The Minnesota Timberwolves are well on the way to ending their playoff spree. Nevertheless, the mood is not too good – because the Defense is still a single building site. Karl-Anthony Towns in particular has to improve to take the team to the next level.
Actually, there are many reasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves to spread a good mood. With a 12-8 record, they rank fourth in the West, at least theoretically strong. Their season’s start is the best since the 2003/04 season, at the end of which the Wolves reached the playoffs for the last time. There have also been victories against OKC or the Spurs – against teams that are classified as direct competitors. As I said, there are actually many reasons to be satisfied with the first month of the new season.
At the press conference after last Saturday’s home game against Miami Heat, however, there was no sign of it. At 98:109, the Wolves had lost and once again revealed a huge construction site called “Defense”:”We’re not defending anyone at all during the whole season,” Jimmy Butler insulted. It’s getting ridiculous.”
Head coach Tom Thibodeau was also furious. He was asked what the problem was – and not only provided theoretical explanations, but also actively took action to give a lecture on footwork in the Defense.
When directly defending a ball handler, it is essential that the feet should stand parallel to each other between the basket and the opponent. However, Thibs said in presenting action, his players forget this all too often and open the way into the zone with the wrong foot position,”Actually, I thought we’d discussed it often enough at the training camp.
In figures, the problem reads as follows: Only two teams of the league defend worse than the Wolves (rating: 110.5), at the opponent’s throwing rate (48.7 percent) they are even last. Thibodeau is regarded as a specialist at the far end of the field. As assistant to master coach Doc Rivers at Celtics, he revolutionised pick-and-roll defense and later became head coach of the Bulls.
This is confirmed by Paul Pierce, who knows him from those days in Boston:”Thibodeau is one of the best defense coaches in the league. His defense concepts are beyond all doubt – but he also needs the players who can follow these concepts. And he doesn’t have these players,”he said in his role as an ESPN expert.
The Truth pronounced a harsh verdict here, which was probably directed especially at Karl-Anthony Towns. The 22-year-old is already an absolute elite, as he brings everything that distinguishes a modern Big Man. He is play-intelligent, has a good overview and is willing to learn. And you don’t need to talk about your physical/athletic abilities. He’s got the whole package.
So what is the defensive problem? Last season, he was ranked 59th out of 60 centers in the individual net rating. Towns sleeps through rotations, moves wrong, loses track. His help-side doesn’t deserve the name, his 1.4 blocks per game doesn’t fool you that he’s a lousy ring protector.
Many experts are of the opinion that he is simply unconcentrated when it comes to defensive work, that he lacks motivation. This thesis is supported by the fact that he occasionally lets a different side flash up and reduces his quality difference between offense and defense.
Against the Thunders, whom he killed on 27. With 33 points and 19 rebounds, there were these moments. He not only blocked 4 litters – Westbrook was also officially cleared – but also defended the pick-and-roll efficiently. He managed to stay in front of the ball leader, make his throws more difficult or force him to stop the drive, even if it was Russ himself.
These aspects are fundamental to Thibodeau’s defensive concept. No one can hear him shout into the field more often than “ice” – his preferred variant of pick-and-roll defense. The Big temporarily takes over the ball guide, but stays at a moderate distance to prevent the drive. Meanwhile, the “small” defender has time to fight for the block and restore the original matchup. The goal: to force an inefficient middle distance throw or even a breakup of the action.
Mobile bigs, who can hold people like Russ in front of them, are a prerequisite for this. KAT fulfils this criterion theoretically – it is difficult to understand why it is still so rarely successful. What it’s about, he finally knows:”He[Thibodeau] says it every day, every moment:’ ice, ice, ice, ice’.”
Of course, the opponents also know about the weakness of Towns or their refusal and run one pick-and-roll after the other, involving him. For Thibs, this is frustrating because it leads to success again and again – after all, he can’t do anything more than the concept.
After all: In Backup Gorgui Dieng there is someone who also fulfils the requirements for the “ice” perfectly and uses it to the full. In 15 minutes of use, it presents everything that is missing in KAT (defensive): constant use, accurate footwork and a view of the situation. With him on the field, the defensive rating is 2.4 points better, with towns on the parquet 9.9 (!) points worse.
In its third year and the second under Thibodeau, this can be disastrous if it is serious. After all, the Wolves no longer want to be a team in which we only talk about potential and the future. They want to win now, not only want to end the 13-year playoff drought, but also play a role in the postseason. Because “if you just wait for potential and talk about it, you automatically adjust to defeats. We don’t want to do this any longer,”Thibodeau explained before the season.
With all these defensive problems, it is all the more gratifying that the offensive runs like clockwork. The rating is sufficient for 5th place, variability is the keyword. Due to the large pool of talent in the squad, there are all the options you need: The Lowpost, pick-and-roll/pop with towns or the isolation of wiggins and butler, if you want to make it easy.
So far, the arrival of Butler has paid off in full anyway. While the Wolves were still a team in the pre-season, which regularly gave rise to leaps and lost games in the Crunchtime, the picture is now different. With the ex-bull and darling of Thibs, there is now a player who makes the right decisions and takes responsibility late in the game. The Wolves won the only OT match, and there were also numerous victories with less than 7 points difference.
The strong offense has meant that the team from the far north is in good shape despite the persistent defence dilemma. But this has to do not only with their own strength, but also with foreign weakness: Teams like the Spurs, Clippers, Nuggets or Jazz are struggling with injury problems, the Thunders have not yet found each other. This was used by Minnesota to gain a first advantage.
But it stands on shaky legs – at least until KAT flips the switch in the defense. He could take an example from Andrew Wiggins (who is still fighting for a “Max-Contract”), whose discrepancy between Offense and Defense has narrowed compared to last season. When this happens, for Thibs sake, we can actually stop talking “only” about potential when it comes to the Wolves.