The Suns allowed Minnesota to score north of 30 in both middle quarters, something that Minnesota did just twice in their 12 quarters vs. Phoenix in the regular season. Let’s take a look at the defense of the Suns in that stretch.
In the three-game regular season series between the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota scored north of 30 in just two quarters. This speaks to the level sustained defensively from Phoenix, and how they were often able to dictate with activity and attention to detail, concerning their gameplan on that end of the floor.
It also speaks to the importance of them finding that flow on that end and being able to compile stops in multiple pockets over a game — as I’ve spoken/written/done film on — all season long.
In Game 1, the game was won in the middle quarters by Minnesota, where a game that was played in a 5-to-7-point box, expanded to double-digits by halftime and then ballooned from there.
It’s non-negotiable for Phoenix, with the top-end and offensive-minded talents they’ve compiled, to have those aforementioned sub-25-point quarters, especially registering multiple in a game — that speaks to the game being played on the Timberwolves terms and the Suns offense being succumbed to their pressure and activity.
In an optimized lens, Phoenix shouldn’t lose a game for lack of scoring. Can they lose off execution, not compiling enough stops, or being out-efforted in 50/50 scenarios — yes. But for those things in addition to being outplayed offense-for-offense is non-negotiable.
This is for many reasons, but one of the biggest being that they can set their defense on consistency, and get into their schemes from a ready-made shell.
Let’s speak to some of the slippage seen in the middle quarters of Game 1. Minnesota scored 20 points alone off 17 second-chance possessions.
Offensive rebounds garnered by Gobert are inevitable, he’s one of the best in recent memory and was 2nd there in 2024 with 3.8 a night. Instances like here, however, were aplenty. Suns smalls can’t lose track of their matchups when scanning the floor defensively.
Beal’s caught slipping here on a Conley miss that should’ve been an uncontested board for Nurkić, with Gobert at the three-point line.
The game started this way with Booker as the culprit, and the second quarter, the same, with Beal.
Credit Gobert for the screen angle, and Minnesota for their process in how they were consistently putting Allen into action, as their Waldo (preferred matchup to hunt).
Allen, however, has to be better with his screen navigation. This is just one example, but it’s non-negotiable to die on screens to this extent and concede separation against a player not receiving extra attention from Nurkić.
These instances also occurred too frequently.
This was an excellent, chaotic possession.
Notice the multiple efforts (!) and how they’re able to keep themselves in advantage defensively. Nurkić gets both feet above the three-point line early to deter Edwards’ drive, at the level of the screen. O’Neale can be better at containing the ball and Allen can be better at the nail, but Nurkić is again there.
Then the disposition and preemptive rotations from Durant as the lowman, to his rotation out on the close.
Now, he falls, but because they’re solid in their shell, but McDaniels is blind in driving into the same help that Edwards just occupied, there’s some chaos in the paint.
Nonetheless, notice Booker’s rotation firing on the closeout, Nurkić covering for Durant as McDaniels relocated and running him off the line, then Booker with the peel switch in help to stamp the stop.
Defense is mastering imperfection, in a sense of things almost never will be perfect. However, how do you as a team solve problems and put out fires on the fly, in a connected manner, while ultimately upholding your principles in scheme.
It’s not going to look the same every possession, but this is what it feels like.
Let’s speak to a few matchups first here, in reserve-adjacent lineups.
Eubanks is in the corner, cross-matched with McDaniels, which is great in process for Phoenix. O’Neale is on Reid and while I’d rather O’Neale see the bulk of initial matchups with Towns when he’s on the floor, rather than to spell Durant there, I get it.
Minnesota clears the corner and likes to use Edwards as the entry passer for Towns post-ups, all of which they do here.
Durant does his work early and pushes the catch point to near the free throw line. That forces Towns to work from further away plus buys time for his support to position — and Eubanks is on it in rim protection.
Solid.
Great early help from Booker overloading the strong block, then the rim protection again from Eubanks. Good on good.
Discipline in scheme is the problem here.
Minnesota goes to Horns Chest, where Towns screens then receives a flare screen.
How Phoenix has flattened out his (and Reids) touches in movement like this, has been to switch.
Booker’s in position to take the baton from Allen off the McDaniels screen. Allen chases. Now McDaniels is free downhill on the cut.
Because that’s supposed to be a switch, Nurkić isn’t anticipating a leak, and can’t rotate in an emergency to put the fire out in time — McDaniels 2 + 1.
This is a nearly impossible situation for Booker to defend and is where help defense has to be there in support.
One of Allen or Beal has to commit to the help here. This is a scenario where if they were comfortable enough in their switching, this scenario becomes an easy switch and they flatten out actions.
Not only is there no help on the cut, there’s also none on the shot on goal. These scenarios were few and far in the regular season series — they were comfortable conceding help off all of the Wolves perimeter players.
That sharpness has to resurface.
Talked earlier about O’Neale getting more of the initial matchup reps on Towns when he’s on the floor with Durant, we see just that here.
Minnesota loves to use Towns as a screener to set his post positioning and catch points. O’Neale sinks into the legs and pushes the spot north of the free-throw line, and Conley goes elsewhere.
Nurkić reads Beal being hung on the screen after he reaches, and gets a solid contest up.
Domino’s fall into Conley getting the offensive rebound, as he’s able to because following Nurkić’s emergency contest — stemming from Beal’s reach — Allen has to get a hit on Gobert. That leaves Allen’s man unaccounted for.
Notice, nonetheless, Nurkić fires up from drop to being at the level — playing chess in scheme with Conley — to get the deflection and stamp a stop. Nurkić led the Suns with 166 deflections and most came from his defensive activity and anticipatory skill with his hands in pick-and-roll defense.
His impacting the ball in pick-and-roll coverages is vital to their defensive process in this series.
Just watch Nurkić work here. His individual multiple efforts were there in this one mostly, needing his teammates to match the frequency.
Minnesota back in Horns Chest to start the fourth. Notice the switch between Durant and Allen. The shell is kept intact and now Gobert is forced to create 1v1 in the paint — advantage Suns here, into the stop and score.
Nurkić in conflict on this rep. This’ one helluva split here from Edwards, but the non-negotiable in hedging or any scheme at the level for the bigs is to not allow a split because there’s no help until the rim.
The problem is, that Phoenix is small in help in that secondary layer, and Edwards evades Booker’s rotation in help.
This is it right here, for me, regarding defending Towns with Durant. Work to front, rather than playing in ¾’s on the backside. This makes sense for me because when Gobert is on the floor, he’s not a scoring threat and if he’s spaced, there’s no worry.
To the latter statement, watch Nurkić rotate on a string to show the under help as Durant jumps topside.
Minnesota bled away the shot clock, and the Suns worked to the stop.
Transition defense has been a season-long bout for Phoenix. Durant is preemptive in trying to organize their matchups between himself and Nurkić, against a very moderately paced possession.
Nurkić doesn’t hear him, and promptly, Towns trails into play with a full head of steam going downhill seeing that Nurkić is on him.
Gobert does get away with an egregiously obvious hold as he eliminates Durant’s leverage.
Lastly, notice Eubanks here. Phoenix was flat-hedging to keep Edwards from turning the corner at this point. A poor hedge angle allows Edwards to steal the leverage.
Issue even more is that Eubanks then veers into Durant’s recovery lane — now a red-hot Edwards doesn’t see or feel a contest into this pull-up.
Containing the ball and being more sharp, in a sustained manner is the major adjustment for the Suns — compiling the aforementioned multiple efforts needed.
Then, I feel tweaks to their matchups — allowing O’Neale to take on the Towns and Gobert matchups in cross-matching, making their screens switches and Towns post-ups harder to navigate to — would greatly aid their team process as well as Nurkić and Durant.
We saw some of this in the fourth, and I think there are things to take away from it all in game one, to game two.
The objective was to win one before they head to Phoenix. Opportunity is there to do so, tonight, but defensively they have to show up.