Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 concerns as season begins

No. 2: Can the Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense be a strength?

It’s the one area of the team that I have ragged on time and time again. Minnesota’s play on the defensive side of the court is, by far, their achilles heel.

Last season, Minnesota was the 20th ranked defense. Even though they recorded the fourth most blocks per game in the league with 5.7 blocks per game, the Timberwolves were 24th in Opponent Points in Paint with 51.2 points per game. They also allowed their opponents to score 13.5 second-chance points per game, placing them 21st in the league in that category.

Things have improved slightly with the addition of Ricky Rubio and Ed Davis, both of whom are solid defensive addition. During the preseason, Minnesota ranked 15th in defensive rating, third in blocks per game (7.3), 29th in Opponent Points in the Paint (52.0), and 10th in Opponent Second Chance Points (10.3).

Still, Minnesota is going to be needing some serious work on that end of the court, especially if they hope to be playing the analytics-heavy, fast-paced style of play which often results in turnovers. Especially for teams who are inexperienced with that style. Because of that, the Timberwolves will probably see more turnovers this year than they did last season, and with all those turnovers comes a big need for a strong defense. Additions like Rubio and Davis will help with that, but Minnesota needs more than just those two players. They need Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell especially to step up when they are needed.

Defense has been the one issue that has plagued Minnesota for years. They’ve always needed to focus on it, and yet have never seemed either willing or able to. Now, with a revamped system and a few key pieces, it’s going to be more important than ever that their defense is up to par.