The Positivity Thread

[minimus]

The young guys are all completely and totally legit. Dieng, Bazz, Lavine, Bennett, Wiggins - even Rubio's still young - those are nice pieces going forward. A lot of basketball talent. Bennett looks great. That stroke is soaking wet. And so quick! Should be practicing his three ball. And Wiggins?!? Don't even!

Health (looking at you, Ricky) is the key, as is so often the case.

Yes, I totaly agree. I would add chemistry and balance as key factors. For example, with 3rd PG we could continue rookie development even without RR and Mo. With shotblocker at PF we could give some insurance to our perimeter defender.

[urinesane]

We're not the Lakers!

[urinesane]

I think we found the bottom.

[minimus]

I think we are officially tanking

[Tirion]

Flip is a genius, dat tank was magnificient. I already have my sights on Okafor.

[southern wolf]

This future lineup would be pretty damn exciting:

Rubio
Shabazz/Lavine
Wiggins
Thad/Bennett
Okafor/Dieng

[urinesane]

Could have won that game last night with a few extra plays, but they also could have followed up the Philly debacle with a blowout to the Rockets.

Moral victories suck, but the Wolves bounced back well last night and showed heart!

[TheZachAttack]

Rubio
Wiggins
Shabazz
______ (Towns Jr?)
Pekovic

Bench

Bennett (Think the guy is at least a solid 6th man, big off the bench)
Dieng (Defensive big)
Zach Lavine (James Harden Role)
Glenn Robinson III (3+D guy eventually)


Think of a small ball lineup of...

Rubio
Wiggins
Shabazz
Bennett
Towns Jr

[TheZachAttack]

Plus the ways Bazz scores are pretty reliable ways to score....

--Open 18 footer or 3 in either corner.
--Backdoor baseline cuts
--Hook on the block
--Offensive rebounding

But they key is he operates in all of these areas and always goes up hard and goes through contact, so he can draw a lot of fouls as well as finish at a high rate in traffic because he is fearless and wants the bucket. I don't see any of those skills as really flukey things. His motor and fearlessness get him basically all of his buckets. He doesn't care who it is he's going up against.


Not to mention the perfect complement for a guy like Rubio and a guy who can also command the ball and score if guys start to sag off rubio and it makes it tough for him. He can do either of those things. Rubio makes up for his biggest defeciencies which are passing and just lack of impact in the other facets because Rubio is off the charts in impact in all of those areas.

I'm really excited to see Bazz with Rubio.


Guy is averaging 18 points on 58% shooting in 24 minutes a game in the last 5 and he's in great shape, I'm confused about how much impact he has, but I think he's a 20 point scorer

[djeros612]

Been supporting bazz since we drafted him I really hope he continues to improve .

Lavine is looking like a stud , very interested to see him bulk up in the offseason and see what impact that has on his overall game.

Wiggins .... Well hopefully it's just his lost love of rubio but he seems like he needs to be feed instead of being able to feed himself, I wish he would demand the ball in the mid post a lot more and gamble a little bit more on defense , but this is coming after a game against the Spurs so he could've just had a rough patch.




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[minimus]

Plus the ways Bazz scores are pretty reliable ways to score....

--Open 18 footer or 3 in either corner.
--Backdoor baseline cuts
--Hook on the block
--Offensive rebounding

But they key is he operates in all of these areas and always goes up hard and goes through contact, so he can draw a lot of fouls as well as finish at a high rate in traffic because he is fearless and wants the bucket. I don't see any of those skills as really flukey things. His motor and fearlessness get him basically all of his buckets. He doesn't care who it is he's going up against.


Not to mention the perfect complement for a guy like Rubio and a guy who can also command the ball and score if guys start to sag off rubio and it makes it tough for him. He can do either of those things. Rubio makes up for his biggest defeciencies which are passing and just lack of impact in the other facets because Rubio is off the charts in impact in all of those areas.

I'm really excited to see Bazz with Rubio.


Guy is averaging 18 points on 58% shooting in 24 minutes a game in the last 5 and he's in great shape, I'm confused about how much impact he has, but I think he's a 20 point scorer

I believe that the key is defense. Even if it is team defense that hurts us. But Shabazz needs to show that he can slow down opponent. I truly believe that he he has all needed skills. If coaching staff can inspire him to play with same intensity on both ends of the floor he will be solid player. Understanding of defensive principles is critical.

[TheZachAttack]

The Wolves have a lot to be excited about...

A starting lineup with...

Rubio
Wiggins
Shabazz
______ (Karl Towns Jr or Okafor?)
Pekovic/Dieng (Both could be top 10 Centers when healthy is key)


Other rotation guys for the future...

(PG/SG) Zach Lavine (James Harden role. Ball handler for the 2nd team)
Bennett (Scoring, pick and pop big off the bench. Solid rebounder. Good athleticism.)
Dieng/Pekovic (Some people prefer each starting)

Hummel=end of the bench spacing/good teammate guy.
Glenn Robinson III (could be huge if he could become an elite 3 + D guy with his athleticism)


Goals for the offseason.

The Timberwolves should try and address the starting PF position in the draft.

The Wolves have enough developing wings (Laving --PG/SG--, Wiggins --SF/SG--, Muhammed --SG/SF/PF--, Bennett-- PF/SF and also Glenn Robinson III --SG/SF-- ) that it makes sense to try and get a big, especially since this seems to be shaping up to be a pretty good big man draft.

A guy like Towns Jr., Jalil Okafor, or even Cauley-stein, or a couple of the other top PF/C prospects would complement the existing pieces on this team well.


The next important thing would be to try and add a guy who really stroke it because this team sorely needs a Kyle Korver type player or Danny Green or a player who can consistently knock down open 3's and know how to get to their spots on the floor and move well without the ball to do that.


The rest of the draft and free agency should be catered towards finding a couple of guys who can play D and space the floor to come off the bench and for certain matchups. And a guy to fill the Ronny Turiaf 4th big role.


Going into 2015 with a lineup of...

Rubio
Wiggins
Muhammed
1st round top pick PF
Dieng

With

Lavine (PG/SG minutes)
Pekovic (Center minutes depending on matchup)
Bennett (Backup PF)
Glenn Robinson III? (Or 3 + D guy in FA)
Back up Vet PG

Last 3 guys off the bench
Robinson or 3 + D guy
Hummell
Defensive C

[urinesane]

Bazz's skillset is a very unique and could be very valuable.

The only things stopping him so far is mental, and by that I mean learning the offense/defense schemes inside and out and being in the right spot.

Everyone loves his effort and ability to score efficiently, but coaches need to know that players are going to be in the right spots at the right times, otherwise things start to fall apart.

I think he will get it, but that is the main thing stopping him from really breaking through, he needs to be in the right spots on defense mainly and not get lost.

[AQuintus]

Reason for optimism:

The team has been awful this year primarily due to crap defense, but the starting lineup of Rubio-Martin-Wiggins-Young-Pek had a DRating of 83.7 (and an ORating of 113.4) in 46 total minutes together. That's the 22nd best defensive lineup in the league.

http://stats.nba.com/league/lineups/#!/advanced/?sort=DEF_RATING&dir=-1

If the team can get healthy, it should improve rapidly.

Edit:

Out of all of the lineups that have played at least 45 minutes together, that lineup is the best in the league at DRating (points given up per 100 possessions).

Edit 2:

Lineups w/ Rubio:

Rubio-Martin-Wiggins-Thad-Pek = 83.7 DRating, 46 minutes
Rubio-Brewer-Wiggins-Thad-Pek = 99.9 DRating, 32 minutes

Lineups w/o Rubio:

LaVine-Brewer-Wiggins-Young-Dieng = 107.2 DRating, 60 minutes
Mo-Martin-Wiggins-Young-Pek = 109.5 DRating, 22 minutes
Mo-Brewer-Wiggins-Young-Dieng = 109.9 DRating, 57 minutes
Mo-Brewer-Wiggins-Bennett-Dieng = 120.7 DRating, 39 minutes
LaVine-Martin-Wiggins-Young-Pekovic = 122.1 DRating, 38 minutes

[Narf]

The Wolves have a lot to be excited about...

A starting lineup with...

Rubio
Wiggins
Shabazz
______ (Karl Towns Jr or Okafor?)
Pekovic/Dieng (Both could be top 10 Centers when healthy is key)


Other rotation guys for the future...

(PG/SG) Zach Lavine (James Harden role. Ball handler for the 2nd team)
Bennett (Scoring, pick and pop big off the bench. Solid rebounder. Good athleticism.)
Dieng/Pekovic (Some people prefer each starting)

Hummel=end of the bench spacing/good teammate guy.
Glenn Robinson III (could be huge if he could become an elite 3 + D guy with his athleticism)


Goals for the offseason.

The Timberwolves should try and address the starting PF position in the draft.

The Wolves have enough developing wings (Laving --PG/SG--, Wiggins --SF/SG--, Muhammed --SG/SF/PF--, Bennett-- PF/SF and also Glenn Robinson III --SG/SF-- ) that it makes sense to try and get a big, especially since this seems to be shaping up to be a pretty good big man draft.

A guy like Towns Jr., Jalil Okafor, or even Cauley-stein, or a couple of the other top PF/C prospects would complement the existing pieces on this team well.


The next important thing would be to try and add a guy who really stroke it because this team sorely needs a Kyle Korver type player or Danny Green or a player who can consistently knock down open 3's and know how to get to their spots on the floor and move well without the ball to do that.


The rest of the draft and free agency should be catered towards finding a couple of guys who can play D and space the floor to come off the bench and for certain matchups. And a guy to fill the Ronny Turiaf 4th big role.


Going into 2015 with a lineup of...

Rubio
Wiggins
Muhammed
1st round top pick PF
Dieng

With

Lavine (PG/SG minutes)
Pekovic (Center minutes depending on matchup)
Bennett (Backup PF)
Glenn Robinson III? (Or 3 + D guy in FA)
Back up Vet PG

Last 3 guys off the bench
Robinson or 3 + D guy
Hummell
Defensive C

Dieng would be the PF before Okafor/Towns.

[packforfreedom]

positivity:

i couldn't be happier with the development of LaVine. I mean it's only 20 games in his rookie season and he has already become so much better. Given the circumstances, I think it's actually a positive thing, that he's our starting pg right now, since that role forces him to concentrate on court vision, ball handling, decision-making and responsibility. His offensive potential is off the charts and also defensively he showed great signs, for example when he locked down Steph Curry for some possessions. He is going to be one of the best players of this draft.

[urinesane]

positivity:

i couldn't be happier with the development of LaVine. I mean it's only 20 games in his rookie season and he has already become so much better. Given the circumstances, I think it's actually a positive thing, that he's our starting pg right now, since that role forces him to concentrate on court vision, ball handling, decision-making and responsibility. His offensive potential is off the charts and also defensively he showed great signs, for example when he locked down Steph Curry for some possessions. He is going to be one of the best players of this draft.

I'm mostly excited about the improvements I've seen from him from the start of the year.

Even though he has been put in a tough position, it's nice to see him learn from mistakes and adjust his game.

One of the biggest keys to a young players development is whether or not they learn from mistakes and adjust their play, or continue to make the same mistakes over and over. Luckily it seems Lavine is the type to learn from his and adapt.

[Klomp]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/APkrawczynski/status/542409497986093056[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/APkrawczynski/status/542411716798074883[/tweet]

[urinesane]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/APkrawczynski/status/542409497986093056[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/APkrawczynski/status/542411716798074883[/tweet]

It makes sense, and honestly in the end, it may be for the best.

Getting the young guys this much experience early on would have been pretty difficult with the starters healthy.

A great scenario (considering the circumstances) would be the team finishing this season strong with the starters coming back healthy, looking like they could take a big step next year into competing for the playoffs. While still getting a solid lottery pick due to the injury issues and struggles earlier in the season.

[urinesane]

With Parker out, it's likely we have the ROY on our hands now.