Tom Thibodeau: Timberwolves' defense has taken 'quantum leap'

Since letting up 142 points in a loss to the Houston Rockets on Feb. 25, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been the top-ranked defense in the NBA — a small sample size, no doubt, but an improvement first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau calls a "quantum leap."

"We're moving in the right direction. The numbers will tell you that, and we look at them every day," Thibodeau told reporters in Minnesota after Wednesday night's 107-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. "I believe we're down to 13th now in points allowed (on the season), so that's a quantum leap, and it's still not where it needs to be, and we have to understand that."

Thibodeau, revered for his defensive-minded approach during his five seasons with the Chicago Bulls, was hired in April to help push Minnesota's young core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine to new heights. The Timberwolves have shown flashes throughout the season, but — plagued by repeated late-game collapses and LaVine's season-ending ACL tear — have struggled to gain any ground in the playoff race until this recent stretch, which has them 2½ games out of eighth-place in the West.

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Before this recent stretch, the Timberwolves — who are allowing just 91.1 points per 100 possessions since that shootout with Houston — ranked 23rd in the league on the defensive end of the floor, allowing 108.3 points per 100 possessions. What's more, since Jan. 1, the Timberwolves rank ninth in the NBA in point differential (plus-1.6)  — an improvement Thibodeau calls "significant."

"We're not where we need to be, but when you look at the past couple of years and where we are now, (the point differential) says we've made a big jump," Thibodeau said. " I think you have to get close to winning first, and then the winning happens. Right now, we're starting to understand. To me, it's taking care of all the little things. If we take care of all the little things, the big things are going to take care of themselves. We say it all the time that the magic is in the work. There's no shortcuts to this."

Next up, the Timberwolves host the league-leading Golden State Warriors, who have learned that life isn't so easy without injured superstar Kevin Durant. As for the rest of the month, seven of Minnesota's 10 games are on the road, where they have a 10-19 record.

"We can still be a playoff team," Towns said. "This is not out of reach yet. Just continue to chip away at games and continue to go out there and execute."