Defense will be top of mind for both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns when the teams tip off Friday night in Minneapolis.
Minnesota (41-32) will return to the court after a three-day break. The Timberwolves spent some of that time in practice sessions watching film of recent defensive breakdowns.
“The film doesn’t lie,” Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. “When you look at the film and you look at every single guy making mental mistakes, not just mentally, but the effort that we’re putting forth in one game compared to another game, you can’t have that drastic change like that.”
Phoenix (35-38) also wants to tighten up its defense after allowing 132 points in a loss against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. The loss followed a four-game win streak for the Suns, and coach Mike Budenholzer said he had seen big-picture progress despite Wednesday’s struggles.
“I think we should be able to fall back on the progress we’ve been making,” Budenholzer said. “(Against Boston), we got punched. … We’ve got to find a way to be better, get ready.
“The great thing about the NBA is that we’ve got a chance to go defend on Friday. We’ve got to do better defensively Friday.”
Both teams are eager for a win to try to improve their playoff positioning. The Timberwolves would like to climb back into one of the top six spots in the Western Conference and avoid a play-in scenario, and the Suns are trying to hold onto a play-in spot as other clubs look to knock them out.
Anthony Edwards leads Minnesota with 27.3 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting from the field, including 39.5 percent shooting from 3-point range. Julius Randle is averaging 18.6 points, and Naz Reid ranks third with 14.7 points per game.
Kevin Durant leads the Suns with 26.9 points per game on 53 percent shooting, including 43 percent from beyond the arc. Devin Booker (25.5 ppg) and Bradley Beal (17.3) round out the top three scorers.
Beal has been ruled out for Friday’s contest because of a left hamstring strain. It will be the sixth game in a row that he has missed.
Budenholzer said he would continue to look for his big men, Nick Richards and Oso Ighodaro, to help guard the perimeter when needed. Richards had 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in his most recent game but seemed to struggle with getting out toward the 3-point line to disrupt shots.
“We’re going to probably stick with Nick and Oso and play those two bigs for the 48 minutes,” Budenholzer said. “In some ways, it’s a good test or a good opportunity for Nick to get better (with) scrambling and finding shooters.
“The way the league is built now, there’s going to be nights where Nick is going to have to find 3-point shooters, Nick is going to have to get rotations. I think he got better as the game went (along).”
This will be the fourth and final matchup of the regular season between the teams. The Timberwolves have won each of the first three games, including a 116-98 victory in the latest meeting March 2 in Phoenix.
