Timberwolves defense dimming Suns in first-round series

Minnesota has stifled Phoenix in the first two games of their playoff series.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) calls a timeout against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) in the second quarter during game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center in Minneapolis on April 23, 2024. / Brad Rempel / USA TODAY Sports

All season long, the Timberwolves have won games on the back of their defense. It resulted in a 56-26 regular-season record, the second-best mark in franchise history. 

They had far and away the best defensive rating in the NBA, allowing just 108.4 points per 100 possessions. That’s a full 2.2 points better than the second-best Boston Celtics. 

Even still, what they’ve been doing in the postseason feels a little bit different. 

In a blowout 120-95 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series, the Wolves forced the Suns into 15 turnovers, held them to 44% shooting from the field and 32% shooting from 3-point range. The Suns’ Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker combined for 64 points, 31 of which came from Durant on 11-for-17 shooting. The rest were quiet.

“We’ve been a defensive team all season as you know. I would say in the first half of the season, we played a lot more like this,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I think in the second half, we kind of were a little more inconsistent with our physicality on defense. You know, the playoffs kind of bring that out of you naturally, so that’s been good for us.” 

Queue Game 2, when the Wolves won 105-93 and held the Suns’ Big 3 to just 52 points while Phoenix turned it over 20 times and shot 45% from the field and 36% from 3-point range. 

“We have guys who like to guard, guys who take the challenge, and they have a lot of guys who can really score it, so every single time down, you got to win your fist fight,” Finch said. “And our guys are doing it right now.”

They sure have. And it’s a long cry from the regular-season finale against the Suns, when the Wolves lost 125-106 in a game that ensured the two teams would meet again in a first-round playoff series. 

With a week off to prepare, the Timberwolves made some adjustments. They’ve switched on ball screens more, and the intensity and physicality from the beginning of the season has returned.

It starts with the perimeter defense of Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Anthony Edwards, who’ve been aggressive in containing the Suns’ trio of Durant, Booker and Beal. 

“Luxury, absolute luxury. And we have Ant out there, too. Three point-of-attack defenders,” Finch said. “Most teams have one, or are lucky to have one. We have three, and then we can keep flipping matchups based on different traits or characteristics that guys do or don’t do well on defense.” 

When that trio has been on the court together, the Suns have looked lost. 

“Every time we go on the court and I see them two,” said McDaniels, referring to Edwards and Alexander-Walker, “I just be like, ‘Who do you wanna guard?’ It don’t matter which one, which person we guard, I mean, it’s great to have.”

And then you can’t forget about who they have behind them: All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns and Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Rudy Gobert, who together have clogged up the paint and made life even more difficult on the Suns, who have often looked out of sorts offensively.

“Jaden, Ant, Mike, all these guys are being pretty tough on the ball, and then you have me, KAT backside, you know, so it’s a total team effort,” Gobert said. “We really try to compete every single possession, obviously they have some generational talents offensively, so it’s a big challenge for us, but I’m really proud of the way the guys are already taking that challenge.”

So far, so good. The Timberwolves have a 2-0 series lead with the series set to shift to Phoenix Friday for a 9:30 p.m. tipoff. If Minnesota can keep up the same aggressiveness, intensity and physicality it showed at home, the Wolves might just make quick work of the Suns. 

“Come into Game 3 with the same mindset, just from the first minute until the last. Play with our physicality, play with our urgency and then offensively, make the right play. If we do that, good things happen,” Gobert said.