The NBA is Terrified of This Defense

The NBA is Terrified of This Defense

55 games in the Timberwolves have held their opponents to just 109 points every 100 possessions no other team is under 111 and the League’s average is over 116 they’re about seven points above the mark throughout all of NBA history only 12 other teams have ever finished a

Season with that much separation and of those only seven were in the 21st century we’re talking about one of the best defensive units ever with the personnel and versatility to cause problems for anyone who stands in their way for starters they’ve got options at the point of attack Jaden McDaniels is

Their go-to and he’s one of the best Wing defenders in the league at 6’9 with a near 7t Wings spin he’s got the size of a power forward or small ball five yet he moves laterally like a small guard so you get this nightmare of a matchup with a rare combination of

Length and Agility that allows him to just smother any ball handler next to him you’ve also got Anthony Edwards like McDaniels we’re talking about some incredible lateral quickness with great length and when he locks in he’ll play The Game’s best isolation players one-on-one with success where I think he

Has a clear Edge on Jaden though is the strength aspect some perimeter players like to create separation with the use of contact and he’s a brick wall meaning he can even guard up a couple positions when needed those two can match up with most perimeter players and rounding out

Their first line of defense is Mike Conley he’s only 6 foot so obviously he won’t match up with bigger wings like the other two but against guards he’s still very effective he moves his feet well is a lot sturdier than he looks and has sharp hands so on a play like this

Where goar has to defend some off Ball action and Mike gets attack in isolation he can more than hold his own if they want to get even more defense on the floor coming off the bench they’ve got Nel Alexander Walker you guessed it he’s quick laterally with great size and

Length he spends most of his time on the perimeter but something I love about him is how switchable he can be if the team needs him to defend threes or fours or he finds himself crossmatched with someone much bigger he’ll offer more resistance than the average Wing when

Needed you can even throw Kyle Anderson out there he’s not nearly as quick as the other four but with a staggering 7ot three wingspan good luck getting around him or getting shots over him Minnesota’s most recent match up with the magic really highlights the amount of defensive weapons they have more

Specifically the amount of guys they could throw at Palo banero of course McDaniels was the primary but Edwards also spent some time on him and made it abundantly clear that he was no mismatch because they can both guard him whenever one was screened by the other’s man

They’ just switch here you see that strength I was talking about not letting poo back him down before smothering a tough mid-range jumper when the bench unit was in they could throw size at Pao with the height and length of Kyle Anderson or they could meet him with

More agility by putting Alexander Walker on him each one of these guys did a very effective job of slowing down the allstar that Wing versatility unlocks a ton of switching for this defense like I said earlier McDaniels and Edwards are more than comfortable switching just about every action between the two which

Helps prevent advantages it doesn’t matter who the matchup is because it’s rare for either to be a mismatch in any situation this time it’s Giannis and he never gets the ball because an’s jumping the entry pass who can be a mismatch though is Mike connley here he finds

Himself switched on to Durant and to avoid it you’re going to see goar call for another switch so that he can instead defend KD in isolation not sure you could ask for a better contest on the face up midi for the most part they do their best to protect Mike from these

Switches in their first match up with the Celtics Tatum was relentlessly hunting for him and you’re going to see him jump out in a show and recover allowing McDaniels to get back in front of the ball without in Advantage for Boston to attack later in the game they

Actually tried to flip these actions with Tatum setting the screen on Conley to get the switch so it’s McDaniels who shows to the ball before recovering and with Rudy rotating down to the rim Mike’s able to get back in the play now when it’s a guard like deny they’re

Comfortable giving up the switch and the key here is that they always have a body to put in front of potential attackers this play starts with a switch between ant and Jaden then Trey is going to turn that straight into a pick and roll with his big look at McDaniels though he

Aggressively helps at the nail to shut off a potential drive before recovering to his man on the perimeter for a solid contest and it’s incredibly important that all of These Wings Are still valuable away from the ball watch Conley on this one instead of following his man

To the weak side he hangs around the nail then when psky turns the corner he’s instantly met by some aggressive hands their roster is filled with athletic phenoms who can consistently get away with overh helping McDaniels has a long recovery and gets beat on a closeout only to chase a drive and SWAT

Away a floater before doing it again on the second chance opportunity it feels like they have three or four Rim protectors on the floor at all times goar is out on the perimeter while monk starts his drive so who other than your starting shooting guard to rotate down

And perfectly time up a huge rejection ant’s unique athletic tools allow him to cover ground in ways that guard shouldn’t be able to do not only can he turn his body and throw all of his momentum into a close out but just as quickly as he accelerates he can come

To a stop and contain an attack once again showcasing that isolation defense when you have multiple great closeout Defenders that enables the team to rotate and scramble so much more effectively this one starts with a double team on kawhai leaving the weak side vulnerable and Kyle Anderson’s

Going to close that space from the first pass while McDaniel starts from under the basket to take away a second all of a sudden that shot is no longer open no matter what the situation is there’s always someone rotating up to the shooter this time the kings run a little

Three-man action to get herder open up top and look at how quickly Edwards jumps out to contest moving on a string on this one you’re going to see Pascal ghost to screen and because Anderson’s out in a hedge that leaves two on the ball nobody on the wing goar immediately

Recognizes this and gets an extended arm up to at least make his presence felt when there’s always someone to either switch or rotate in front of the ball it’s really difficult to get to the rim and if an offensive player somehow beats that first line of defense well that’s

Where having two SF Footers comes in handy what started out as a questionable experiment with the double big units has turned into maybe their biggest asset as a team of course the entire thing is built around an alltime rim protector in Rudy goar the guy is just a massive

Human being capable of covering the entire paint seemingly by himself he’s also got incredible awareness and overall IQ it feels like he’s always in the right spot regardless of what the situation might be and that combination of size and positioning has turned him into arguably the best drop defender in NBA

History I don’t think I need to get into the ins and outs of that we’ve seen it for almost a decade now the way he can cover both the ball handler and roller simultaneously the way he forces offensive players to live in the mid-range there’s nobody better here’s the thing though in you

He was stuck in that coverage permanently because anytime he did step out the team had no sort of secondary Rim protection whatsoever this is where a second big makes a difference on the rare occasion he’s out of position or switched onto a higher level shooter someone else can make up for some of

That paint presence that second body allows gobear to play out in space more when George comes off a screen he can jump out in a hedge to take away the pull-up jumper because another 7 footer is rotating from the weak side to pick up the big no mismatch here’s another

Example he picks up hero on the ball which leaves the role wide open sliding down isn’t just another capable rim protector it’s a legit five who just happens to be playing out of position Minnesota can throw pretty much anything at ball handlers sometimes they’ve even got Rudy blitzing and notice how both

Reed and Edwards load up to take away the role that’s just masterful team def defense for years Rudy was always hesitant to jump out to Shooters knowing that if he left the paint he was putting his team at serious risk but now he’s comfortable closing out to the perimeter

Knowing that not only does he have Rim protectors behind him but big guys who can close possessions on the glass without his help this also means that like the wings when The Bigs find themselves defending screening action with each other they’ll take that switch they ran into that a lot with the Knicks

Who put Randall on the ball with Robinson screening except goar is still very effective in space so that resulted in lots of settling because they’re comfortable switching with the bigs that also means they can throw out different looks when it comes to individual matchups like against the nuggets for

Example they threw cat on yic so that Rudy could roam off of Gordon and protect the paint which really took away a lot of Denver’s opportunities they did this a couple times against the cel ICS as well Nas Reed’s the one up in the action playing an aggressive coverage

Knowing that if he gives up the role he’s got the world’s best rim protector behind him speaking of Reed the way he moves at his size shouldn’t be legal look at the way he goes under the first screen before making himself skinny to sneak over a second and cut off

Randall’s drive then when Randall tries a new angle he picks his pocket everything I’ve talked about up to this point works together and you get these possessions that leave you wondering how in the world teams are supposed to score on them first you’ve got McDaniels on

Tatum in isolation when he kicks it out to porzingis Rudy closes that space on a hard close out appears to get beat off the dribble but recovers to take away the paint or how about this one it starts with a switch between Jaden and Edwards then Luca sets up a high pick

And roll that draws gobear out in a hedge and the result is a turnover it’s hard enough to create a Dy driving lane with all of those point of attack Defenders and aggressive help coming from the wings and if you do find a path to the paint you’re getting met by a guy

Who’s on Pace to receive his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award as a result teams live in the mid-range when they face the Wolves not exactly a great recipe for Success when it comes to an elite defense they check pretty much every box size speed versatility Elite

Rebounding and shot blocking they defend both the rim and three-point line well and when Rudy’s off the floor they can field out defensive units that still more than hold their own the result an all-time great defense that has led this Minnesota Squad to the second best

Record in the NBA and has turned them into a serious Championship Contender if you enjoyed this breakdown make sure to drop a like subscribe and turn my post notifications on to be first on more content if you’re interested in my more depth research make sure to check out my

Website and social media profiles you can find those links in the description feel free to let me know down in the comments what you think of the Wolves as always I hope you all have a great day and I’ll catch you guys in the next one

The Timberwolves have been one of NBA history’s best defenses this season, turning them into a championship contender.

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