It's only about a quarter of a season worth of sample size, but Deadspin has some interesting numbers on NBA teams and how they function in regular halfcourt sets vs. how they function offensively and defensively in possessions immediately after timeouts.

It's perhaps not surprising that the Wolves do not fare well in these situations, since they haven't fared well in most situations this season while often playing without several of their top players.

But the data isn't just raw numbers; it measures the difference between points scored (and allowed) per 100 possessions in halfcourt offense/defense in the flow of the game and the same thing coming out of timeouts.

The Wolves have the second-worst halfcourt offense in general. But their differential coming out of timeouts puts them last in the NBA. They're scoring 13.8 points fewer per 100 possessions coming out of timeouts than in normal halfcourt offense in the flow of games.

What that means is that they don't really have go-to players or go-to plays that they can draw up — something that is painfully evident via the eye test when the likes of Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin are on the sidelines.

On defense, the differential is the second-worst in the NBA. They're giving up 5.1 points more per 100 possessions coming out of timeouts than they do during in-flow halfcourt possessions. And what that means is teams have been able to exploit an already weak defense even more when given extra time to draw up something special.

This isn't necessarily an indictment of coach Flip Saunders, who has limited resources and has a reputation for being a good Xs and Os coach. But it is one area where a coach can potentially steal a few points for a struggling team. Again, it takes execution from players. Whether the concepts are stale, the players aren't executing, the talent just isn't there — or some combination of all three — the Wolves have gone from bad to worse this year coming out of timeouts, and it will be an interesting phenomenon to monitor as players gain more experience and return from injuries.