Article: Timberwolves enter critical offseason set on improving defense

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

http://www.twincities.com/2017/04/15/timberwolves-enter-critical-offseason-set-on-improving-defense/

[Coolbreeze44]

Looking today at the landscape of professional sports in Minnesota, it seems ridiculous but the Wolves might be our best hope. The Twins are going to lose close to 90 games this year. The Wild are in the process of breaking our hearts again - who knows what they're going to be like going forward. And the Vikings are going to have a terrible offense next year that should keep them out of the playoffs again.

If you expand the discussion to the U of M, it should be fun to see what PJ Fleck can do with the Gophers this year. But on the pro level the Wolves are probably the group that can offer at least a glimmer of hope. Maybe we will get lucky in the lottery again. I haven't looked it up but isn't the 6th or 7th position a sweet spot for moving up historically? But even we don't get lucky, this draft is extremely strong and no matter where we pick it's going to be a nice asset to use or trade. We're well positioned with the cap, and we should get better with the natural maturation of KAT and Wig, and the return to health of Zach. So I'm stupidly going to look forward to what this franchise can do next season. It seems to be all I've got.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Thibs makes it clear in that interview that he's building around Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine, but that he also sees defense as our biggest problem by far. But as the eye-poppingly bad real plus-minus numbers for those three guys highlights, something has to change, and just getting those three playing better defense needs to be part of the solution.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Thibs makes it clear in that interview that he's building around Towns, Wiggins, and LaVine, but that he also sees defense as our biggest problem by far. But as the eye-poppingly bad real plus-minus numbers for those three guys highlights, something has to change, and just getting those three playing better defense needs to be part of the solution.

It's why I always rant about their lack of complimentary skills. If our core three guys had one that struggled offensively, but was a defensive savant, boy, I think the whole would at least be equal to the sum of the parts. But right now the sum of the parts is far greater than the whole. All three, evaluated as independent assets, would be highly coveted players (albeit LaVine's value has probably dropped until he proves he can come back 100% from injury). Yet altogether on the same starting unit, it's a lottery team.

Unless we get Rudy Gobert at Center and Kawhi Leonard on the wing, there simply is no one out there we are going to land that can adequately make up for their crappy defense. Like you said, they HAVE to improve if we ever hope to make a deep playoff run.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Dieng and Ricky are plus defenders, so the best way to improve our defense is to keep Wiggins and Lavine on different units and add a wing who plays good defense. Some free agents wings we could target are Rudy Gay, PJ Tucker, Sefolosha, James Johnson and Tony Allen. Robert Covington a superb wing defender would make a good trade acquisition. We could also improve our defense by adding another good defending big like Taj Gibson or Amir Johnson.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Dieng and Ricky are plus defenders, so the best way to improve our defense is to keep Wiggins and Lavine on different units and add a wing who plays good defense. Some free agents wings we could target are Rudy Gay, PJ Tucker, Sefolosha, James Johnson and Tony Allen. Robert Covington a superb wing defender would make a good trade acquisition. We could also improve our defense on the second unit by adding Taj Gibson and moving Gorgui to play with Zach on the second unit. I expect Dunn to be a plus defender in his second year, and am hoping he'll also be a better offensive player.

I agree that Dieng and Ricky are + defenders, but they aren't +++ defenders, which is what I think this team needs in the absence of improvement from the three guys that play the most minutes on the team.

That being said, I don't disagree with targeting any of the guys you mention. I do think they can help.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Remember, there will be a trade-off with many "defense-first" guys.

I know there are still detractors about the importance of today's "pace and space" game, but spacing does matter. Check out the Houston vs. OKC series when you get a chance for proof.

That being said, the defense is so much worse than the offense that it's easy to see which side has to give... especially since Towns/Wiggins have the potential to be such a devastating "1/2" punch offensively.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Remember, there will be a trade-off with many "defense-first" guys.

I know there are still detractors about the importance of today's "pace and space" game, but spacing does matter. Check out the Houston vs. OKC series when you get a chance for proof.

That being said, the defense is so much worse than the offense that it's easy to see which side has to give... especially since Towns/Wiggins have the potential to be such a devastating "1/2" punch offensively.

Yes, agree. Unfortunately, until or if these guys become the 2-way players we thought we were getting, we have to err on the side of defense-first type players. There is still a place in this league for the Andre Robersons, Mbah Moutes, and Kidd-Gilchrists. In fact, we may add Dunn to that list some day if his offense never comes around. Defensively, he's already miles ahead of Wiggins and LaVine.

[Lipoli390]

As others have pointed out, we can improve our defense a bit by signing a defensive wing FA like Tucker or Sefolosha and moving LaVine to the second unit as our "6th man." But Thibs has made clear that he also wants to add shot-blocking and none of the big-man free agents like Gibson are shot-blockers. So I'm not sure how we add the right piece up front to improve our intereior defense and shot-blocking.

But the bigger point is the one Drew and Q made -- i.e.., that our core three will have to improve their defensive substantially to really turn this team around.

I'm pretty optimistic about KAT improving a lot defensively for several reasons. First, he's the youngest and least experienced of the three. Second, although in only his second season, he was statistically the best of the three defensively. Third, his tenacious rebounding tells me he has the toughness and competitiveness in him to become a very good defender.

I'm still somewhat optimistic about Zach, assuming he comes back healthy, My take on Zach's defensively is based on (1) Flip's analysis of Zach's defensive potential, which was tied in part to Zach's defensive college stats, (2) the fact that Zach's had minimal college experience and was forced into the PG role by Sam, which together suggest that he's earlier than Wiggins on the developmental curve, and (3) my eye test this season, which persuaded me that Zach was significantly better defensively this season even if it didn't show up statistically.

My biggest concern remains Andrew. He has by far logged the most combined minutes in college and the NBA of the three yet hasn't shown any improvement defensively. Moreover, he was the worst of the three statistically on the defensive end. Finally, I'm not sure the competitive fire burns enough in him to turn him into a really good defender even though the raw physical tools (length, athleticism, speed) are there. But I have to believe that Thibs has confidence in Wiggins defensively, so I have to put my trust in Thibs when it comes to Wiggins' defensive potential.

I believe the defense can turn around substantially next season. Ricky and Gorgui are already good defensively. Adding Tucker or Sefolosha long with another good interior defender like Gibson will help. If, in addition, all three of our core players can improve significantly on the defensive end, we'll be a playoff team next season even if our core three don't yet reach their defensive potential. Along with defensive improvement, better depth will help us hold onto leads and win close games we lost this season by keeping us in games when our starters are sitting and by keeping our starters fresher with fewer minutes. In other words, it's a bunch of things added together that will take our win total into the low 40s and get us in to the playoffs next season. Now if we can land a prolific shot-blocker or if one of our core three suddenly becomes an elite defender next season, that's a bonus.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Lip, On your comments regarding Wiggins, I really hope Thibs is serious about getting a starting level defensive wing. And by starter, I mean a guy that may only play 25-30 MPG but starts halves defending the opposing team's best wing. That will allow Wiggins to focus on offense early and not have to worry about grinding out 39 MPG as our #1B option on offense (KAT being 1A) and #1 wing defender. He's just not cut out for it.