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Is Thibodeau the Problem?


After another disappointing loss to the lowly Phoenix Suns on Saturday night, many questions are beginning to rise for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The biggest question fans are wondering: is head coach Tom Thibodeau’s job in jeopardy?

When the Timberwolves brought in Thibodeau, the mindset was to focus on the defensive side of the ball, as the offense surely had the scorers to produce each night. The Timberwolves are ranked fifth overall in the NBA in offensive rating, only trailing the Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors. Their defensive rating has suffered, ranking as the sixth worst out of all 30 NBA teams.

Against .500 or better teams, the Timberwolves have gone 4-8 this season, which will not bode well if they find themselves in the playoffs. They are 13-5 against below .500 teams but have had some ugly losses. Minnesota has allowed at least 108 points to the Suns in the three games they have played (Phoenix has the series record 2-1).

On offense, the team, for the most part, has it figured out. What Thibodeau and the Wolves’ coaching staff needs to figure out is how to be effective on the other end of the floor. Minutes have been a topic of interest with the head coach and his players, as many believe the team is too fatigued towards the end of the game to make the big plays on defense.



Thibodeau recently ran with a seven-man rotation, which will likely run the team into the ground by season’s end. The experiment was done already with the Chicago Bulls, and we are all witnesses to the careers of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. Jimmy Butler recently came out and said he would “have to have a talking with the coaching staff” about minutes given out. Karl-Anthony Towns said the players could approach the coaches at any time to discuss their minute situations. It appears to me with nothing changing in the past few weeks that the players are okay with what is given, if we are going to believe what Towns said was true.

Another area that raises questions on the Timberwolves is the usage of Shabazz Muhammad. The UCLA alum has appeared in 22 of the 30 games this season and recently has been buried on the bench. His scoring is something to ignite the bench and give some starters a rest, but his lack of defense is what strains him from playing time. His 11.4 minutes per game is his lowest since he was a rookie in the 2013-2014 season. Muhammad’s offense has taken a hit as well this season, but that also may play into his role on the team. For a guy to come back and take less money to give depth to an improving team, I’m sure Muhammad did not have this in mind.

So back to the Thibodeau situation—does he get the ax this season?

Since the Timberwolves are currently fourth overall in the Western Conference, I can’t imagine the Timberwolves firing their head coach. The defensive intensity needs to improve, and I would say the bench performance needs to step up as well, but if Thibodeau is only playing seven guys a game it’s difficult to believe any large contributions are coming from two guys.


If there is any saving grace at this point, it’s the fact the Timberwolves are tied with the Cavaliers for the weakest strength of schedule for the season. With about 75 percent of the season remaining, a lot can change in the coming months for this team. 
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