5 Advantages Timberwolves have over every other West team

1. Defense

The old sports adage is offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Scoring will decrease in the playoffs as defense picks up. Every basket gets tougher in the postseason, so being able to get stops is a must.

Minnesota has the best defense in the league by a significant margin. Their defensive rating sits at 108.5. No other team is below 110 and they are 3.5 points per 100 possessions better than the fifth-ranked Thunder, which is the difference between five and 17. Rudy Gobert is back to being an elite rim protector, and the Wolves have plenty of talent around him.

Their defense should pick up in the playoffs. Anthony Edwards has the makings of a lockdown option, especially when he is fully locked in. Jaden McDaniels will wreak havoc on the perimeter, and Gobert is there to clean up the backline. Scoring on the Timberwolves won’t be easy. Expect their defense to hold up in the playoffs and keep them in every game.

The Minnesota Timberwolves need to play to their strengths if they want to make a deep playoff run. They have multiple advantages over even the best teams in the Western Conference. Can Minnesota maximize them? It will be fascinating to watch, so please stay tuned to find out.