Statistics say the Timberwolves' defense is back in a big way

To begin the 2024-25 season, the Minnesota Timberwolves did not look like a team any of us were used to seeing, especially at the defensive end of the floor. Routinely making mistakes and giving up a lot of points as a result of having to adjust to the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, the Wolves looked like they had lost every bit of their defensive identity.

This was not just an outsider's opinion, either. After the now-infamous loss to the Sacramento Kings on November 27, Anthony Edwards expressed that the team's defensive identity was that they were "soft" and couldn't talk to each other. This was of course a massive indictment on their effort on that side of things, and it became obvious something was going to have to change for this team to not miss the playoffs in a deep Western Conference.

Just when it would have been easy to crumble under the pressure of such harsh criticism, the Timberwolves have responded in a big way. Using Edwards' words as motivation, Minnesota has rallied together and gotten back what seems like some of that same grit and tenacity that made them the top defensive squad in the association a week ago.

In their last five games, the Wolves have four wins that all came from a strong defensive effort. They held their opponents in those four wins to an average of 85.5 points per game, an unprecedented number in today's game.

Minnesota's defense has been the best in the NBA over the last 10 games

What's even more impressive is that the statistics line up with what the eye test says about the Timberwolves' dominating performances on defense in the last couple of weeks. Even with their Sunday night loss to the Golden State Warriors in which they surrendered 114 points, Minnesota still has the top-rated defense in terms of defensive efficiency over the last 10 games.

Looking at NBA data analyst Kirk Goldsberry's chart, the only two teams that even come relatively close to the Timberwolves in this category over the last 10 games are the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. This speaks to the collective effort Minnesota has put forth to correct one of their biggest weaknesses, and that hard work is clearly already paying dividends.

The offensive side of things is still a work in progress. But if you know basketball, you know that great defense can often produce offense as well. And overall, strong defense needs to remain Minnesota's calling card. The more they can consistently smother opposing offenses, the better their entire process will work.