The Minnesota Timberwolves’ season has gotten off to a rocky start. They lost 122-108 in their NBA Cup opener on Tuesday but had the chance to avenge that defeat a day later. However, they suffered another loss in Portland, which saw them drop to 11th in the West. A frustrated Anthony Edwards has had enough. After their second loss to the Trail Blazers in as many days, he did not mince words in his post-game crash out.
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The guard lamented the team’s underwhelming start to the season and insisted that the players needed to do better while absolving the coaching staff of any blame. In an explosive rant, Edwards said,
“The coaches give us the f**king answers. We just not doing it as a team, 1 through 15… We come in here at 35 [minutes] on the clock, & they tell us what we need to do to win the game and somehow we don’t do it. We got to get back to it. We got to mature, man.”
The 23-year-old introspecting rather than blaming the coaches is him practicing what he’s preaching. Shouldering the blame for the poor start to the season is a sign of maturity. Minnesota should be ecstatic. They have a young leader who isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade.
But Edwards taking responsibility and calling out his teammates won’t solve their woes. They have to identify their issues and correct their course after the humbling losses on back-to-back nights in Oregon.
Why are the Timberwolves struggling?
Minnesota’s underwhelming start to the season can be pinned on their defensive regression. They had the best defense in the league last season and gave up only 106 points on average. But three weeks into the 2024-25 campaign, they rank sixth on the list of the stingiest defenses in the NBA. They are conceding 109.3 points per game, showcasing their defensive regression.
Losing Karl Anthony-Towns was a massive blow to the Timberwolves’ defense. The four-time All-Star was exceptional last season. His defensive rating of 108.7 was the seventh-best in the league and his presence on the court helped Rudy Gobert, who had terrific chemistry with the forward.
Towns used his 7-foot-4 wingspan to contest shots at the perimeter and force players to settle for tough attempts or try to score on Gobert, who laid in wait to stifle anything they put up.
On the rare occasions that the four-time Defensive Player of the Year was dragged out of the paint, Towns would slip into his teammate’s spot to ensure the Timberwolves didn’t give up easy scoring opportunities. The duo worked in perfect unison and breaking them up has led to their defense not being as effective. However, that isn’t the only reason.
Julius Randle, who was traded to Minnesota as part of the Towns deal, has no synergy with Gobert. The veteran has been a subpar defender his entire career, which hasn’t changed in Minnesota. In fact, it has affected the Frenchman as well.
Randle’s dismal defensive rating of 113.7 explains why the team, whose identity is its exceptional defense, is struggling this season. The fix for the problem isn’t straightforward.
Perhaps Minnesota could use the former Knicks forward’s ability on the offensive end to negate his defensive deficiencies. It remains to be seen what solution the Timberwolves’ coaching staff concocts, or if they can even come up with one.
