been finding better ways to build a stronger defensive team ever since they drafted Karl-Anthony Towns in 2015. Whether that was looking to find a power forward pairing alongside him or more perimeter defense around him, defense was never Minnesota’s strong suit. Instead, it’s been a consistent flaw.
It looked like the Timberwolves had changed their fate with the Rudy Gobert acquisition. While it took time, the Wolves have finally found their defensive identity. They’ve already defeated two of the most difficult offenses to match up with in the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets, and we are only a couple of weeks into the season. Things are trending upward in Minnesota.
The Wolves already had an above-average defense last season, but this 2023-24 team has made drastic improvements. Last year’s team ranked 10th in the league with a 113.1 defensive rating (DRTG) and 7th in half-court defense with a 96.6 DRTG. Through Minnesota’s first 7 games of the season, they have a 100.4 DRTG, the best in the NBA. Additionally, they possess the league’s best half-court defense with an 82.9 DRTG per Cleaningtheglass.com. It’s been evident that the Wolves have committed to defense this year. But how sustainable can this identity and success be for the Wolves, and how far will it take them?
Minnesota has as easy of a controlled variable as possible in Rudy Gobert, who has been its defensive anchor. Gobert has been the player that many of us expected him to be when the Timberwolves traded for him. He can single-handedly change the defense from his interior presence and drop coverage mastery. Monday’s game against the Boston Celtics was a perfect example of that. He showcased how much more agile and comfortable he is to begin the season, building off last year’s work.
Gobert’s positioning was crucial against the Celtics because he was covering the 7’3” sharpshooter Kristaps Porzingis. If he were to sag off KP, he would allow an open kick out for a three-point look. But if he were too far-pressed into the perimeter, it would make drives for Boston much more effective. Rudy balanced this perfectly, managing the two sides while still being successful. Showcasing this versatility was a massive testament to the validity of Minnesota’s. Defense. The Celtics came into this matchup holding the league’s best ORTG and have incredibly difficult personnel to match up against.
Here’s how Rudy got it done:
Things didn’t stop there, though. Other players had to back up Rudy when he was away from the ball. However, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, or Mike Conley filled in for him. Everyone was locked in away from the ball and attentive to the ball handler. The low help man was often ready to slide over if the defense needed extra help on the interior. That kind of chemistry will only help the Wolves moving forward, and they were able to do it against Boston, who should be contenders this season.
Can Gobert play his style of defense against the league’s best in the playoffs? That question has trailed him his entire career. We saw how things went in the playoffs while Rudy was in Utah. The Los Angeles Clippers ran a 5-out offense, and Terance Mann had a field day as Rudy’s defensive matchup. He was spotting up from the corner, shooting 9 of 19 against Utah that series alone from downtown. But the Wolves have better defensive personnel to work with. They have fewer holes across this roster defensively than Gobert’s past teams, and Rudy will not always need to help off a man to guard the interior. That cohesion between players will only develop into more advantageous possessions for the Wolves on the defensive side of the ball.
Mike Conley still has it at age 36 and deserves his flowers for his play so far. His quickness and anticipation alone allow him to beat his man to the spot often. He’s also not going to gain difficult matchups because of the plethora of other perimeter defenders the Wolves can deploy.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker has had a rough start offensively, shooting only 29% from the field and 26% from three, but he is making an impact defensively. Alexander-Walker uses his length on the ball to disrupt ball-handlers and contest players into difficult looks. He’s also incredibly active and attentive off the ball. And Anthony Edwards is a physical specimen. He does have a lot on his plate offensively, which is where all his effort tends to go, but he can be imposing when he locks in defensively.
The wings and forwards are doing their part, too. The recently-extended Jaden McDaniels, who also broke out against Boston after being limited to foul trouble and injury rehab from his calf strain, is the best example. Jaden not only brings it on the perimeter, but his rim protection is just as impressive due to his length. And Kyle Anderson is always playing stout defense while offering positional versatility.
Naz Reid is the real mystery of it all, though. He’s currently a positional anomaly due to his skillset and athleticism. However, that can allow Chris Finch to deploy him differently throughout lineups. He’s still developing as a defensive player. Reid is adjusting to not playing as many minutes as the 5, but his movement and size can still sometimes be a weapon. He is the player to keep an eye on.
Lastly, we all predicted Karl-Anthony Towns’ name would come up in defensive conversations entering the season. But not for these reasons, no one expected KAT to be more effective on defense than offense, but that has been the case in the first few games of the year. His game against Nikola Jokić stood out. Towns limited Jokić to 5 of 14 shooting and forced 3 turnovers when Towns was his primary defender. As he further adjusts to playing significant minutes next to another center, KAT has shown that he can do enough on a game-to-game basis not to be a hole in this defense.
While this all lines up well on paper, the season has just started. They have a gauntlet ahead of them, so we’ll learn much about them soon. Minnesota faces Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in their first in-season tournament matchup. Then they have two straight road games against the Golden State Warriors, the backend being another in-season tournament game. Finally, they finish up with the Phoenix Suns, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Sacramento Kings, and finally, the Philadelphia 76ers. We’ll know how good Minnesota’s defense is by the end of that run.
