How the Minnesota Timberwolves Can Target Luka Dončić

Luka Dončić’s defense is one glaring weak spot the Timberwolves have to exploit.

In the NBA, you sometimes never get the chance to fix your mistakes. When the Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Dallas Mavericks last season, there was no guarantee that they would have a chance to get revenge on the player who caused their dream season to come crashing down.

But, as the NBA sometimes goes, the Wolves are going to get another shot at Luka Dončić, the 25-year-old superstar who was such a massive problem last season as Minnesota vied for a title. It may not be the same circumstances – new team for Luka, new personnel for the Wolves – but there are a lot of people who still remember the hammer Luka Magic brought down upon the Timberwolves last season.

There were many things Minnesota would have wanted to change about the way that series went last season, one of the largest is that they left Dončić alone on the defensive end. It was a massive oversight, and one of the biggest reasons they lost the series.

But the Timberwolves have a chance to right that wrong, and it has come much sooner than they could’ve imagined.

The crack in the dam is there, it’s just a matter of the Timberwolves being able to put the pressure needed to break that dam. There are a few ways that come to the top of mind for them to be able to do that.

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Putting Luka in the Action

The best option for attacking someone on the defensive end of the floor is to continuously make them work when on that side of the ball. Think about what the Wolves did with Nikola Jokić last year: They would have Rudy Gobert (or whoever the Joker was guarding) come up to set a ball screen nearly every time down the floor. This forced Jokić to have to work hard to stay in position, usually running the high wall so meeting the ball handler at the level, and then work all the way back in the defensive rotation to not allow an easy shot. Throughout the series, that weighs on a player, on top of attacking their greatest weakness.

This is something that the Timberwolves did not do nearly enough of in their series against Luka Dončić. He’s good at a lot of things when it comes to basketball, defending is one of the weak points. As the clips above show, when you force Dončić to guard a lot of different actions consistently, you can expose that weakness and use it for profit.

While it is different than what the Wolves did to Jokić, there are still tons of ways that they can attack him on defense. You do this by always making him work on that end of the floor: off-ball screens for the player he is guarding, ball screens that force a switch, and have him on the ball, making him be the low man and therefore responsible for protecting the rim and many, many more. If the Timberwolves successfully do this, not only will they find high percentage looks, but also force the Los Angeles Lakers‘ guards to work on defense. This will help to tire him out and make it more difficult for him to function at the highest level offensively. It may be an incremental amount, but in the playoffs, every bit counts.

All in all, it is a spot where if Minnesota can exploit effectively, it will help them to pull out the series win.

Jaden McDaniels

With this idea of consistently putting him in the action comes the all-important Jaden McDaniels. Jaden will be key this series, not only because he will most likely be getting most of the reps defending Luka, but the Lakers are probably going to try to “hide” Dončić on McDaniels on the other end. It then becomes imperative for Slim to attack that matchup and make sure that #77 has to do all the things that are in section one.

Jaden McDaniels will have to be able to execute on the plays drawn up for him, be an effective screener to help force switches if a player is trying to attack Dončić, bully on the offensive glass to get extra possessions or force him to boxout, and, most importantly, not relegate himself to solely being a corner three point shooter. If McDaniels stays stationary in the corner and shoots the spot-up three every time he gets it, the Lakers will live with that all day long.

McDaniels has a history of raising his game in the playoffs. His shooting gets better, and he becomes a great option in the usage that he is given. If Luka Dončić is the one that the Lakers choose to guard Jaden, he has to be effective in taking advantage of that with his improved offensive game from this year.

Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Isolation Buckets

Another way the Wolves can attack Luka Dončić is by forcing him to guard 1on1. This one is last for a reason. When the idea of “matchup hunting” comes up, it’s easy to picture a screen, followed by a switch, and then that player going 1on1 against whatever player was switched on to them. It is a part of the equation, but the Timberwolves cannot be so obsessed with this iso ball to the point that ball movement goes by the wayside. To target Dončić, they will profit much more from forcing him to guard actions than they will if they strictly try to go 1-on-1 against him.

However, it is still important to have this idea in play while running offensive sets. Minnesota would much rather have Anthony Edwards attacking Luka Dončić than if he were driving against Jarred Vanderbilt. There will be a time and a place for this type of matchup hunting, but diagnosing that situation and not resorting to it as the default is almost as important as trying to exploit this matchup in the first place.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Timberwolves do have a lot of buttons they can press to get the upper hand against the Lakers and take hold of the series, but they have to figure out which button to press and when. Being able to effectively find this matchup and force Luka Dončić to defend for every minute he is on the floor is a huge part of attempting to minimize his damage offensively. If they don’t pick at this matchup, Minnesota knows all too well what the consequences are.