On paper, the Minnesota Timberwolves have one of the best defenses in the NBA. Since trading for Rudy Gobert, they have been a top 10 defense every year. This season, they rank seventh per Cleaning the Glass. However, something feels different this year, and there's no denying the Wolves' defense struggles with consistency.
A big portion of this is the Wolves' inability to maintain defense when Gobert is off the court -- but the issues are deeper than this, and consistency is at the heart of the problem.
In losses, the Wolves post a 121.8 defensive rating, which ranks 15th among teams in losses and represents a clear drop-off from their overall DRTG of 113.4. Over the last five games, the Wolves are just 2-3. In these games, they've posted a DRTG above 120 twice and a DRTG below 105 twice. These two games with a DRTG above 120 came against the lowly Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks without Trae Young.
Undoubtedly, the Wolves have the personnel to be an elite defense, but they need to be more consistent to reach their full ceiling.
The Timberwolves need to be more consistent on defense
As hinted at earlier, the non-Gobert minutes have been a disaster. The Wolves are 15.2 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Gobert on the court. This swing equates to the Wolves having the second-best defense with Gobert and the worst defense without him. Julius Randle and Naz Reid lack the rim protection needed to keep the Wolves' defense afloat without Rudy.
Yet the Wolves' defensive issues run deeper than the non-Rudy minutes.
I hate pointing out effort when discussing defense, but it truly seems like this is an issue for the Wolves. They often display poor energy, and their lack of attention to detail is concerning.
It's worth noting that the Wolves rank 13th in first half defense and 15th in third quarter defense -- but they rank second in fourth quarter defense. It seems like the Wolves can flip a switch and turn up the defensive intensity late in games. These numbers go beyond effort, but it's a clear factor at times.
Part of this is dealing with the non-Rudy minutes. The Wolves' starting lineup does have an impressive 111.7 DRTG, which helps explain their stellar fourth quarter defense. Regardless, the Timberwolves also have bad defensive habits; they get caught ball-watching, often struggle with screen navigation, fail to get back in transition, and it appears that they don't communicate well.
A few plays that summarize the Timberwolves' recent defensive struggles
— Eamon Cassels (@EamonCassels) January 2, 2026
The lack of attention to detail and general effort is something that you should never see from a team with this much talent/experience pic.twitter.com/ufq1C1i0HP
Outside of Rudy and Jaden McDaniels, everyone in the rotation commonly displays glaring defensive errors.
Frankly, these are unacceptable mistakes for a Wolves team that has been to back-to-back conference finals. Part of this could be regular season malaise, especially since many of these issues are evident against bad teams. The best teams take care of business against lesser opponents, though.
For the Timberwolves to go on another deep playoff run, their defense must be more consistent, and this should start now.