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 ...

The acquisition of All-Star Jimmy Butler was the big offseason move for the Minnesota Timberwolves, expecting the team’s performance to be better on both sides of the ball. Through the first 24 games the Timberwolves played in the 2016-2017 season, their record was 6-18 and their defense was allowing a putrid 107.3 points per game. Fast forward to this year, and the Wolves’ record with Butler on the floor (missed two games with an illness) is 15-9. Their defense with Butler has been slightly better, but not by any marginal value. What Butler has contributed dramatically over his last 12 games is offense—and a lot of it. Chemistry issues have been the ongoing question for this team this season, and early on it appeared the former Chicago Bull was struggling. In his first 12 games this season, Butler averaged 15.3 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting from the floor. He also held a minuscule 1.2 plus-minus rating, which is well below the expected outcome for Tomball, Texa...