Timberwolves vs Warriors - Game 5 - Cancun time?

[thunderdunk]

Wolves are 11.5 point favorites in the overnight line. The question is, will the Dubs mail it in, or will they find a way to win without Steph? Jimmy looked sick/tired/hurt/not good in Game 4. Is he physically OK enough to lead the team to another win? Will Podz or Buddy heat up for one game? Will Draymond lead the team to a stellar defensive performance? Will the bench players bring the energy that they've shown in garbage time to the actual rotation?

If the Dubs can pull out Game 5, it opens the door for Curry to potentially return for Games 6 and maybe 7. Or is it just Cancun time?

[Onus]

All I know is that Jimmy can't take only 9 shots.

[cpower]

All I know is that Jimmy can't take only 9 shots.

he was sick, Kerr confirmed in a podcast

[Jester_]

on the plus side, if we come back from 3-1 with steph winning us a game 7 and later the championship that would make Steph a unanimous GOAT candidate

**** it let's ball ... all on the line, it's Jimmy time

[marthafokker]

Hope JK gets a career game even if Dubs loses. Get his value up so he can be traded.

[Impuniti]

Hope JK gets a career game even if Dubs loses. Get his value up so he can be traded.

This is my hope. Series is over tonight, at least his value can rise and maybe the team can do a straight up S&T with Cam this summer. Adds some shooting and spacing this team desperately needs. And hopefully Melton comes back to who he was so we see less of Podz playing 30+ MPG.

[bay2hk]

Hope JK gets a career game even if Dubs loses. Get his value up so he can be traded.

This is my hope. Series is over tonight, at least his value can rise and maybe the team can do a straight up S&T with Cam this summer. Adds some shooting and spacing this team desperately needs. And hopefully Melton comes back to who he was so we see less of Podz playing 30+ MPG.

Nets wouldn’t do this because they can sign him straight up. We should S&T him to wizards for Marcus Smart and our 2030 1st back. JK would be happy to play with Poole on a losing team.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Nothing harder than to close a series out on the road. The team will come out firing to try and get steph a game 6.

[cpower]

if Podz going all cold again what is plan B?

[superunknown]

likely cancun time fellas. immy is clearly not 100%, dray hasn't been a factor most of this series, the role players apart from buddy have been putrid.
they should have won game 3 when they had a real chance to go at least to 6 games, unless minnesota shoot like game 1 this series is a wrap.

[Grumpy Heat Fan]

The wolves depend on Julius Randle A LOT. Almost as much as Ant. Draymond needs to focus the entire game on containing Julius Randle. If he can do that...

it's a cruel world, Steph wanted another shot, and if not for this injury - the Dubs could have gone to the Finals for sure. Sucks.

[HiRez]

Knox with the 50 piece in OT thriller.

[DAWill1128]

if Podz going all cold again what is plan B?

Podz logged more minutes with Curry healthy than Kuminga, Looney, and GP2 combined in the first round.

2nd Round Stats:
Podz - 7ppg, 22% FG, 17% 3P
JK - 19ppg, 57% FG, 50% 3P

Even with those numbers Podz has seen way more floor time than JK.

Podz is getting his regular 36 minutes, count on it.

[Onus]

The wolves depend on Julius Randle A LOT. Almost as much as Ant. Draymond needs to focus the entire game on containing Julius Randle. If he can do that...

it's a cruel world, Steph wanted another shot, and if not for this injury - the Dubs could have gone to the Finals for sure. Sucks.

The problem is that we need Dray to contain Ant at the Rim as well. If he's guarding Julius then Ant has a field day because no one is able to contest him at the rim. Jimmy or JK need to be able to guard Julius so Dray can play goalie and help out on Ant. If either could play goalie then Dray could guard Julius.

[Twinkie defense]

I still think this team has a lot of pride and they are going to scrap and claw to get the win tonight. They might not get it but I would never count them out (in fact I still think they are more dangerous on the road.)

[HiRez]

I still think this team has a lot of pride and they are going to scrap and claw to get the win tonight. They might not get it but I would never count them out (in fact I still think they are more dangerous on the road.)

I agree, it's just IDK if they have enough gas left in the tank. It's hard to believe this series isn't over yet because it feels like they've lost about 20 games in a row. If a lot of "if"s happen, they could definitely win, but it's a lot to bank on. Basically everyone on the team needs to bring their 'A' game, something we have rarely seen.

Jimmy and Draymond need to be who they are and not suck, and Draymond needs to lay off the theatrics, don't even give the refs any opportunity to make something bad happen. JK needs to be aggressive without making dumb plays, not shoot 3s, and he should start, to get him as many minutes as possible. At least 2 and preferably 3 guys from Buddy, Podz, Moses, GP2, Post need to knock down a significant number of 3s. They need to avoid dumb turnovers and shot clock violations (or being forced to take a terrible shot because they ran out of time). They need to make layups when they're there but if they can dunk it instead of trying to lay it in, do that first. Everyone needs to bring it on defense for 48 minutes, and everyone needs to go hard after every rebound. Deny and force the ball out of the hands of Randle, Ant, and McDaniels, make guys like DiVincenzo and Gobert and Conley beat you. Only use challenges when the refs clearly f-ed up, don't waste on 50-50 calls.

It's asking a lot at this point. But you know, Go Dubs.

[Coxy]

It is what it is, swing big lads, fight all the way.

[DAWill1128]

In lineups with GP2 and Kuminga have Kuminga take Edwards. Kuminga is the bigger athlete to disrupt his shot, and GP2 is the better help defender. Give Moody a go at Edwards instead of alternative guys you've used on him.

Play Looney and Green in lineups together to stabilize the defense.

Give Looney minutes on Randle so he is forced to move laterally into help where he is forced to pass on the go instead of him overpowering over the top of smaller defenders. Looney defended similar players like Sabonis and Sengun the best.

Be willing to play Jimmy at point guard in lineups when Podz is missing everything. Hield, GP2, Kuminga, Moody can still guard the guards. Don't let a guard get away with throwing up bricks, hold some accountability for guards missing shots and disrupting the entire team.

[vvoland]

All I know is that Jimmy can't take only 9 shots.

he was sick, Kerr confirmed in a podcast

Kerr does pods? which ones?

[vvoland]

In lineups with GP2 and Kuminga have Kuminga take Edwards. Kuminga is the bigger athlete to disrupt his shot, and GP2 is the better help defender. Give Moody a go at Edwards instead of alternative guys you've used on him.

Play Looney and Green in lineups together to stabilize the defense.

Give Looney minutes on Randle so he is forced to move laterally into help where he is forced to pass on the go instead of him overpowering over the top of smaller defenders. Looney defended similar players like Sabonis and Sengun the best.

Be willing to play Jimmy at point guard in lineups when Podz is missing everything. Hield, GP2, Kuminga, Moody can still guard the guards. Don't let a guard get away with throwing up bricks, hold some accountability for guards missing shots and disrupting the entire team.

I think Jimmy and JK need to guard Ant and Randle, regardless of who guards whom. Dray can be the free safety and we have to hope McD and Conley miss contested 3s. Defensively, we've been fine as long as Dray was on the court, the 3rd quarter of game 4 being the exception. It's about how we score and outside of Jimmy going for 40 and JK for 30, I don't see a realistic path to 100. If Jimmy really was sick last game, I expect 30 shots and that might be enough to win.