With the recent news that Anthony Edwards may be available for the start of the Spurs series tonight, giving Wolves fans some much-needed optimism, the Timberwolves have a team-wide strength that should give fans and players confidence they can match up well with anyone, regardless of injuries.
This team flat-out defends. They have fearless perimeter defenders in Jaden McDaniels, Jaylen Clark, and Ayo Dosunmu, but Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle are also elite perimeter defenders when they're locked in. They also have one of the best rim protectors of all-time in Rudy Gobert.
The Wolves aren't always consistent with their defensive identity during the regular season, but in the playoffs, everybody kicks it into an extra gear.
The Timberwolves have the perimeter defenders to shut down the Spurs' weapons
The Spurs will undoubtedly be a tougher opponent than Denver due to their defense, especially around the rim with Victor Wembanyama. But on offense, they are less dynamic than Denver.
Stephon Castle is a phenomenal young player, but his three-point shooting is a weakness, which will allow the Wolves to float off him as a shooter. Wembanyama is beyond special as well, but despite his size, he is thin-framed and sometimes struggles with physical on-ball defense, which Julius Randle will provide.
This leaves De'Aaron Fox as the remaining piece of the Spurs' main trio. Fox will likely have Jaden McDaniels guarding him. If we learned anything from the last series, guards with McDaniels on them all game are likely in for a difficult time.
With McDaniels on Fox, Randle on Wembanyama, and Gobert floating off of Castle, the Wolves match up pretty well on paper. They just need to defend with the same intensity they did in the Nuggets' series.
The Timberwolves' defensive identity gives them a chance in any game
The most inspiring thing about the way the Timberwolves play defense is that it truly doesn't matter who's healthy and who isn't. Game 6 against Denver is the latest example of. They played phenomenal defense without their three most valuable guards. Guys who aren't known for defense buy into the identity and look like a completely different player.
Terrence Shannon Jr, Naz Reid, Bones Hyland, and Julius Randle aren't known as great defenders in the mainstream perception. But in the playoffs, each of them has stepped up to have crucial defense sequences that have powered winning basketball.
This team-wide defensive culture, and getting Ant back (at some point), should give the Wolves a great shot to advance to the conference finals for a third consecutive season.
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