14 stats to explain Cavs 131-122 loss to Timberwolves: Defense remains an issue

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ poor defense and bad starting lineup choice did them in as they fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves131-122.

The stats in the table below are from Cleaning the Glass.

Now, let’s dive into the numbers.

• The Cavs’ starting lineup featuring the core four and Craig Porter Jr., was a -19 in nine and a half minutes. They were outscored by nine in their five-minute run in the first quarter and by 10 in their four and a half minutes in the third quarter. There’s no situation where you can be outscored that much at the start of both halves and expect to compete.
• Minnesota made its first seven field-goal attempts. This set the tone for a game that they would absolutely control on that end. The Timberwolves compiled an impressive 127.2 offensive rating (84th percentile) despite going 9-17 (52.9%) from the charity stripe.
• The Timberwolves went 20-38 (52.6%) from three (98th percentile). The Cavs’ defense was a mess all night. They continually missed rotations which led to wide-open outside looks. The Cavs have talked repeatedly about not being connected and communicating well defensively. Plays like that are what they’re talking about.

• The Timberwolves also went 18-23 (78.3%) on their shots in the restricted area (83rd percentile). Minnesota is good at getting to the rim, and they deserve credit for doing so. At the same time, the Cavs didn’t make it particularly difficult for them to do so. The poor defensive rotations and breakdowns that led to open threes also allowed Minnesota to get to the basket at will.

• The Cavs forced 16 turnovers and outscored the Timberwolves 24-14 on points off turnovers. Head coach Kenny Atkinson wants his defense to be constantly pressuring the ball, trapping, and getting steals. They did so extremely well on Thursday and reaped some of the benefits of doing so. But, as seen with how easily the Timberwolves were able to get open threes and looks at the rim, the Cavs either aren’t good enough or don’t understand where the rotations need to be for this defense to produce consistent results. Even when the defense does what it wants to do, the consequences far outweigh the benefits.
• The Timberwolves were in the 77th percentile in transition points added. This has been a recurring issue for the Cavs. Their poor outside shooting (as was the case here) and inconsistent effort have led to this happening.
• The Cavs lost the third quarter by 21 points. It’s the most points they’ve been outscored by in a quarter this season. Their previous worst was 19.
• Sam Merrill went 5-11 from three. He almost single-handedly willed the Cavs back into the game with his 11 fourth-quarter points. Merrill has elevated seemingly all aspects of his game this season, which includes his already deadly outside shot.
• Cavaliers outside of Merrill went 6-22 (27.3%) from three. That just isn’t a good number for a team whose offense is still predicated on the outside shot.
• The Timberwolves scored 27 more points from beyond the arc. It’s nearly impossible to overcome that large a margin in the three-point shot. Even if you control the paint as the Cavs did.
• Cleveland went 22-29 (75.9%) in the restricted area (76th percentile). Their ability to get to and finish at the rim allowed them to have a below league-average offensive output despite the three-ball not falling. The Cavs outscored the Timberwolves 66-50 in the paint.
• Donovan Mitchell went 8-12 (66.6%) on two-point shots. This is what allowed him to score a game-high 30 points despite going 2-8 from three.
• The Cavaliers are now 5-12 against teams that are top 10 in point differential. They’ve consistently been on the wrong side of these matchups. For comparison, they were 16-6 against such opponents last season.
• Cleveland has now tied their loss total for all of last season. The Cavs registered their 18th loss in their 82nd game last season. This year, they’ve done so after just 39. What a difference a year makes.