Oct 12, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (17) is fouled by Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Timberwolves 112-107. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Loser #2: Team Defense
So far in the preseason, the Wolves have given up 122 points to the Thunder, 114 to the Bulls, and 112 to the Raptors. Preseason games are a little higher scoring than regular season games, but even after adjusting for that, the numbers are still awful. Having Rubio back will be a boost to the defense, of course, as will Garnett playing more than 10 minutes per night.
Justin Schardin recently wrote about the team’s preseason defense. He says that the effort is there and that the Wolves are actually competing at that end. The trouble comes, however, with help defense and rotations, which is where teams have been torching the Wolves.
Learning team defensive philosophies typically takes a while for young players, and the Wolves have a lot of those. More time in the system and more time together will help the players get a feel for how to help and rotate, especially when KG is screaming instructions as the de facto coach on the floor.
If the effort level stays high, expect to see some big improvement on the defensive end throughout the season.
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