MIN v SAC (10:30PM ET) -- Comeback Time

[Mattya]

I miss KG as well, but eventually these guys gotta learn to do it on their own. Wiggins had a few rebounds that he created by tipping it away from teammates, still not good enough even if we do attribute those to him, but the team as a whole has been super lazy on getting a body on their man when they ball goes up.

[TwolvesFanRome]

Cmon...it s not possible...

No justification..

[packforfreedom]

Towns looks lost on offense. 13 shots are not enough, he needs way more touches. but also when he's got the ball he's making mistakes. he looks more than a rookie now than the entire last season.
Wiggins surprised me again and LaVine looks solid.
They are not clutch because they are 20 years, nothing unusual about that. That Rubio injury could really hurt us, though. despite being the #1 scapegoat for parts of our fanbase, he's still the best PG we have by far.

The Bulls fans told us, it would take some time, till the team adjustes to Thib's systems. so everybody needs to chill out.

[Maefteda]

Games like these makes me really miss a healthy Pekovic

[wablty]

Awful lot of overreaction in this thread.

A team went on a 24-1 run in about 5 minutes when, all of a sudden, we started turning it over on every possession. It was a bad, sloppy stretch, but beside it the Wolves were getting the better of it. It's just some growing pains.

[Tensten]

KAT needs to come down to earth. He wants to be that superstar without letting game come to him. Always looks for that perfect assist or 3-ball instead moving ball and keep defense on their heels. Wiggins and Lavine in attack mode is great, but in defense they got outplayed by Barnes and Gay. Cousins dominating wasn't huge suprise as Dieng too skinny for him. Rubio was average as he still made some good defensive plays, but hopefully become more active in attack. He only had 1 TO too. Sadly Dunn isn't NBA ready yet, but atleast he gives his best in defense. Bjelica always smart player in attack. Always know where defense comes and where to pass. Sadly he is only one in second unit who can great for others. Everyone else are waiting for that pass. Nobody passes to open Bjelica ever.

We seem to come out with high energy and gassed out on 3rd or we just fall into comfort zone not focusing on best plays. Didn't like our last play too. I mean out of Wiggins vs Koufos we should get better shot than that. Wiggins has footwork to go inside there.

Season is still young, but hard roadtrip coming up. Thibs will figure it out. We are 3/4 playoff team. We just need to fix that 1/4.

[NewWolvesOrder]

Where did Rubio/Towns pick&pop go? It was KAT's bread and butter last season. You don't see it much these days.

[_AIJ_]

Lottery again if they continue to play like this.

[Merc_Porto]

2 games back at home, 2 winnable games against Memphis and Denver...
Not time to worry yet.

[Crazy-Canuck]

I think its time for Jordan Hill to get off the bench.

We are all finesse right now. Hill isnt the most talented guy, but he has experience, can bang in the paint, and is a lunch-bucket guy. We need a glue guy that can do some dirty work.

[Goudelock]

I think its time for Jordan Hill to get off the bench.

We are all finesse right now. Hill isnt the most talented guy, but he has experience, can bang in the paint, and is a lunch-bucket guy. We need a glue guy that can do some dirty work.

I'm not sure that you want Hill to play. Maybe he's changed, but he was the opposite of a lunch-bucket guy by the end of his days in LA. He was lazy, settled for long-twos, and couldn't be bothered to play defense.

[minimus]

Just watched the game. My thoughts:

KAT Has been forcing things: shots, passes. I'm wondering that Thibs designed new role for Towns, facilitator, stretch 4 player. I like how KAT tries to involve teammates with high-low passes. With a bit more execution, experience and some playing time together, his passing skills will be very dangerous weapon.

Dieng When his jumper is falling he is a solid bigman. Delivered impressive blockshot, but could not contain DMC, which is understandable. DMC is quick, strong and tall. Those pivots is unstoppable weapon. A few fans here wanted Dieng to be traded, but honestly I want see him progressing under Thibs. Very reliable guy.

Wiggy Doesnt box out and doesnt show effort to rebound. However he really improved handles and mid range game. Got stripped and blocked a few times, but overall was impressive. Showed leadership in offense.

LaVine I do believe that Zach is our best finisher around the rim. His drives are thing of beauty. Team runs a few dedicated sets for him as catch and shoot player, however he scored in broken plays as well. Doesnt show up in defense against MEM and SAC, but with DMC, Gasol settings strong screens it was understandable. I noticed that he still struggles to pass the ball, which hurts our ball movement, but it can be corrected.

Rubio His defense has been solid, still not in sync with other guys. When he leaves his man to help teammate usually it means that his opponent gets chance for open 3, because no one rotates to cover. In half court situations he was orchestrating offense with confidence and to be honest I have impression that our offense took big step forward. However he was careless with the ball, which partially lead to 3rd quarter disaster. Hit to Js with confidence. Hope his elbow is ok.

Aldrich Happy to see him doing dirty work. Nice addition.

Bjelica Man... Here I'm torn. The only guy who can create shots for himself and others, but doesnt get the ball in situation when he is efficient. Because he plays with rookie PG, Shabazz. He had a few in and out shots first 2 games, but I like to see him demanding the ball. Was active in defense.

Shabazz Played with heart. But against tall frontcourt he is not very efficient.

Dunn Played good defense, really can switch on PG/SG/SF. Hit that 3pt shot without hesitation.

Overall:
I really like that at the end of the game we played KAT and Wiggins high PnRs. Once KAT calms down a bit this should be a go-to set for us.
The size of DMC-Koufos-Gay trio was evident in defense and offense. They helped each other a few times, which resulted in blocked shots and steals.
There were a few moments when our young player lost concentration, for instance the moment when Gay scored in semi fast break with KAT and Dieng watched him dunking. Or when Wiggins didnt come back and McLemore scored easy points. Also when RR gets tired he usually tends to be careless with a ball. Dont know if Thibs noticed this. Maybe our bench players should have played more.
I really like how we fought till last minute. Wins come with experience of close games.

[LesGrossman]

Hilarious. Everyone in panic mode after two games. Calm down people, lets look at the problems rather than question everything out there.
- Wiggins: inexplicibly takes quarters off. His handle still shaky as is his outside shot; when he makes up his mind and moves towards the basket he is pretty much unstoppable so far. It is something Thibs must adjust to and make the best use of. Give them some time.
- Towns: he confirmed what i wrote before the game. He tries too hard. Whenever we have the 0.5 sec style working we score with ease, however Towns somehow mutates into Melo and becomes a ball stopper, to show off some fruitless fakes and jabsteps and pass with 3 sec left on the shotclock. Later it was obvious how he couldnt deal with cousins being really good and getting all the attention so he tried even harder and committed some dumb fouls. Thibs needs to tell him to calm down and remember he hasnt accomplished anything yet so he cant act like he is already a superstar.
- Dieng: I guess i am biased but whenever he is even in the game, i expect some dumb move or decision. He is an okay player but he isnt ever going to become a starting 4 or 5. I think at smoe point the club needs to make a decision here.
- Bjelica: He also is in between the worlds. I think he can be a very, very valuable piece in the Wolves' game but he is not the type of player who could defer to a small role. He is a shooter and needs touches early, just like every one else, but he was ignored in the first half. If then in a critical situation you expect him to hit a contested 3 without getting his shot going earlier you dont understand how the game works. THe Wolves will have to make a decision similar to Dieng wether they are willing to give him a significant role or not. The way he is used is just not effective.
- Lavine: He played a good game and didnt make mistakes as last year. Positive surprise for me.
- Dunn: good fundamentals, not ready yet for a bigger role
- Ricky: thought he played well. Gave energy and good defense, and a few good plays on offense. As last year the offense forces the ball out of his hands early and often and he cant use his potential; whenever he is allowed to create out of PnR some good shot is the result. Dunno about the hate here but got used to it. He also is a player that the wolves must decide about. Commit to him or trade, the insecurity will drain energy in the long run.

[Calinks]

Dieng gets a lot of hate. He has been probably the best overall player in both games getting double doubles. Guy plays his ass off and people just want to talk about his mistakes. How about we talk about how he has been putting them most effort into rebounding or has a 24.18 PER.

[Klomp]

Dieng gets a lot of hate. He has been probably the best overall player in both games getting double doubles. Guy plays his ass off and people just want to talk about his mistakes. How about we talk about how he has been putting them most effort into rebounding or has a 24.18 PER.

Read on Twitter

[PharmD]

Gorgui was the only one that could even sort of contain Cousins. Gorgui's foul trouble was killer.

[Ranger]

I'm not sure that anybody CAN contain Cousins, other than perhaps his own neurosis. It sucks that Gorgui is hearing enough trash about his game that he feels it necessary to tweet about it.

[blind prophet]

Hey Lavine looked great out there.

Was a defensive pest, hit some shots.

[SpeedIsGood]

You can't win if you let the opposing team just slaughter you in a quarter. It just won't happen.

[PharmD]

Hey Lavine looked great out there.

Was a defensive pest, hit some shots.

Yeah Zach is awesome.