The Timberwolves Defense Is Built To Swarm—Can The Dallas Mavericks Handle It?

Who to swarm, what to swarm, where to swarm, when to swarm, why to swarm, and how to swarm so effectively you only allow 14 points in a quarter—welcome to the Minnesota Timberwolves playoff edition of their swarming defense.  

A clank here, a flawless defensive switch, textbook boxing out, a professional basketball team that actually puts its hands up on defense, a stolen ball or two at half-court, a blocked shot there—worrying about the swarming defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves will most likely keep the Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and the rest of the Mavs coaching staff up late into the coming nights.    

The Minnesota Timberwolves were built to beat the Denver Nuggets, but what about the latest version of the Dallas Mavericks?

First, just go ahead and ignore what happened between the Mavs and T-Wolves in the regular season. From key player injuries on both teams to the Mavericks' mid-season roster overhaul, which includes adding two big men to their front line in P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford, there really is no solid matchup footage worth exploring that will have any relevance to the outcome of this series.

The story of the Minnesota Timberwolves' historic comeback in Game 7 against the Nuggets was less about an offensive outburst and more about the Timberwolves' swarming defense. Yes, Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley played outstanding defense down the stretch, but the real defensive stars were the Wolves frontcourt.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and the NBA’s 6th man of the year, Naz Reid, all played integral roles in the Timberwolves, only allowing the former champs to score 14 points in the third quarter, which completely flipped the script from a Nuggets 20 point lead to a Timberwolves 8 point, on the road, Game 7 victory.

So, heading into the Western Conference Finals, the question is, how will the Timberwolves fare against the Dallas Mavericks? 

From a strategic standpoint, both teams can play big or small. Both teams have superstars who can score more than 40 points in a game, and both teams have deep enough benches that can step up.

The Timberwolves' advantage is in their head coach, Chris Finch, and the rest of the Wolves' coaching staff, who have proven throughout the season that they know how to make massive in-game adjustments that make a difference. 

While Jason Kidd is an excellent head coach, Finch seems more in tune with his entire roster's strengths and weaknesses. If you go back and watch the last two Timberwolves wins, you will see that Finch outcoached Nuggets head coach Mike Malone.

The changes and adjustments made by the Wolves' coaching in the middle of the third quarter of Game 7 were legendary. The Wolves dismantled the Nuggets' rhythm and only allowed 14 points in the quarter.

Just for a minute, imagine being a Game 7 on the road, down by twenty points and coming up a strategy that your players buy into. It’s that connection that Finch has with his players that gives him a coaching advantage over Kidd.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, will both get their points, which the Timberwolves' coaching staff will probably concede as they turn their attention to shutting down the others. For example, in Game 7, Jokic and Murray scored over 30 points, but the Wolves dismantled Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, who scored just 11 points.

The true test for the Timberwolves' swarming defense will be shutting down Washington and Gafford and not allowing Dereck Lively, Derrick Jones Jr., and Tim Hardaway Jr. free rein to get hot. The game-to-game adjustments will be interesting for both teams, but Finch's in-game Timberwolves defensive adjustments are where this series will be won.    

There will not be a sweep in this series, and it will most likely go at least six games. Luka, Kyrie, and company are too good just to lie down.

Simply put, I believe the strength of the Timberwolves' defense will ultimately prevail in this series, and while Anthony Edwards will most likely have some electrifying scoring games, his ability to take on Kyrie and possibly slow him down just enough so the Wolves can work their way into the NBA Finals is how I see this all playing out.