The Timberwolves aren’t just winning on defense right now - they’re making a point.
Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks offered another clean example. Dallas is not exactly an offensive juggernaut, sitting around league average in offensive rating, and the shot-making wasn’t there.
But Minnesota’s effort went beyond taking advantage of a cold night. The Wolves’ defense once again looked like the kind of unit that can bother anybody in the league.
Minnesota enters play with the NBA’s best defensive rating at 103.8, and that number carries real weight when you stack it against the franchise’s recent history. The only time the Wolves have been in this neighborhood lately was the 2023-24 group, the same season Rudy Gobert won Defensive Player of the Year. At this point in 2023, Minnesota’s defensive rating was 102.1.
What stands out now is how complete it looks. In the halfcourt, the Wolves are grinding possessions into bad shots, with defenders holding up on an island and steering action toward Gobert.
In transition, the rotations are clean, the corners are covered, and drivers are getting cut off before they can turn the defense around. Even LaMelo Ball, who had previously been viewed as a defensive liability in his path to Minnesota, is now part of the engine.
“I knew he was all about winning, and that’s pretty much all I knew about him,” Jonathan Kuminga said afterwards, with the shrug and smile that he did not know LaMelo could defend at the level that he is right now. “I’m happy to see him trying, and that’s all that matters...I’m really happy and glad to see him trying.”
Ball finished with two steals and posted an 80.7 defensive rating, which was tied for the best mark in the starting lineup. But the bigger story is the way the group is carrying itself.
The energy looks connected. The effort looks shared.
It has the feel of that 2023-24 team that played defense on a string and seemed to enjoy every second of it.
Before the game, Mavericks head coach Dusty May said he liked the fun Minnesota seemed to have as a defensive group. That vibe is showing up inside the Wolves’ own locker room too.
“It’s led to the connectivity of course,” head coach Chris Finch said. “Even when we break outside the scheme, guys are just making the next effort, and I think that’s because they do like each other, and it’s a great intangible to have.”
The rebounding piece is just as important. Last season, Minnesota finished eighth in defensive rating, and the year still ended with Gobert placing fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting without a single first-place vote. Finch later said the team had not done enough to support Gobert as the anchor, and the frustration around that group was obvious at times.
This season feels different on the glass. With a bigger frontcourt, the burden has shifted to Gobert and Julius Randle to finish possessions, and Minnesota has responded.
Through 12 games, the Wolves lead the league with 48 rebounds per game. They’re also 10th in contested rebounds per game and fifth in rebounding percentage.
That’s a team-wide job, but the roster makeup matters too. A smaller team mentality has forced everyone on the floor to chip in, and it helps to have one of the game’s better offensive rebounders already in Joan Beringer, even this early in his career.
It’s still early - just about one seventh of the season is in the books, and attrition is coming for everybody. But right now, the Timberwolves look like one of the league’s elite teams, and their defense is sending the message loud and clear.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Face A Pregame Injury Question Against The Bulls
The Timberwolves are back at Target Center on November 14 with a pregame injury question hanging over a matchup that already carries some early-season weight. Chicago arrives with three players on its injury report, while Minnesota has two names to monitor, leaving both sides to sort through availability before tipoff and adjust around the players who have helped drive each teams early statistical profile.
For Minnesota, the bigger concern is simply getting through the night with a clean rotation against a Bulls team that has shown enough across the board to make this a real test. The injury list gives the game an extra layer of uncertainty, and with both clubs carrying notable absences into the matchup, the final word on who is available could shape how the Timberwolves approach the opening stretch at home. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Are Building Something Dangerous Without Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards is still working back from knee surgery, but the Timberwolves have hardly looked like a team waiting around for help. During this recent run, Minnesota has stacked up wins behind a defense that has kept opponents uncomfortable and a group of fill-in contributors who have made the offense look far less dependent on one star than it did earlier in the season.
LaMelo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu have given the Wolves a steady lift, Bones Hyland has supplied scoring punch off the bench, and Jonathan Kuminga has added another layer on both ends. The result has been a stretch that says a lot about Minnesotas depth and resilience, even if the bigger question remains how this version of the team will look once Edwards is ready to return. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Edwards Is Still Driving The Wolves While Sidelined
Anthony Edwards may be stuck on the sideline for now, but he has not disappeared from the Timberwolves day-to-day rhythm. Since undergoing right knee arthroscopic surgery, he has stayed close to the team by attending practices and games, keeping his presence felt around the locker room and helping maintain the edge that has defined Minnesotas start without him.
The Wolves have handled his absence well enough on the court, going 6-2 and sitting near the top of the league in both defensive and net ratings. Even so, the bigger takeaway for Minnesota is how much Edwards still seems to matter beyond his own box score, with his communication and involvement giving the group a steadying voice while it waits for its star to return. [Read more 🡒]