It is an interesting point in the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The weather outside has gotten cold, the doldrums of the NBA season are approaching, and before Monday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Wolves had won their previous five games.
Despite the recent winning streak, it does not feel like the Wolves are playing their best basketball. The biggest reason for this is that they have fallen behind in each of their last six games. They were able to win five in a row due to big late runs in each game, but that approach caught up to them when unable to find that fourth-quarter offensive explosion against the Devin Booker-less Suns.
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The defensive side of the ball is the largest culprit for the early-game deficits. Over the past six games, the Wolves have had a first-half defensive rating of 129.0, which ranks dead last. In the second halves of the same time span, their second-half defensive rating is 105.1, which is second-best.
The consistent dominance defensively in the second halves of these games shows that Minnesota’s defensive struggles have less to do with personnel or strategic deficiencies and more to do with a lack of focus, energy, and attention to detail and game plans.
A recent game against the San Antonio Spurs showcased the difference in defense between the two halves of the game. In the first half, the Spurs’ guards were able to consistently get into the paint for easy looks. In the second half, that all went away as the Wolves surged ahead by double-digits on the back of stiffling defense and ball movement on the other end of the floor.
After the game, Donte DiVincenzo went over what the team did differently in the second half to take away what the other team does best.
“It’s a mixture of a bunch of different things, but first and foremost, it’s making them feel us earlier. I think in the first half they were kind of getting to wherever they wanted. They weren’t getting touched, they weren’t getting bumped so more so in the fourth quarter is when we really locked in with the physicality.”
Before the Timberwolves’ December 2 games against the New Orleans Pelicans, Chris Finch gave his thoughts on where the team was at on both sides of the ball.
The Wolves looked like they were bored during their pair of games in New Orleans. Despite winning both games, their play was less than inspiring, failing to pull away on the scoreboard from the worst team in the Western Conference.
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Naz Reid echoed the feelings of Wolves fans in the locker room following the two wins against the Pelicans, bringing up the common theme that the Wolves often do not get up for games against teams that are lower down in the standings.
“I’ll take the win. In my personal opinion, we’re not the best version of ourselves right now. And that’s okay, I think sometimes, no disrespect to the Pelicans, we can’t play down to our competition. That’s what kinda hurts us sometimes.”
The Wolves won their fifth straight game over the weekend against the 6-18 Los Angeles Clippers. They trailed almost the entire game before a familiar fourth-quarter run gave them the lead.
“Got to get a better effort defensively from our main guys right now. Starting the first half just too casual. It’s now been five games in a row, and we’ve had to come from behind to win it, but we’re not putting our stamp on the game defensively right away, just too loose.”
Their casual style of play in the first halves finally caught up to the Wolves on Monday as they lost to a Suns team missing both Devin Booker and Jalen Green. The loss becomes especially concerning after Wednesday’s NBA Cup game, in which the Suns were blown out by a franchise-record 49 points by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After the loss, Julius Randle explains why the defense has not been effective early in games.
“Just energy, effort, and we’re not consistent enough with our energy on both ends of the floor, as far as defense, making the extra close out, or the low man, or whatever it is, or offensively not working hard enough to get open, get clean looks, run the floor. Just got to get our energy up, find a way to recover.”
Timberwolves players and coaches realize there is a problem with their recent stretch of play. They have the ability and talent to be one of the best defenses in the NBA, but if they can’t find a consistent level of energy and aggression, their defensive metrics and record as a team will continue to suffer.
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With a record of 15-9, the Wolves are still on pace for 51 wins. While some of that is being propped up by a weak schedule, there is still plenty of season left for the Wolves to increase their level of play. They have shown flashes, albeit brief, of being the team that has won a pair of playoff series in each of the last two postseasons.
But there needs to be more than just occasional spurts. If the Timberwolves want to make it back to the Western Conference Finals, and especially if they want to go beyond that, they need to find consistency in both intention and execution of the defensive end of the floor.
The sky is still the limit for the Timberwolves. They have as talented a roster as anyone else and have shown the ability to rise when the lights get bright in the playoffs. If the current trend continues, though, it’s hard to imagine them getting out of the First Round in a loaded Western Conference.