NEW YORK — An old problem for the Timberwolves popped up in their loss to Portland on Sunday.
The team's transition defense allowed the undermanned Trail Blazers to run up and down the floor and score 25 fast-break points. This was a problem that appeared early in the season when the Wolves deployed the two-big lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, but it became less of a problem after Towns went out for an extended time because of a right calf injury.
The Wolves have wanted to exploit an advantage they might have on the offensive glass given their height, so they have not wanted to simply have everybody retreat once a shot goes up.
Guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker said the Wolves are caught between wanting to crash the boards and getting back, and that's why Sunday's loss happened the way it did.
"We're getting caught in the middle of both," Alexander-Walker said. "You got to do one or the other. If you crash hard enough, you might cause a disruption in their transition, where they're maybe tipping it. Maybe you keep the ball alive. … If we just definitively do one or the other between all of us, and we have rules on it, but if we just stick to our rules, everything will be a lot better."
Some of those rules include not crashing to the top of the key, or a rule that if you're out of position and have no shot of getting a rebound, don't even try to get one.
"It's getting back with urgency and before the shot goes up .. make sure you get back even before the shot hits the rim," forward Jaden McDaniels said.
In that way, transition defense can be a commentary on a team's effort. Of late, the Wolves have been allowing more points in that area.