At his introductory press conference Friday, new Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu was asked to best describe his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say someone that competes on both ends of the court, get out in transition, use my speed, push the pace, get guys involved, very efficient,\u201d Dosunmu said. \u201cI take pride in being an efficient basketball player, getting to the line, making my open shots, being aggressive. Always being aggressive at every mark of the game and try to leave my imprints on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Uh, when can you start?<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770496411_481_STP-Z-WOLVES-CLARK-0207.jpg\")
Bryce McGowens #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Jaylen Clark #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves compete for the rebound in the second quarter at Target Center on February 06, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s missing from a currently flat Wolves team that acquired Dosunmu before the trade deadline this week. It was proven again in Friday\u2019s 119-115 loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans, a third straight defensive dud that left center Rudy Gobert calling for extreme measures of accountability.<\/p>\n
If guys aren\u2019t going to hold themselves to certain competitive standards, Gobert suggested, Wolves coach Chris Finch should start benching the culprits.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Accountability) should start with ourselves, but it seems like we don\u2019t have that,\u201d Gobert said. \u201cIt\u2019s not an easy position for a coach to take guys out of the game. It\u2019s not something that you want to do. But I think if the players don\u2019t show any effort, at some point, no matter how talented we are as a team, if you don\u2019t have that, you just can\u2019t be a winning team.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur best players, leaders, if we don\u2019t show any effort, it doesn\u2019t matter if you score 50, we\u2019re not going to win. At some point, if we\u2019re not mature enough to have that accountability ourselves, that might be a solution. And I guarantee you that when we come back onto the court, we\u2019ll show effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday was a rare night in which Gobert wasn\u2019t much of a defensive solution for Minnesota. Zion Williamson dominated the game for the Pelicans, as he often seems to do at Target Center. The athletic phenom finished with 29 points on 11-for-13 shooting \u2014 every single attempt coming from the paint.<\/p>\n
Finch noted he wasn\u2019t impressed with the team\u2019s rim protection, from Gobert or anyone else.<\/p>\n
The general on-ball compete level wasn\u2019t where it needed to be, nor was the game-plan discipline. New Orleans sharpshooter Trey Murphy made three triples in a 67-second span late in the third to pull the Pelicans back into the contest as Minnesota failed to take away his air space.<\/p>\n
The Wolves are now 12-11 since Christmas. They\u2019re surrendering 113.6 points per 100 possessions in that span, 15th in the NBA. What should be an elite trait for Minnesota is currently notably average. In turn, that\u2019s what the Wolves are as a collective.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is who we are as a team. We have to start understanding that,\u201d Gobert said. \u201cOur offense, of course it matters. But the barometer for success is our defense and our effort. And when we have that, we win almost every night. It\u2019s insane how much, like, when we just do that, we win. \u2026 So it\u2019s crazy that we\u2019re not able to just focus on that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difference is straight effort, and it\u2019s got to be everybody. No one should get a pass for not playing defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even amid this milquetoast stretch of basketball, Timberwolves basketball boss Tim Connelly noted Minnesota still views itself as a team with a \u201cpuncher\u2019s chance\u201d of winning a championship. There is no runaway favorite in this year\u2019s NBA, particularly given the league-wide swath of injuries.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s why Connelly pushed to improve the team at the trade deadline. Minnesota feels it got the perfect player in Dosunmu, whom they expect to slide in as a bench scorer and, more importantly at the moment, an energetic defensive presence.<\/p>\n
What the Wolves may need above all else at the moment is a shot in the arm. They\u2019ll receive that Sunday when Dosunmu slides into the rotation against the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to have someone like that for us that just plays with energy, that just brings physicality,\u201d Gobert said.<\/p>\n
Opponents are shooting just 41.4% against Dosunmu this season, a mark that would lead the Wolves. Yet he feels he can be an \u201ceven better defender\u201d in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I showcased it some in Chicago, but I don\u2019t think I showcased my full potential,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I have definitely a lot more potential to be there and really becoming an elite two-way player, two-way guard in this league. That\u2019s my goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolves star Anthony Edwards knows Dosunmu\u2019s defensive capabilities well. He has been defended by the guard on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s super long,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cHe don\u2019t really jump at moves or pump fakes and stuff. He stay down and make you make tough shots over him. He\u2019s super fundamental on that end.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s got an edge, something that can only help a Wolves team that currently lacks much bite.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s from Chi-town, so he got some toughness to him,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like that. We like competitive,\u201d Finch said. \u201cI don\u2019t mind edginess. We definitely could use that. That\u2019s what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At his introductory press conference Friday, new Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu was asked to best describe his game.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3782],"tags":[375,7,2026,307,152,3954,6,373,66,3994,308],"class_list":["post-588997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-basketball","tag-chris-finch","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-minnesotatimberwolves","tag-nba","tag-rudy-gobert","tag-sports","tag-tim-connelly","tag-timberwolves"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116031259351066495","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}