Timberwolves miss Patrick Beverley's presence on defense

ORLANDO – All was well for the Timberwolves in the start of their loss Friday to the Magic. Patrick Beverley had hit his first three three-pointers of the night but also at the 7 minute, 55 mark picked up his third foul.

Beverley exited the game and went down the tunnel. He didn't return with what the Wolves said was an injury to his right eardrum. Beverley sat out Saturday's game at Miami as well.

The Wolves struggled defensively most of the night. That's not a surprise. When Beverley is off the floor, the Wolves have a defensive rating of 109.4 allowed per 100 possessions. That's the second-highest mark on the team of regular rotation players outside of Jordan McLaughlin (109.5 – it's worth it to note McLaughlin was also out Friday because of a right groin tightness).

But the Wolves know they have a hole defensively when Beverley isn't on the floor.

When asked to quantify how much they miss him when Beverley is not out there, center Karl-Anthony Towns said, "a lot."

"He's a big defensive stopper for us," Towns said. "And we just gotta pick up the pieces, we can't make excuses."

Some of the biggest things Beverley brings are his words along with his defensive actions. The talkative Beverley helps put players where they need to be and isn't afraid to dole out blunt advice when needed.

"[We miss] his communication, his aggressiveness, and just knowing he out there — we got somebody who's going to get into the ball," Anthony Edwards said. "Get a couple steals, a couple hard fouls. A lot of that type of stuff."

Still, the Wolves can't use Beverley's absence as an excuse for their defensive slippage. By this time of the season, they should know how to play without him, considering he has missed 22 games because of injury.

"We got to be more than just Patrick Beverley on defense," coach Chris Finch said.

Forward Jarred Vanderbilt missed Saturday's game because a left thigh contusion that also kept him out of Wednesday's game. Finch noted Vanderbilt could "barely move" in Friday.

Finch said Vanderbilt's injury can be tricky one to assess and heal.

"Moving forward, this deep thigh contusion, it's kind of an odd one," Finch said. "If you ever had one, the only way to loosen it up is by moving, but it hurts too much to move. Just got to keep working on it. The way he plays, he needs all of his physical attributes to be highly impactful."

The only silver lining for the Wolves on Friday was that Edwards said his knee felt great afterward. During the game, Edwards was constantly stretching his knee with bands, icing it or working it out in the tunnel near the Wolves bench.

Edwards wanted to be ready to play against Miami in what he said was a big game for the Wolves.

"I felt wonderful," Edwards said. "I know we lost, but as far individually, my game, my confidence in my knee, everything feels great right now. I was pretty happy out there."

Towns went an "unacceptable" 10-for-15 from the foul line on Monday against Portland. That didn't sit right with him. So in the days after that, Towns said he went to his second free-throw form.

In the two games since, he has gone 13-for-14 and said he patterned that form after the late Kobe Bryant.

"I got two free throw routines I have …" Towns said. "The way the ball and the rhythm was just feeling for me shooting that way, it just wasn't it. So I always have another free throw routine in my back pocket."