On Wednesday, the Clippers had one of the best three-point performances in NBA history.
Los Angeles became the 13th team in NBA history to shoot 58% or better from three-point range while attempting at least 35 threes in a game. On the flip side, it was not a good night for the Timberwolves' three-point percentage defense, which came back to the middle of the pack. The three-point defense stood at 14th (33.7%) entering Friday. Prior to Wednesday, it was third (29.9%).
Of course any defense would like to give up no open shots, but in the Wolves' current defensive system, in which they prefer to play at the level on screens and use weak-side defenders in rim protection, there might be open looks from the perimeter as the ball swings around.
Just how many open looks they allow is the question.
"I think a little bit, we didn't have that physicality we usually play with," center Karl-Anthony Towns said after Wednesday's loss. "I think our first couple games you saw really gritty Wolves. I thought you see people who were really being physical, really up into the opponents and making life hell for them."
They may have also benefited from some clunky shooting from opponents.
NBA.com tracking data tell how far away shooters are from defenders and entering Friday, the Wolves were 14th in allowing "open" three-point attempts, the same ranking as their overall three-point percentage defense. The NBA considers a shooter open if the nearest defender is four to six feet away. Teams were shooting 14.3 open attempts on the Wolves. Teams were hitting those shots against the Wolves at a 30% clip, which is lower than all but seven teams. There could be some regression coming for the Wolves in that category.
Meanwhile, the Wolves were allowing 19.4 "wide-open" threes entering Friday. That's the seventh-highest mark in the league. Opponents were hitting those shots at a 36.8% clip, 19th best in the league.
