MINNEAPOLIS — Jimmy Butler stepped in front of the media on Tuesday, April 3, and went to bat for his coach.

Tom Thibodeau has taken as much heat as any player for the Timberwolves’ inability to defend in his two seasons at the helm. Defense has been the coach’s calling card, yet Minnesota hasn’t seen much improvement on that end of the floor during his tenure.

Last season, the Wolves surrendered 109.1 points per 100 possessions, which ranked 26th in the NBA. This season, the Wolves are surrendering 108.9 points per 100 possessions, also 26th, despite the addition of noted defensive stalwarts such as Butler and Taj Gibson.

Unsurprisingly, Minnesota’s defense has gotten even worse since Butler was lost to a knee injury. Over the past 14 games, The Wolves are surrendering 111.6 points per game — leading to much criticism aimed at the coach.

On Tuesday, Butler insisted that responsibility falls on the players.

“We’ve got to have that will to want to guard,” Butler said. “To tell you the truth, we haven’t done it all year. We’ve had stretches where it’s looked solid, then you go back to what you’ve been seeing. All in all, we’ve just got to want to play defense.”

Thibodeau, Butler said, “Don’t got too much to do with that.”

Butler practiced in full Tuesday and appears to be in the final stages of his recovery from the torn meniscus in his right knee that has sidelined him since Feb. 24. The injury has given him plenty of time to watch his teammates play, and he doesn’t appear overly impressed.

“We’ve just got to get tougher. We’ve got to play like some dogs with a sense of urgency,” he said. “Teams just do whatever they want against us. I don’t like it. Ain’t no coach in the world that can make somebody play hard. Ain’t no coach in the world that can make anybody want it.”