Jimmy Butler sounds off on Wolves' defense following loss to Suns

Jimmy Butler will be preaching one message and one message only for the rest of the season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves must play defense, as evidenced by their 118-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. The game dropped the Timberwolves down to 27th in defensive rating, prompting Butler to sound off about the need to buckle down.

"Offense will never be the problem all year long," Butler told ESPN's Nick Friedell. "You're always going to hear about from us, from everybody else, is we're not playing any defense. That is our biggest letdown right now. And until we fix it, a lot of outcomes are going to be like this one."

Minnesota couldn't come up with key stops when they needed to against the Suns, conceding 33 points to lose the lead in the fourth quarter. Their inability to play defense has been a running theme all season, as the Timberwolves are allowing a jaw-dropping 130.6 points per 100 possessions in the last five minutes of games within five points.

Their failure to get stops has spoiled an otherwise excellent offensive performance in clutch scenarios, where they rank eighth with 118.6 points per 100 possessions.

As a good leader does, Butler held himself accountable for the loss in Phoenix. Butler is supposed to be their shutdown wing defender, but he allowed Devin Booker and T.J. Warren to each go off for 35 points.

"We're not making guys go to their weaknesses," Butler said. "We're too busy letting guys go to their strengths, and that's on me, man. (Booker) actually whipped my tail tonight. I wasn't up on shots. He got into where he wanted to get to on the floor. I got to be better on the defensive end. It starts with me."