LaMelo Ball is guarding Minnesota into a bigger Spurs threat than the trade ever suggested

I did not see this version of the Timberwolves coming, and I don't know many who did. Minnesota opened the season by winning three straight by at least 20 points, then went to Cleveland on Monday and lost 127-125 in overtime. They'll arrive at Frost Bank Center on Halloween, Saturday, and right now, Chris Finch's team carries one of the league's best defenses with a 100.5 defensive rating.

This is but also isn't the same team the Silver and Black put out of the playoffs in the second round in May. The LaMelo Ball trade was supposed to be an offense story. Minny sent Naz Reid and some picks to Charlotte over the summer for a guard who averaged 20-plus for six years on a team that never got out of the play-in.

The expectation was more shot creation, but I also believed the defense would worsen at the point of attack. The first part came true, but my second belief is not coming to fruition at all.

LaMelo Ball is guarding like never before

Ball is playing defense like his hair is on fire. I'm truly impressed by the effort. We just haven't seen it before. Minnesota's defense has been at its best with him on the floor, allowing 81.2 points per 100 possessions in his minutes. LaMelo is generating 4.0 deflections per 36 minutes—the most for his team.

He and Jaden McDaniels were each a plus-68 across three games last week. Don't even get me started on McDaniels. The versatile 6'9" forward is averaging 15 points on 59.1% FG and 42.9% 3PT. As far as pipe-dream targets for the Spurs, Jaden is at the top of my list. He'd be the perfect starting four in Mitch Johnson's guard-heavy unit, but alas, that's not happening.

Getting back to Ball, there was no way to know how he'd respond to being in a real competitive situation because he's never been in one. Six seasons in Charlotte, 303 games, zero playoff appearances, and three trips to the play-in with a 1-3 record. Go back further to Chino Hills. That environment wasn't exactly built on getting stops either.

The question about him was never talent, but whether the competitive fire was truly there enough to give all of himself to the ultimate goal. Four games in, he's answering it, and that makes the top of the West more complicated for the Spurs.

Minnesota's three-point volume is the Spurs' opening

The Timberwolves run much of their offense through the three. They've put up 158 of their 375 field goal attempts from behind the arc, 42% of their shots. Anthony Edwards is second among individual players in threes taken per game with 11.3, and LaMelo is 19th with 8.0. Altogether, Minny is averaging 39.5 attempts a night at 39.9%.

Against the Cavs, they shot 13-of-40 from deep, 32.5%, while Cleveland hit 18-of-45. Ant Man put up 47 points, and it still wasn't enough. The adage "live by the three, die by the three" still applies in the NBA's current three-point-heavy climate.

Is that who they are this season? If the shots fall, the Wolves win, and if they don't, they lose? I can't say for sure yet. Four games isn't enough time. They have a real counterpunch with that defense if it holds. A team that can get stops doesn't need the shots to fall every night. Spurs fans know that.

Still, the Silver and Black will be the best team they've faced, so Saturday will be a pretty good test for both teams. Minnesota is going to be one to watch. That's a good and bad thing. I wanted them good enough to maintain the competitiveness of the rivalry building between these two franchises. I didn't want them good enough to actually threaten to knock San Antonio out of the ring.

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