Butler rips Wolves' defense: 'It starts with me'

Jimmy Butler has earned a reputation (and a moniker) as a certified bucket-getter, but the three-time All-Defensive player has really made his bones at the unsexy end of the floor.

And yet, Butler's arrival in Minnesota has so far done little to turn around the Timberwolves' lackluster defense. With nearly a quarter of the season in the books, the Wolves are three games above .500 and rank sixth in the NBA in offensive efficiency, but they also have a negative net rating and the 25th-ranked defense.

After they surrendered 109 points - and a galling 19-of-39 mark from 3-point range - in a loss to the Miami Heat on Friday night, Butler snapped.

"To me it doesn't matter," he told reporters, when asked whether the repetitive mistakes were old or new. "We haven't guarded anybody all year long. So, different mistakes, same mistakes, we have to eventually figure it out and want to play defense and stop trying to outscore the opponent."

Butler, who had defensive lapses as egregious as anyone's during Friday's game, didn't shy away from personal responsibility.

"It starts with me and goes all the way down the line," he said. "We have to start guarding. It's getting ridiculous."

The loss was just the third at home for Minnesota this season, but Butler feels the fans will turn on the team in a hurry (if they haven't already begun to) unless the Wolves clean things up at the defensive end.

"I heard some boos in there and rightfully so," he said. "If we don't want to play hard and do what we're supposed to do, they're not going to come support us. We need to change it around quickly."