Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 Early Preseason Takeaways

Defense Improving With Veteran Presence, Still Awful Without

It’s no secret that the Minnesota Timberwolves were historically bad on the defensive end of the floor last year.

While it’s easy to attribute their putrid effort on D to the cast of teenage prospects, misfits, and D-Leaguers the team were forced to trot out on a nightly basis last season, the Wolves’ defensive schemes were also inconsistent, and many times, unsystematic.

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Dunking with Wolves

Accordingly, interim coach Sam Mitchell spent the majority of training camp working on the fundamentals of help defense — famously utilizing the Wolves’ entire episode on NBATV’s Real Training Camp solely on that end of floor — and thereafter, implementing their pick-and-roll strategy.

However, the results, thus far, has more often than not been depressing.

Mitchell has obviously made it a point of emphasis of running the opposition off the 3-point line. But, with their inability to contain the point of attack, both the Raptors and the Bulls found little resistance in initiating their drive-and-kick game; thereby, testing, bending, and eventually breaking Minnesota’s communication on D.

As evident by the success of Chicago’s trio of backup of lead guards (Aaron Brooks, the ancient Kirk Hinrich, and E’Twaun Moore) and the 40 points Kyle Lowry poured on the Timberpups the very next game, Minnesota’s pick-and-roll D still leaves a lot to be desired.

In the case of Lorenzo Brown, the 6’5″ lead guard is clueless many times when approaching the screen — relenting middle penetration and repeatedly going under on Lowry when he was scorching hot. Andre Miller, on the other hand, is 100 years old, and almost tore every single muscle/ligament in his lower extremities when trying to guard Russell Westbrook.

Tyus Jones, meanwhile, is going through many of the same trials and tribulations that plagued Zach LaVine last season. In particular, the diminutive point guard is far too weak to effectively fight over picks, often just dying when colliding with the opposing screener.

He fails to take the correct angles when icing side pick-and-rolls, and far too often does he get beat on the perimeter when dealing with a short isolation set.

The return of Ricky Rubio — one of the league’s best defenders at the point guard position — should help remedy some of their troubling issues in containing dribble penetration. Hopefully, without the constant fear inspired by opposing ballhandlers, the Wolves can better execute their intended scheme of keeping the opposition’s 3-point field goal attempts to a minimum.

We saw a glimpse of what their defense is intended to look like during their third and final game of the Canadian series tour. Particularly, with a starting lineup that featured venerable warhorses, such as Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince, infused with the athleticism and length of Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Wolves were able to stifle the Lowry-less Raptors during the first and third quarters with crisp rotations, timely communication, and staunch individual D.

Hopefully, come opening night, when the Timberwolves earn a clean bill of health, we can see an extended rendition of the fruits to their training camp labor.

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