Minnesota Timberwolves: Is the Patrick Beverley effect real?

2021-2022: Minnesota Timberwolves

Beverley’s future after the Los Angeles Lakers is the hardest to put a fair judgment on, as he’s only a few games into his first season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, taking into account that the sample size is small and there are, as always, extenuating circumstances, it is worth taking a look at not only what happened to the Clippers after Beverley’s departure, but also the effect that Beverley seems to have had on the Timberwolves in only a short amount of time being on the team.

First off, the Clippers. LA has seen their defensive rating fall to 116.9; which is not only higher than their pre-Beverley mark of 107.5 but also higher than any rating they had while Beverley was with the team. The mark is also the third-highest in the league, only beating the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic, and even then only by 0.3 points at most. The Clippers also find themselves 14th in the league in steals (8.0) and 25th in the league in blocks per game (3.0). While they have made a 0.5 steals per game improvement over their pre-Beverley numbers, their block numbers are lower than in 2016-17.

Then, there’s Minnesota. Last season, with an abbreviated schedule and injuries to many of their top players, the Timberwolves had the third-highest defensive rating in the league at 114.5. Their steals per game were, admittedly, a lot better with their 8.8 mark being the third-best in the league, which is also where their 5.5 blocks per game ranked. Still, allowing 114.5 points per 100 possessions is no way to hold down on opposing offense, and that proved as Minnesota finished with the sixth-worst record in the league at 23-49.

This season, the Timberwolves seemed to have flipped all of that on its head. Minnesota is currently first in defensive rating at 91.5, which is the first time their defense has ranked above 20th in the league since 2013-14 when they finished 12th. They are also 1st in steals and blocks per game, sitting at 15.5 and 10.0 respectively.

Beverley, for his part, is off to a career year as well. He’s currently averaging a 97 defensive rating, which is the best in his career. He’s also averaging his fifth-best steals (2.1) and best blocks per 100 possessions (2.1) in his career.

The difference seems to be how the Timberwolves are embracing Beverley. While Houston and LA both obviously saw him as a talented player, and someone who was going to help them defensively, it felt like their feeling towards him was more as a talented role player who was expendable if the right deal came along. The situation seems to be different with Minnesota though. Head coach Chris Finch recently said Beverley, “set the tone” defensively in Minnesota’s season-opener win and that he’s, “…super intelligent. He’s been through it all, seen it all…Holds the guys accountable. He’s like another coach on the floor out there defensively. Both ends of the ball. But defensively he has a real quarterback mentality.”

Anthony Edwards, who has shined so far in his second season with the Timberwolves, said Beverley, along with Taurean Prince, “…took us to a whole other level, cause they bring maturity…aggressiveness, they bring our intensity higher entering every game. They just push us, they push each other, and they know the game.”

While there are always extenuating circumstances in cases like these, it seems obvious that Beverley has brought a level of intensity and defensive aptitude to wherever he’s gone. With the Timberwolves seemingly fully embracing that intensity–as well as that new attitude towards defense along with the offensive firepower, the team has shown they can bring between Edwards, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns–there’s no telling how much better the Timberwolves could get this season.