Timberwolves enter training camp vowing to shore up things on the defensive end

Before the Timberwolves had their first practice of training camp Tuesday, point guard Mike Conley said the team gathered for dinner Monday night.

Among the topics of discussion: What is the Wolves’ goal for this season?

“Are we coming here to put on a show, perform? Or are we trying to win a championship?” Conley said. “What are we doing? And the consensus is, we’re trying to win a championship.”

To do that, the Wolves recognize they have to recommit themselves in an area that can be their greatest strength, but an area in which they were inconsistent a season ago — defense, specifically how they pressure the ball.

Two seasons ago, the Wolves had the No. 1 defense in the NBA, and Wolves fans will long remember the image of Denver’s Jamal Murray being swallowed up by Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the playoffs. That moment was an encapsulation of the suffocation the Wolves put on their opponents night after night.

Last season, their defense was good — sixth in efficiency, a statistic that would be great for a lot of teams. But for the Wolves, it wasn’t good enough. Their defense fluctuated too much for their liking throughout the season, and that habit continued in the playoffs.

Take the Western Conference finals. In Game 3, the only game they won against eventual champion Oklahoma City, the Wolves played the kind of stifling defense they have become known for the last few seasons in a 143-101 win. But then in Game 4, that effort waned, and the Thunder put up 128 points in a two-point victory.

“[It’s about] holding each other accountable,” center Rudy Gobert said. “There’s always moments when you might not do it as much, and that’s when your teammates have got to be there to talk to you and remind you who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Defending at the point of attack requires focus, energy and attention to detail on a nightly basis, and when it comes to that aspect of defending, the Wolves need their two of their best players in that to reach their potential.

For McDaniels, that means getting back on the all-defensive team list after missing it last season.

“I think about it, but I think I can be a first or second team again, or even defensive player of the year,” the 6-foot-9 forward said. “I know the talent I have defensively and the versatility, so I just got to start earlier. I would say my defensive presence kind of came later in the season than at the start.”

Then there’s guard Anthony Edwards, who has shown he can defend at a high level when he is engaged on that end of the floor. Conley said the team told Edwards they need more from him on defense this season. Edwards has always had to conserve his energy throughout the course of a game, since the Wolves ask so much of him offensively, but that can’t be an excuse this season.

“He knows it, and it’s going to require a lot more. It’s going to get him uncomfortable a little bit. A little bit more tired, a little bit more in shape he has to be.”