Despite getting a win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves made things more difficult on themselves than they needed to after the Warriors minted a second half comeback that reduced a 21-point lead at halftime down to just a 10 point victory.

After the game, while head coach Chris Finch was grateful that they got the win at all, he blasted his team for the defensive lapses they had in the game that allowed the Warriors to get back into it. 

Finch described allowing teams to come back like that as "part of their DNA" and said that giving up a 39 point quarter was simply not good enough. 

The fact that the Timberwolves are able to come out so strong to develop leads like they had over the Warriors in the first place speaks to the talent they have as a group, but the persistent problem of their inconsistent defense speaks to a worrying problem not necessarily in their abilities, but in the mental fortitude needed to close out games.

The awareness of that problem is not unique to Finch it seems. After the game, Rudy Gobert spoke on the issues the Timberwolves have that keeps them from holding onto leads and fully dominating teams.

“I think it's mental, it's not a question of talent, it's not a question of will to win," Gobert said (via Timberwolves).  "I think it's just individually, collectively we get in our own way. I think we are aware of it. Every team has strengths and weaknesses and obviously we know that this is what is keeping us from being the team that we want to be.

Gobert went on to explain that he feels like when things start off so well for the Timberwolves, they can lose focus.

It can be easy to become overconfident when a team has such a strong offensive arsenal available to them the way that the Timberwolves do and when games seem just about over by the half, their commitment slips. 

The issue with that mentality when it comes to basketball is that it's a game of runs. Especially when there's still so much time left on the clock, any team has the abilities at their disposal to mount a major comeback and turn a double-digit deficit into something much smaller, if not erase it all together. 

When the Timberwolves' offense gets the job done in the sense of establishing a lead, rather than lose focus, they need to shift their focus toward a more defensive game and prioritize keeping a lead by shutting down their opponents rather than coast by and try to outlast their opponents with the lead they already have.