One massive early-season concern for the Minnesota Timberwolves was their inability to perform defensively when Rudy Gobert was off the court. During the first eight games of the season, Gobert posted a -25.1 on/off defensive swing. In other words, the Wolves had what translates to the second-best offense with Rudy on the court and what translates to the league's worst offense with him off the court.
However, over the past six games, the Wolves have solved the non-Rudy minutes; his on/off swing is just a -2.8. The Wolves' defense has been elite (second-ranked defensive rating in the league) during this stretch. Overall, the Wolves have moved up from the 27th-ranked defense in the first eight games to the 11th-ranked defense now.
How have they done this? By pairing Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Clark, their best defenders other than Gobert in the non-Rudy minutes. Sounds simple, right?
McDaniels and Clark are the perfect solution to the non-Gobert minutes
In lineups that feature McDaniels and Clark but not Gobert, the Wolves have a 114.7 defensive rating per Cleaning the Glass. This is a league average number, not an elite one. Nevertheless, it's a massive improvement from the Wolves' season-long defensive rating without Rudy (120.5) and certainly their non-Gobert DRTG through the first eight games (134.8). It's also worth noting that this lineup combination posts a 135.8 offensive rating, which ranks in the 100th percentile.
The reason for the Wolves' struggling defensively without Gobert is clear: he is their lone traditional center and rim protector. Julius Randle and Naz Reid are both fantastic players, but neither is a rim protector. Thankfully, McDaniels can replicate some of Gobert's rim protection. The key word is some; it would be foolish to argue McDaniels is a historically great rim protector like Gobert.
However, McDaniels is a fantastic help-side defender and defensive playmaker. This season, McDaniels is averaging a career high 1.3 blocks, and he ranks in the 98th percentile for blocks per 100 possessions according to Databallr. Pairing him with Clark is crucial since Clark's elite point of attack defense allows McDaniels to play the low man role with Rudy off the court.
Conversely, in lineups without Rudy and Clark but with McDaniels, the Wolves have an awful 140.8 defensive rating. This is because McDaniels is overtaxed as an on-ball defender without any rim protection behind him.
It's easy to say that Chris Finch should have deployed this lineup sooner, but it's hard to figure out lineup combinations early in the season, especially when developing three young players. Thankfully, he figured it out, though.
Ultimately, for the Timberwolves to reach their ceiling, surviving the non-Rudy minutes will be vital.