Lillard’s historic shooting night exposes Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense

After falling to the Trail Blazers in Portland on Saturday, the Minnesota Timberwolves were looking to bounce back and win the second of two straight matchups with their Northwest Division foe.

But despite a solid night from several starters, the Wolves were buried by Portland’s prolific three-point shooting. The Trail Blazers knocked down 21 threes, while Minnesota attempted just 27 shots from outside.

When the dust settled on the Blazers’ 133-112 victory, Damian Lillard walked away with one of the most impressive shooting nights of his career. Dame knocked down a career-best-tying 11 three-pointers to send the Timberwolves home with their second straight loss.

The Minnesota Timberwolves allowed Damian Lillard to light up the box score

Lillard’s 11 threes tied him for the fourth-most made threes by one player in a game in the storied history of the NBA. Only five players in league history have made more threes in a single game than he did on Monday.

It was a dazzling shooting display that inspired the entire Portland crowd, and discouraged everyone on the Timberwolves’ bench. Minnesota was once again unable to stop an opponent from getting whatever they wanted from behind the arc.

This has been a noticeable pattern throughout the Timberwolves’ season. When teams have matched up with Minnesota this year, they have shot a scorching-hot 37.8% on average from three-point range. The Wolves’ three-point shooting defense is statistically the third-worst in the NBA.

Wolves’ three-point defense continues to be a major problem

The trend of opponents shooting the lights out against Minnesota is one that should be worrisome to Timberwolves fans. If they allow this to continue, they will almost certainly remain stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

In a league that is more influenced by three-point shooting than ever, having an effective plan in place to limit opponents’ success from outside the arc will be paramount in keeping the Timberwolves’ playoff hopes alive. This will be crucial against any team, but especially when matching up with such dangerous shooters as Damian Lillard.

Chris Finch and his staff will need to continue improving their defensive strategy, and players will have to be willing to go the extra mile on that end of the floor for this group to succeed. If they cannot make strides in that department, major changes could be on the horizon.