Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 places Wolves rookies will help on defense

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – JUNE 26: Keita Bates-Diop #33 of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Off-Ball Defense

The Timberwolves’ tendency to forget their defensive rotations need to be limited, obviously.

I’m sure fans can’t remember a single game of the first round against the Rockets in which Clint Capela’s backdoor cuts were not a significant and effective threat along the baseline. (Here’s a collection that clearly demonstrates how bad T-Wolves defense was on the last 12 feet of the court.)

Okogie and Bates-Diop had some flashes off the ball in summer league. They can read quickly, they’re quite disciplined and both of them have shown to be focus on what happens on the weak side.

Ready to deflect the ball in the passing lanes, they are not going to be giving up many open looks. There’s not much in the way of good ball movement, of course, but Okogie is still between the ball handler and the closest opponent to the ball on the left-wing. Good separation, better effort.

What Bates-Diop could do in short spaces is checking smaller guys who are coming off the cuts. But sometimes he hasn’t that lateral step to help promptly.

Late help from the weak side, these backdoor cuts are executed 10 times faster in the NBA.