Article: Timberwolves enter critical offseason set on improving defense

[thedoper]

Of the big 3 Wiggins finished with the best best net rating while Lavine was 2nd worst on the Team (not just of the big 3). Lavine is far and away the most problematic of the 3 on both sides of the ball. Wiggins made lots of strides on both side of the ball from what I saw (more active hands, better positioning). KAT on the other hand, not so much defensively. Offensively he is amazing. Both still over commit and try to do too much from what I see. Ibaka or Milsap is just what the doctor ordered.

[Lipoli390]

Of the big 3 Wiggins finished with the best best net rating while Lavine was 2nd worst on the Team (not just of the big 3). Lavine is far and away the most problematic of the 3 on both sides of the ball. Wiggins made lots of strides on both side of the ball from what I saw (more active hands, better positioning). KAT on the other hand, not so much defensively. Offensively he is amazing. Both still over commit and try to do too much from what I see. Ibaka or Milsap is just what the doctor ordered.

From the article: ESPN's defensive real plus-minus statistic measures a "player's estimated on-court impact on team defensive performance, measured in points allowed per 100 defensive possessions." Out of 468 players measured this season, Towns ranked 390th, LaVine was 443rd and Wiggins was 460th.

Doper -- We may have to agree to disagree on this, but this defensive metric shows Wiggins to be the worst of the three, KAT the best and Zach in between. I look at this stat combined with Wig's motor issues and substantially more playing time than Zach. Putting all that together makes me a bit more concerned about Wiggins than Zach (Zach's injury aside). Note that I'm concened about the lack of defensive development of all three, but I'm also still high on all three overall.

Based on stats and age, I like Ibaka because he would bring shot-blocking and three point shooting -- two of our key needs. But I have this uneasy feeling about Ibaka. His declining stats in recent years and the fact that he's played for three teams in three years give me pause. Millsap is older than I'd like and doesn't bring shot-blocking or three-point shooting, but he brings rebounding, scoring and toughness along with veteran savvy. Either of these guys would be pricey to sign, but I'd be happy with either one.

Some lower-priced free agents Thibs should consider are JaMychal Green, Pachulia, Tucker and Covington. All four would help our defense and toughness. Of all these guys I think my first choice would be Covington. 6.5 rebounds, 1 block and 2 steals per game at 31.6 Assists minutes. That's an impressive stat set. Also, at 26 years old he could fit well as a longer term acquisition.

[thedoper]

Of the big 3 Wiggins finished with the best best net rating while Lavine was 2nd worst on the Team (not just of the big 3). Lavine is far and away the most problematic of the 3 on both sides of the ball. Wiggins made lots of strides on both side of the ball from what I saw (more active hands, better positioning). KAT on the other hand, not so much defensively. Offensively he is amazing. Both still over commit and try to do too much from what I see. Ibaka or Milsap is just what the doctor ordered.

From the article: ESPN's defensive real plus-minus statistic measures a "player's estimated on-court impact on team defensive performance, measured in points allowed per 100 defensive possessions." Out of 468 players measured this season, Towns ranked 390th, LaVine was 443rd and Wiggins was 460th.

Doper -- We may have to agree to disagree on this, but this defensive metric shows Wiggins to be the worst of the three, KAT the best and Zach in between. I look at this stat combined with Wig's motor issues and substantially more playing time than Zach. Putting all that together makes me a bit more concerned about Wiggins than Zach (Zach's injury aside). Note that I'm concened about the lack of defensive development of all three, but I'm also still high on all three overall.

Based on stats and age, I like Ibaka because he would bring shot-blocking and three point shooting -- two of our key needs. But I have this uneasy feeling about Ibaka. His declining stats in recent years and the fact that he's played for three teams in three years give me pause. Millsap is older than I'd like and doesn't bring shot-blocking or three-point shooting, but he brings rebounding, scoring and toughness along with veteran savvy. Either of these guys would be pricey to sign, but I'd be happy with either one.

Some lower-priced free agents Thibs should consider are JaMychal Green, Pachulia, Tucker and Covington. All four would help our defense and toughness. Of all these guys I think my first choice would be Covington. 6.5 rebounds, 1 block and 2 steals per game at 31.6 Assists minutes. That's an impressive stat set. Also, at 26 years old he could fit well as a longer term acquisition.

NBA.com net rating has Wiggins the best of the 3. Zach may have a higher defensive rating in isolation, but Wiggins was the closest thing we had to a winner of the three. Wiggins -.5 Towns -.9 and Lavine -3.6.

http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612750/players-advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=1


Going by this advanced statistical metric and Zach's complete lack of awareness on both sides of the ball, as well as Towns lack of motor on the defensive end, overall I judge Wiggins and Towns as the players I am least worried about of the 3. There are stats that fit most narratives for this team in terms of who's the biggest problem, I think Thibs states it best. Everyone on this team needs to put defense first if we're really going to start winning.

[kekgeek]

Of the big 3 Wiggins finished with the best best net rating while Lavine was 2nd worst on the Team (not just of the big 3). Lavine is far and away the most problematic of the 3 on both sides of the ball. Wiggins made lots of strides on both side of the ball from what I saw (more active hands, better positioning). KAT on the other hand, not so much defensively. Offensively he is amazing. Both still over commit and try to do too much from what I see. Ibaka or Milsap is just what the doctor ordered.

From the article: ESPN's defensive real plus-minus statistic measures a "player's estimated on-court impact on team defensive performance, measured in points allowed per 100 defensive possessions." Out of 468 players measured this season, Towns ranked 390th, LaVine was 443rd and Wiggins was 460th.

Doper -- We may have to agree to disagree on this, but this defensive metric shows Wiggins to be the worst of the three, KAT the best and Zach in between. I look at this stat combined with Wig's motor issues and substantially more playing time than Zach. Putting all that together makes me a bit more concerned about Wiggins than Zach (Zach's injury aside). Note that I'm concened about the lack of defensive development of all three, but I'm also still high on all three overall.

Based on stats and age, I like Ibaka because he would bring shot-blocking and three point shooting -- two of our key needs. But I have this uneasy feeling about Ibaka. His declining stats in recent years and the fact that he's played for three teams in three years give me pause. Millsap is older than I'd like and doesn't bring shot-blocking or three-point shooting, but he brings rebounding, scoring and toughness along with veteran savvy. Either of these guys would be pricey to sign, but I'd be happy with either one.

Some lower-priced free agents Thibs should consider are JaMychal Green, Pachulia, Tucker and Covington. All four would help our defense and toughness. Of all these guys I think my first choice would be Covington. 6.5 rebounds, 1 block and 2 steals per game at 31.6 Assists minutes. That's an impressive stat set. Also, at 26 years old he could fit well as a longer term acquisition.

NBA.com net rating has Wiggins the best of the 3. Zach may have a higher defensive rating in isolation, but Wiggins was the closest thing we had to a winner of the three. Wiggins -.5 Towns -.9 and Lavine -3.6.

http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612750/players-advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=1


Going by this advanced statistical metric and Zach's complete lack of awareness on both sides of the ball, as well as Towns lack of motor on the defensive end, overall I judge Wiggins and Towns as the players I am least worried about of the 3. There are stats that fit most narratives for this team in terms of who's the biggest problem, I think Thibs states it best. Everyone on this team needs to put defense first if we're really going to start winning.

Does it really matter who is better and worse when at this point they are all minus defenders

[Monster]

The problem with this team is that they not only have some issues as individual defenders it's that they don't play as a team on that end. To me one thing that encourages me about all 3 of the top young guys is that they tend to do pretty well in isolation where they just defend their guy unless they get beat because they aren't strong enough yet. The problems come when they get beat on cuts, do the wrong things when screens come into play and also making the right rotations. So yeah theybsuck but it's not like they can't physically compete mostly.

The other piece is that now Thibs has a whole season (47 games of Lavine) to dissect and figure out some tweaks to get the most out of these guys. Let's say the Young guys had 43% of what they needed to know on defense for what's thins wants this year. What if they have a whole offseason and all that stuff and jump to 67%? That doesn't sound like enough but imagine if they get it 20% better than they did this year and start to do things right more consistently AND Thibs makes some adjustments to play to their strengths and help their weekenesses more? It's possible we could see a decent jump on that end. I know I'm being optimistic here but it's a team thing and it's not just up to the players. The coaching staff has to do their part and the roster needs help too.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Of the big 3 Wiggins finished with the best best net rating while Lavine was 2nd worst on the Team (not just of the big 3). Lavine is far and away the most problematic of the 3 on both sides of the ball. Wiggins made lots of strides on both side of the ball from what I saw (more active hands, better positioning). KAT on the other hand, not so much defensively. Offensively he is amazing. Both still over commit and try to do too much from what I see. Ibaka or Milsap is just what the doctor ordered.

From the article: ESPN's defensive real plus-minus statistic measures a "player's estimated on-court impact on team defensive performance, measured in points allowed per 100 defensive possessions." Out of 468 players measured this season, Towns ranked 390th, LaVine was 443rd and Wiggins was 460th.

Doper -- We may have to agree to disagree on this, but this defensive metric shows Wiggins to be the worst of the three, KAT the best and Zach in between. I look at this stat combined with Wig's motor issues and substantially more playing time than Zach. Putting all that together makes me a bit more concerned about Wiggins than Zach (Zach's injury aside). Note that I'm concened about the lack of defensive development of all three, but I'm also still high on all three overall.

Based on stats and age, I like Ibaka because he would bring shot-blocking and three point shooting -- two of our key needs. But I have this uneasy feeling about Ibaka. His declining stats in recent years and the fact that he's played for three teams in three years give me pause. Millsap is older than I'd like and doesn't bring shot-blocking or three-point shooting, but he brings rebounding, scoring and toughness along with veteran savvy. Either of these guys would be pricey to sign, but I'd be happy with either one.

Some lower-priced free agents Thibs should consider are JaMychal Green, Pachulia, Tucker and Covington. All four would help our defense and toughness. Of all these guys I think my first choice would be Covington. 6.5 rebounds, 1 block and 2 steals per game at 31.6 Assists minutes. That's an impressive stat set. Also, at 26 years old he could fit well as a longer term acquisition.

NBA.com net rating has Wiggins the best of the 3. Zach may have a higher defensive rating in isolation, but Wiggins was the closest thing we had to a winner of the three. Wiggins -.5 Towns -.9 and Lavine -3.6.

http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612750/players-advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=1


Going by this advanced statistical metric and Zach's complete lack of awareness on both sides of the ball, as well as Towns lack of motor on the defensive end, overall I judge Wiggins and Towns as the players I am least worried about of the 3. There are stats that fit most narratives for this team in terms of who's the biggest problem, I think Thibs states it best. Everyone on this team needs to put defense first if we're really going to start winning.

Does it really matter who is better and worse when at this point they are all minus defenders

Agreed. All three suck. It's no use arguing whether one is 390th or 420th, nor can defense ever be that precisely calibrated. But directionally it says the same thing: They suck and need to get better.

[Lipoli390]

Of the big 3 Wiggins finished with the best best net rating while Lavine was 2nd worst on the Team (not just of the big 3). Lavine is far and away the most problematic of the 3 on both sides of the ball. Wiggins made lots of strides on both side of the ball from what I saw (more active hands, better positioning). KAT on the other hand, not so much defensively. Offensively he is amazing. Both still over commit and try to do too much from what I see. Ibaka or Milsap is just what the doctor ordered.

From the article: ESPN's defensive real plus-minus statistic measures a "player's estimated on-court impact on team defensive performance, measured in points allowed per 100 defensive possessions." Out of 468 players measured this season, Towns ranked 390th, LaVine was 443rd and Wiggins was 460th.

Doper -- We may have to agree to disagree on this, but this defensive metric shows Wiggins to be the worst of the three, KAT the best and Zach in between. I look at this stat combined with Wig's motor issues and substantially more playing time than Zach. Putting all that together makes me a bit more concerned about Wiggins than Zach (Zach's injury aside). Note that I'm concened about the lack of defensive development of all three, but I'm also still high on all three overall.

Based on stats and age, I like Ibaka because he would bring shot-blocking and three point shooting -- two of our key needs. But I have this uneasy feeling about Ibaka. His declining stats in recent years and the fact that he's played for three teams in three years give me pause. Millsap is older than I'd like and doesn't bring shot-blocking or three-point shooting, but he brings rebounding, scoring and toughness along with veteran savvy. Either of these guys would be pricey to sign, but I'd be happy with either one.

Some lower-priced free agents Thibs should consider are JaMychal Green, Pachulia, Tucker and Covington. All four would help our defense and toughness. Of all these guys I think my first choice would be Covington. 6.5 rebounds, 1 block and 2 steals per game at 31.6 Assists minutes. That's an impressive stat set. Also, at 26 years old he could fit well as a longer term acquisition.

NBA.com net rating has Wiggins the best of the 3. Zach may have a higher defensive rating in isolation, but Wiggins was the closest thing we had to a winner of the three. Wiggins -.5 Towns -.9 and Lavine -3.6.

http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612750/players-advanced/?sort=NET_RATING&dir=1


Going by this advanced statistical metric and Zach's complete lack of awareness on both sides of the ball, as well as Towns lack of motor on the defensive end, overall I judge Wiggins and Towns as the players I am least worried about of the 3. There are stats that fit most narratives for this team in terms of who's the biggest problem, I think Thibs states it best. Everyone on this team needs to put defense first if we're really going to start winning.

Does it really matter who is better and worse when at this point they are all minus defenders

Agreed. All three suck. It's no use arguing whether one is 390th or 420th, nor can defense ever be that precisely calibrated. But directionally it says the same thing: They suck and need to get better.

lol. Q -- Well said!!

[Lipoli390]

The problem with this team is that they not only have some issues as individual defenders it's that they don't play as a team on that end. To me one thing that encourages me about all 3 of the top young guys is that they tend to do pretty well in isolation where they just defend their guy unless they get beat because they aren't strong enough yet. The problems come when they get beat on cuts, do the wrong things when screens come into play and also making the right rotations. So yeah theybsuck but it's not like they can't physically compete mostly.

The other piece is that now Thibs has a whole season (47 games of Lavine) to dissect and figure out some tweaks to get the most out of these guys. Let's say the Young guys had 43% of what they needed to know on defense for what's thins wants this year. What if they have a whole offseason and all that stuff and jump to 67%? That doesn't sound like enough but imagine if they get it 20% better than they did this year and start to do things right more consistently AND Thibs makes some adjustments to play to their strengths and help their weekenesses more? It's possible we could see a decent jump on that end. I know I'm being optimistic here but it's a team thing and it's not just up to the players. The coaching staff has to do their part and the roster needs help too.

Great analysis, Monster!