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As a team that is coached by Tom Thibodeau and features staunch defender Jimmy Butler, the Minnesota Timberwolves had all the makings of a top-five defense in the NBA when the season began.
The Timberwolves even picked up Taj Gibson, who in his own right is no slouch on the defensive end. But to start the season, the team's performance on that end was eerily bad, leaving many to believe the Timberwolves would not go anywhere despite the immense amount of talent on their roster.
But lately, the Timberwolves have turned over a new leaf. The team currently ranks 16th in the NBA in defensive rating, giving up 106.2 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
That rating might seem low for a team that features the defensive players mentioned earlier, but it's a bit misleading. The Timberwolves have held their opponent to under 100 points in seven consecutive games, according to Basketball Reference. Minnesota won five of those games.
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Butler gave his thoughts recently about the newfound defensive efforts of the team, per Jace Frederick of the Pioneer Press.
More Jimmy Butler on the defense: "We started off not guarding a soul, and now we're taking pride in our defense, we're taking it personal with the matchups. I like to see that."
— Jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) January 11, 2018
It's scary to think of the Timberwolves as a defensive juggernaut, especially because they have been an underachieving team on that end of the floor for the last couple of years. Everyone thought that once the Timberwolves managed to find a way to gain a defensive identity, they would be hard to stop.
It seems that time is near. Seven games is too small a sample size. But if this trend continues, they will be a tough out in the Western Conference playoffs.
