The impact of Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense

The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to struggle defensively, but the return of both Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Okogie promises to make a major impact.

On Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves held an opponent to under 100 points for the first time in over a calendar year.

Still, the Wolves rank No. 28 in defensive rating heading into this week’s two-game series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Yes, the San Antonio Spurs were missing DeMar DeRozan on Sunday after putting up 122 on Saturday, albeit in an overtime game. But the return of Karl-Anthony Towns on Saturday and Josh Okogie on Sunday made a marked difference.

What Karl-Anthony Towns brings to the Minnesota Timberwolves defense

Towns played in Saturday’s game and sat out Sunday on the second half of a back-to-back.

The biggest defensive issues for the Wolves continue to be breakdowns in transition and inexcusable blow-bys on the perimeter, but the pick-and-roll defense was clearly improved with Towns in the lineup.

Towns brings a combination of size, athleticism, and understanding of the defensive concept that the Wolves’ other big men don’t bring. Ed Davis is pound-for-pound the best combination of rebounding and defense on the roster and he understands David Vanterpool’s schemes better than anyone. At this stage in his career, however, he’s nowhere near as fluid and mobile as Towns, not to mention the massive advantage (obviously) that Towns has on the offensive end of the floor.

Naz Reid has improved defensively but still doesn’t move as well laterally as Towns. He also has multiple lapses a night in terms of positioning and while his length can make up for some of his shortcomings, he just isn’t on the same level as Towns.

Jarred Vanderbilt has mostly played the 4 so far this season but has seen spot duty at the 5, and there are some of the same positioning concerns as Reid, although he’s the best one-on-one defender of the group and easily the most switchable.

Now, let’s look at what Towns did on Saturday that we haven’t seen much of in his absence. First, check out how Towns shows hard enough to genuinely clog Patty Mills’ driving lane, yet stays deep enough to recover and get back to Jakob Poeltl.

He plays this perfectly, and Ricky Rubio has enough length to challenge Mills’ shot. In year’s past, Towns would have sagged too far, giving Mills a wide-open jumper or an angle to get to the front of the rim. Instead, he does exactly what drop pick-and-roll coverage is designed to do.

This next play is similar, but LaMarcus Aldridge doesn’t roll. Towns zones up on DeMar DeRozan’s drive to dissuade him from a challenge at the rim. DeRozan complies and kicks it back to Aldridge, but Towns gets back quickly enough for what could have been a challenge on a mid-range shot.

Instead, Aldridge attempts a drive, which ends in a shot that Towns quickly erases.

Again, this is a combination of understanding the scheme, having the quickness and length to get into the proper position, and the hustle to be in the right place in the right time.

Speaking of playing hard, here’s an example of Towns’ defensive dedication that we have not seen on a consistent basis in recent memory. Don’t watch the ball; watch Towns.

Towns is chasing Aldridge and chooses to protect the paint, guessing wrong. He still recovers and fights through a down-screen in time to get in front of Aldridge, closing off a potential drive and still getting a solid contest on a mid-range jumper from LMA.

Yes, this play should be the expectation. But it’s an expectation that has far too often gone unfulfilled, and this is a promising example of Towns showing true dedication on the defensive end of the floor.

Finally, here’s an example of Naz Reid hugging the roll-man too closely and not staying close enough to contest Rudy Gay’s shot attempt.

With Reid’s length, a simple contest and recover to box out Poeltl should have been possible there. It’s not a horrible play; he did deny any possible attempt at a lob and wasn’t entirely caught in no man’s land, but Gay basically got a chance to take an open 12-footer.

Now, let’s take a look at what Okogie brought to the Wolves in Sunday’s game.

The Josh Okogie Factor on the Minnesota Timberwolves defense

With Okogie missing the past two weeks, the Wolves have handed each night’s toughest cover to Jarrett Culver. He was solid defensively as a rookie, and given his length and athleticism, it makes sense and is certainly preferable to putting Malik Beasley or rookie Anthony Edwards in such a situation.

Culver has done okay, save for some foul trouble and an inability to get through screens at times. He isn’t a bad defender; he just isn’t Okogie.

When Okogie is able to fight through screens as he does in the above clip, it keeps the Wolves from needing to switch or scramble coverage on the back end. Nobody is needing to rotate and can simply stay home.

Okogie gets underneath Aldridge’s screen attempt so quickly that he gets back in front of Mills and can even contest his layup attempt effectively.

Edwards has the physical tools to add this element but is nowhere near ready to do this consistently. Culver hasn’t provided consistency. Beasley doesn’t have Okogie’s the length or upper body strength to consistently fight through screens and get into position, and while the defensive effort has improved so far this year for Beasley, Okogie is far more trustworthy in that department as well.

The Wolves need Okogie and Towns on the floor in order to have a shot at fielding a league-average defense this year. Assuming that an offense with a healthy Towns eventually finds its way, then the Wolves can be truly competitive night-in and night-out all season long with a tough, hustling defense and a dangerous offense.