Have you found yourself wondering why the Minnesota Timberwolves are struggling despite two of the best young players in the NBA today?
The answer might be how Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns play defense, according to ESPN.
While making an argument that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker were the best young duo in the NBA, the sports leader says Wiggins and Towns are among the worst defenders in the league.
Here is what they had to say about Wiggins:
“Of the nearly 40 players with at least 850 minutes played this season, Wiggins ranked dead last in steals as of Sunday, with an unimpressive steal rate of 0.7 percent. The 6-foot-8 Wiggins has 10 blocks in nearly 1000 minutes, one more than the generously listed 6-foot Ish Smith has in more than 100 fewer minutes. And of the nearly 100 players 6-foot-8 or taller to log at least 500 total minutes, only Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has grabbed a smaller percentage of available defensive rebounds.”
Yikes!
They weren’t much nicer to Towns:
“As for Towns, while he hasn’t been as bad as Wiggins, he’s not far behind. Currently ranked 402nd overall in defensive RPM (minus-1.91), Towns is also dead last among all centers. One season after ranking second among rookies in blocks per game behind only Kristaps Porzingis, Towns has regressed as his blocks per game have dropped from 1.7 to 1.4 despite playing three more minutes.”
It may not be totally fair, because the Wolves haven’t exactly been a model of consistency the last few seasons. Tom Thibodeau is still only about one-third of the way though his first season as the Wolves head coach. He’s also the third head coach Wiggins has played for in as many NBA seasons.
Besides, there are some signs things are getting a little better.
Has the Wolves defense turned a corner? Opponents numbers over the last 12 games… pic.twitter.com/YIb35sAQD0
— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) December 21, 2016
Will they be able to sustain it and turn things around?
