The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the brink of elimination as they are down 3-2 to the San Antonio Spurs. Despite the Wolves' proven ability to exceed expectations, it's fair to lose some level of hope, as the Spurs have clearly looked like the better team through five games. Much of the discourse around the series has been around the Timberwolves' subpar offense and lack of creation outside of Anthony Edwards.
At the same time, if the Wolves can put together a comeback and pull off an upset, their defense must absolutely improve. You might not know from watching this series, but defense remains the Wolves' biggest strength and overall identity. Without a doubt, they'll need to get back to their elite level of defense if they have any chance of making a comeback.
Sure, the Wolves' overall defensive rating (114.1 per Cleaning the Glass) remains solid in the series, but watching the game, it's clear that some problems need to be addressed. Furthermore, in their two biggest losses, the Wolves have given up 133 and 126 points.
Based on the Wolves' roster construction, they might not be able to have a ton of success against an elite Spurs' defense. As such, their only path to winning the series is matching the Spurs' intensity and turning the game into a slugfest.
Areas of the Timberwolves' defense that must improve
Minnesota's 104-102 Game 1 win is proof that the Wolves need to make it a pure defensive game to have a chance to win. It was far from a great offensive showing, but it was easily their best defensive performance of the series. This was the Wolves' only win in this series in which Victor Wembanyama played the entire game.
Wemby shot 5-for-17 in this game, which is something that has proven to be unsustainable.
The Wolves' ball containment was far better in Game 1 than in any subsequent game this series. Starting positively, Jaden McDaniels has done a great job on De'Aaron Fox throughout the series, holding him to 34.5 percent shooting as the primary defender. Nevertheless, McDaniels has struggled with foul trouble, and frankly, the rest of the Wolves' perimeter defense hasn't been up to snuff.
Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper have had their way against the Wolves. In pick-and-roll situations, the Wolves have struggled against these young guards. This has been a problem both at the point-of-attack fighting through screens and the Wolves' big men not holding up well on switches or in drop coverage.
I'd also like to see the Wolves increase their ball pressure to match what the Spurs' stifling defense.
Additionally, the Timberwolves' transition defense has been subpar, and they have done a poor job closing out on the Spurs' 3-point shooters. While the Wolves (or any other team) might not be able to stop Wemby, improving these other aspects of their defense could change things in a big way.
It feels unlikely that the Wolves will win the series at this point, but if they somehow do, it will certainly be paired with them reaching another level defensively.
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