ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Timberwolves made an unexpected surge up the defensive ladder this season. Despite a lack of astute defenders, Minnesota closed the NBA regular season ranking 13th in defensive rating, surrendering 111 points per 100 possessions.
That came almost entirely on the back of one pick-and-roll scheme — the “high-wall,” where the defender covering the screener stayed at the level of the screen to defend the ball handler until the primary defender could get back to his man. The scheme took advantage of Karl-Anthony Towns’ ability to play on the perimeter and utilized Minnesota’s general speed and athleticism as it scrambled around to cover everyone up while hiding players less capable of guarding players man to man.
That scheme held up against Memphis in the first round of the playoffs, as using Towns at the level took away many of Ja Morant’s seams to get into the paint. The Grizzlies’ star guard — who scored 47 points in Memphis’ Game 2 second-round win over Golden State — was an inefficient scorer in the first-round series, which the Grizzlies won in six games.
