3 Takeaways from Timberwolves’ surprising loss to Spurs
By Will Eudy
It was certainly a night that Minnesota Timberwolves fans would like to forget. The San Antonio Spurs arrived at Target Center on Monday and handed the home team one of its ugliest losses in recent memory.
Trailing 103-71 after three quarters, Minnesota made a rally in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late. The youngsters from San Antonio took home the win 115-106.
After being thoroughly beaten and even receiving boos from the home crowd, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a few things to figure out. Things aren’t going as smoothly as hoped so far, but it’s still very early in the season.
With that being said, we learned several things about this Timberwolves squad and where they’re currently at on Monday night. Let’s look at three of the biggest takeaways.
1. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense is still suspect
As we all know, the Timberwolves added one of the NBA’s best defensive players in the offseason when they traded for Rudy Gobert. They carefully considered making this move, and ultimately went through with it because they determined it would give them the best chance to contend for a championship.
Does last night’s loss mean they were wrong in making this move? No, but it’s becoming abundantly clear that the Timberwolves have some work to do on the defensive side of the floor.
Gobert had been a monster through Minnesota’s first three games, putting up 54 rebounds over his first three games with the team. But on Monday, he struggled, logging just 11 points and seven rebounds.
As a team, the Timberwolves just weren’t able to slow down the Spurs all night. They allowed six San Antonio players to score in double figures, and gave up an abundance of and-one opportunities. In addition, the Spurs assisted on 37 of their 48 made field goals.
Having Kyle Anderson out for the last three games hasn’t helped Minnesota. But collectively, they have to pull it together on the defensive end of the floor to avoid more losses like this.