National Basketball Association

Kris Dunn's defensive prowess could propel Timberwolves to next level defensively

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Prior to a game early last season between the Providence Friars and the Michigan State Spartans, Magic Johnson was asked to give his two cents on Kris Dunn. Before he even opened his mouth, his eyes widened as he shook his head vigorously from side to side almost as if to say “he’s a bad man.”

To be sure, Kris Dunn is a bad man. He excels at almost every aspect of the game, not least of which is on the defensive end with his ability to recognize and tirelessly fight through numerous screens. While the Minnesota Timberwolves already possess a strong backcourt that’s growing quickly defensively in Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine, bringing in a headstrong, physical guard like Dunn will only add defensive flexibility as well as bolster what the Wolves are trying to accomplish on that end of the floor.

Individually, Dunn’s uncanny ability to fight through multiple screens while hanging tight to his man’s hip for an entire possession will help him quickly adjust at the next level, and prevent him from being a defensive liability like most rookies. In the game against Michigan State early in his final season at Providence with Magic Johnson in attendance, Dunn drew the tough assignment of tailing Denzel Valentine most of the night.

Valentine, a versatile scorer, finished with just 17 points on 5-14 shooting from the field, largely because of his inability to shed Dunn from his side. On a play detailed below early in the second half, Dunn is guarding Valentine on the low block as the play develops. Valentine curls to the perimeter off of a down screen before receiving the ball near the top of the key. At that point, a Spartan big man comes up to set a high ball screen, but Dunn snuffs it out in time to fight through it. Dunn is excellent at making narrowing his body, which is key to his ability to slither past screens without making contact that could slow down his pursuit.

Even though it seems like Valentine is a good half step ahead of Dunn, the shark-like guard closes the gap quickly regaining his ground in front of Valentine. As Valentine is forced to stop dead in his tracks, Dunn utilizes his quick hands to rip the ball away. The ability to stick with both quick and big guards alike will suit Dunn well in the NBA and set him apart from his peers.

While positioning and tactical awareness are crucial elements of being a good defender, hustle is part of the equation as well. Dunn possesses an unbelievable motor that he constantly flashed in college as he carried the Friars on both ends of the court. His motor was on full display on a particular defensive possession against a very good Xavier team last season.

The play begins with Dunn guarding the ball handler in the pick-and-roll on the right wing. He recognizes the ball screen early and positions himself to get through it with ease no matter which direction his man chooses to go. His man heads toward the baseline, and Dunn quickly pursues. The big man does a good job dropping back and not allowing Dunn’s man to turn the corner, but Dunn’s positioning helps stifle Xavier’s attack.

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Once the path to the basket is cut off, Dunn’s man shuffles the ball back to the big man on the wing. Dunn overplays and tries to kick the ball away, so the big man smartly hits the guard on a backdoor cut. Most defenders would give up at this point, but Dunn stays active and sticks with the play. He sprints into the paint just as the ball is dropped off to a Xavier post player on the opposite low block. Dunn gets there just in time to knock the ball loose and come up with a steal. Dunn’s desire to compete on every play will make his teammates in Minnesota fall in love with him, and it will also help him overcome some typical rookie positioning mistakes.

In The Association, Dunn will be forced to fight through all types of screens to stick with his man. On another play in the same game against Xavier, Dunn perfectly illustrates just how well he can fight through a tough screen and recover. His man curls hard off of a down screen and pops to the wing. Dunn is trailing on his hip the entire way, and he is there to close out aggressively as his man catches the ball. Notice how Dunn chops his feet as he closes out. This enables him to quickly change directions if his man puts the ball on the deck, which he does.

With all the overload and gap schemes employed in the NBA, particularly by new Timberwolves’ head coach Tom Thibodeau, Dunn must be able to close out quickly on his man after a quick swing pass without enabling his opponent to use his speed against him and go right around him. Chopping his feet and establishing a low stance early like he does on this play will prevent him from being taken advantage of by sharpshooters that he will inevitably be tasked to defend.

Recognizing schemes and defensive coverages in the NBA is always a sharp learning curve for rookies. That’s why it’s so impressive that Dunn demonstrated, on multiple occasions in college, that he understands which direction to shade a ball handler in order to keep the defense on a string and enable a complicated scheme to work.

Faced with another ball screen on the wing in a game against Marquette, Dunn sees that his man is looking to turn the corner off of the pick and get to the middle of the floor. Dunn savvily takes a high step toward the half court line to isolate the ball handler and force him to down the pick and head toward the baseline. His teammates on the weak side are all shadowing their man perfectly, so there’s no skip pass to be made once Dunn’s man heads to the corner. Dunn helps the big man trap the ball in the corner, and Dunn kicks the ball out of bounds as his man attempts to deliver a pass back to the big on the wing.

Smothering defense like this is impressive for a young guy like Dunn, and his ability to recognize coverages and play in a coordinated effort with his teammates could be incredibly dangerous for Timberwolves opponents. The big man helping Dunn corral the ball handler in the corner will now be Karl-Anthony Towns, a defensive force both inside and out. With Thibs in charge, Dunn’s aggressive nature will certainly be put to good use early and often.

Another element that will make Dunn even more of a defensive menace at the next level is his versatility and ability to switch on screens. Almost every NBA team is now looking for interchangeable players who can flow between positions and pick up multiple players defensively. This takes away a lot of the advantage offenses have by forcing switches in an attempt to force a weaker defender to guard a skilled ball handler. With three guards over 6-4 in the fold in Rubio, LaVine, and Dunn, the Timberwolves could feasibly switch on many guard to guard screens without missing a beat.

Dunn demonstrates how this could look in a game against Georgetown. A little cut to the low block by Dunn’s man after a fake handoff at the elbow sets the play in motion. As Dunn’s man sets a down screen and gives the wing in the corner an option to pop out high to receive the ball, Dunn wisely plays the open space and is willing to pick up the man from the corner if he does pop. Switching on actions like this does wonders for keeping an offense at bay because it prohibits the offense from gaining a step on the defense at any point.

Once the man from the corner cuts baseline to the opposite corner, Dunn once again demonstrates his knack for following the ball easily fighting through a ball screen and preventing his man from getting into the paint.

Dunn’s offensive firepower is heavily discussed and swooned over, but his defensive prowess should not be overlooked. Defensive struggles usually keep rookies off the floor, but Dunn will have less work to put in before becoming an above-average NBA defender, if the skills he demonstrated in the aforementioned videos are any indication.

With Thibs in charge, Rubio, LaVine, and Dunn manning the backcourt, and Towns patrolling all over the court, the Timberwolves could quickly become a pesky defensive team that not even the best NBA offenses look forward to facing.