Timberwolves defense has become a problem at the worst possible time

You didn't have to look far to pinpoint blame for the Timberwolves' 132-114 loss to the Wizards, a loss Karl-Anthony Towns called "one of the toughest losses of the year."

The Wolves defense put up one of its worst performances of the season at the worst possible time.

"We didn't look like a team that was trying to make the playoffs," Towns said after Tuesday's defeat. "We looked a little lethargic, can't afford that."

The Wolves also can't afford any more slip-ups, and they still need a lot of help to reach the No. 6 seed and avoid the play-in tournament. Not only do they have to win their final two games, they need Denver to lose to Memphis and the Lakers.

Whatever happens with their postseason situation, the Wolves know fixing the defense in a hurry is their top priority.

The Wolves have given up 130 points or more in four of their past five games. Even in that fifth game they allowed 125. They were able to win two of those matchups, but that's not going to get them very far against whoever they play in the play-in or playoffs.

"We were fortunate to score 130 a lot of games and it's covered up our defensive lapses because our scoring was so high," Towns said.

The Wolves' main problem on defense was a common one, one that pops up every time they go through a defensive slide.

"The inability to contain the ball right now is really hurting us," coach Chris Finch said. "We can't really sit down and guard the ball."

It will help if the Wolves get Patrick Beverley back from ankle and hip soreness that has kept him out of the past two games, and Jaden McDaniels is working back into the rotation from a high left ankle sprain that caused him to miss three weeks.

But the Wolves couldn't do even an adequate job with Beverley out and McDaniels working back into a rhythm. It has been that way for a while now.

"We're just not physical enough," Finch said. "We're not putting a body on anybody. We're not making it hard for the ball handler, we're not making it hard for people coming off actions right now. We're too loose, we're too soft there. As a result, it seems like we're a step late to the play."

Part of this has to do with the Wolves' starts to games. It's hard for teams, especially young teams, to amp up their defensive intensity in the middle of a game.

Often how the Wolves play defensively at the start of the game sets the tone for the rest.

"It's always hard to turn it on when you're not 100 percent focused, especially when you're a younger team," Finch said. "We tried to get a little bit more aggressive. When we were able to get stops, we couldn't get rebounds and those were also really deflating at times."

That also took a lot of the air out of their hopes for catching the No. 6 seed. Guard D'Angelo Russell said the Wolves have been talking a big game among one another of late. But they need to prove to themselves again they can be a better-than-average defensive team.

"That goes back to the approach, the mentality and just being the best you," Russell said. "I can't do it for you. You can't do it for me. If I come to the game and practice with that approach of, 'I'm ready,' I think it will trickle down versus having to pick another guy up and you're short-handing yourself."

The Wolves have only themselves to blame for the current slide. They have shown an ability to bounce back from defensive slides and need to do so again, or the season will be over sooner than they'd like.

"Defense starts in the heart and the mind," Finch said. "It doesn't start anywhere else."