MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Monday night was a big-time showdown between the NBA’s number one offense and number one defense. The Boston Celtics rolled in to face the Minnesota Timberwolves averaging 126.4 points per game through five games. Through Minnesota’s first five games, the Wolves had been the best defense in the league allowing just 99.6 points per game and a league-best defensive rating. A battle of two extremes with just one winner. Let’s dive into how the Timberwolves pulled out a gutsy win over the Celtics.

Size and LengthAnthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert Big 3 for the Timberwolves

Minnesota’s greatest attribute on the defensive end is the pure size and length on their roster. Of course, playing two seven-footers in Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert sets you apart from most teams, but their wing length is massive as well. Jaden McDaniels took the challenge to start the game on Jayson Tatum.

Tatum was marvelous at points throughout the game, but the length and activity level of the Timberwolves' defense was too much throughout as Tatum finished with six turnovers, the most he’s had in a game this season. Let’s dive into some of his turnovers and misses that the Wolves forced.

The first clip here depicts Towns containing Tatum from driving downhill and how McDaniels length and recovery ability impact passing lanes in a unique fashion.

The next clip shows Naz Reid defending Tatum. Reid does a fantastic job staying attached to Tatum on the drive allowing for help to come over and impact the shot attempt.

Clip 6: Tatum tries to attack Naz Reid “out in space”. Wolves, however, collapse the floor with pinch defenders and McDaniels as the low-man.

This drive attempt never had a chance given Minnesota’s length and scheme execution pic.twitter.com/b4BwOWFUAb

— Sheldon Wohlman (@3swohlman) November 7, 2023

Our third clip shows just how valuable McDaniels can be as an on-ball defender against the league’s top talent. McDaniels applies ball pressure on Tatum advancing the ball up the floor. After fumbling the ball, Tatum coughs it up and the Timberwolves score in transition.

Our final clip on Tatum comes in overtime at a critical stage of the game. Anthony Edwards gets switched onto Tatum. Edwards cuts off Tatum trying to go to his left hand. Once the ball is loose, Edwards forces a tie-up, the Timberwolves win the jump ball and gain possession at a critical point.

When asked about Edwards defensive efforts on Tatum, Gobert said, “It’s fun to watch… I really liked when he took the challenge of guarding Tatum and he locked him up multiple times.”

Defending Porzingis

One of the big tests for the Wolves facing Boston was dealing with a stretch-big like Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis can stretch the floor, put the ball on the deck, and score as a roller and post-up option. Monday night, however, Minnesota severely limited his successes.

In this first clip, Gobert challenges a Porzingis 3-pointer and the possession ultimately ends in another turnover by Tatum.

This next clip is perhaps my favorite from the game. The Celtics try to go to a Jaylen Brown-Kristaps Porzingis pick-and-pop, but find no success. Minnesota’s defensive excellence has been fueled by the entire team executing. Anderson flies over the screen, Gobert closes out on Porzingis and shuts him down entirely.

Porzingis finished the night just 5-14 (35.7%) from the field and 2-6 (33.3%) on 3PA. Postgame, I asked Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch how he thought the bigs handled Porzingis and winning with early positioning. Finch stated,

“I thought guys did well… they got to him quickly, took away his bounce game… He can get hot in a hurry and it’s always key with those kinds of guys to not let them have two in a row.”

The Timberwolves allowed just 109 points through four quarters and an overtime period against an elite Boston Celtics offense. The collection of defensive efforts, intensity, and execution should excite all Wolves fans. With how talented Boston is, Minnesota matched them every step of the way.

Anthony Edwards masterclassTimberwolves' Anthony Edwards holding huge clamps, with Celtics' Jayson Tatum looking tired with cuffs around his legs

What a night and what an overtime period from Anthony Edwards. In the win, Ant posted the following stat line: 38 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists on 15/25 shooting, and a +18 plus-minus. His shotmaking was off the chart, nailing multiple fadeaways and pull-up jumpers off the dribble. In a game against All-NBA forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the highest-paid player in NBA history, Edwards stole the show when it mattered the most.

After missing a potential game-winning shot to end the fourth quarter, Edwards took over in overtime. Edwards scored or assisted on 12 of the Wolves’ 14 points in the sole overtime period. Post-game, Finch said, “Guys who like the big moment are oftentimes few and far between. We’re lucky we have one on our team.”

Through the Timberwolves' first six games, three of them have been against teams that made their respective conference finals just last season. The Wolves have beaten them all, first by annihilating the Miami Heat, a wire-to-wire win over the Denver Nuggets and the latest being a nail-biting overtime win over the Boston Celtics.