Playoff game 2 Wolves at Denver 4-19-2023

[Guidus88]

Everyone played well enough to win but KAT. Can't get down 21 points and expect to win.
It's an absolute damn shame we wasted such an amazing game from Ant.

There's no question he's our best player, he shines when the spotlight is brightest.
KAT with yet ANOTHER playoff meltdown.
5 years and 260 million dollars left on his contract, it's time to move on before it is too late.

Have to give props to Murray he was locked in and played out of his mind.
That entire team is just so well drilled they are very hard to stop when they are making shots.
Even when we shut down their main action they found Aaron Gordon rim running against a helpless KAT.

For the first quarter and a half it looked like we were gonna get embarrassed on national TV again for the 3rd time in 2 weeks.
At least we fought back in the 3rd quarter, but one good quarter out of 8 isn't gonna cut it.

this...I'm very sad though.. in particular after his last interviews in which he expressed his desire to stay lifetime with the Twolves..unless somehow we change the trend of the series I think we have to pull the trigger and go ahead.

Towns for Siakam straight up?

[minimus]

Towns for Siakam straight up?

Siakam is UFA in 2024 after max contract. Do you want to give him another max contract?

[Guidus88]

Towns for Siakam straight up?

Siakam is UFA in 2024 after max contract. Do you want to give him another max contract?

didn't look at that...definitely no given that he will be 30

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Future seems not easy. I clearly doubt Rudy-Kat may work and Ant will have to get paid as he is clearly the future with Mac Daniels. I think FO may not have much choice but to try to suit a suitor for KAT or Rudy. Probably more easy for KAT.
Today, we saw the difference between a top team and a young team still under construction.

[bluethunder0005]

This is the problem with KAT. He's such a poor defender that I don't think you can really win with him. Gobert was brought in to cover up his defense but it just makes his defense against 4s bad now. If he's not able to use his size when playing against smaller defenders then I don't know what else to do. I feel like he's regressed so much as a player from years 1-3 KAT. That version was more in the post and was a better rebounder. I'm glad the team utilizes his ability to shoot because it's valuable but that really seems to be the only trait he's improved in over the years.

[guest81]

He's not going to jack up a lot of bad shots. That said the team does nothing to effectively get him open. If we could get him several good looks a game he would probably take them. He's not going to take contested threes all night. We need to scheme him getting several attempts.

He's a 7 foot player that can shoot 40 percent from 3, why does he need people to get him clean looks? What does that even mean?

If he has Gordan or someone in his face its a bad shot. With the two big setup, he doesn't have the speed advantage of getting open looks against slow centers anymore. He's now guarded by faster PF's who are sticking to him. He can't dribble and break an opponent down, he can step back but that's not high percentage. Denver has totally schemed out his ability to get easy open looks from 3. Now the wolves could try to scheme him some plays that could get him open looks but they don't, at least not well.

whats the excuse for the other two playoff series clunkers then?

[Slim Tubby]

To me, it's impossible to evaluate this team based on this playoff series without Naz and McDaniels on the floor. Their play was exceptional the last half of the season and their loss crippled our rotation.

Trade KAT? Trade Gobert? I don't know. I would love to get our hands on Mikal Bridges but I fear that ship has sailed. Building around Ant and McDaniels is definitely the way to proceed, though.

[Klomp]

To me, it's impossible to evaluate this team based on this playoff series without Naz and McDaniels on the floor. Their play was exceptional the last half of the season and their loss crippled our rotation.

Honestly, for that reason, I'm actually feeling not super down right now after we saw in the second half. At halftime, I was ready to put in the scrubs. But now, I don't see why we can't steal a game.

And it's easy to see the impact those two would have had on this series. Definitely a bit frustrating we're going out with a whimper. This circumstance is closer to the 2004 WCF than it is to the 2018 and 2022 1st rounds. Those two are our Sam Cassell Big Balls.

[Klomp]

I think there's still a path forward with Gobert. I think with guys like Gobert, McDaniels, Edwards, Anderson, Conley, Prince, NAW,...a defensive, physical, battle-tested identity is in its early stages. I just am not seeing a path for Towns to fit into it though.

It's nothing against him. I think he can net us a haul that can help us further that identity, while getting him somewhere he can fit better. I just think a break probably will have to happen, for both parties to take that next step forward.

[urinesane]

Naz and McDaniels being out have taken this from being an underdog with a chance for a legit upset to a team just trying to be competitive against the best team in the West (and hopefully steal a game or two).

I really hope they resign Naz, because I think a full season of this roster is needed to see what they can be. We've seen flashes, but KAT got onto a moving train and they missed out on very important gelling opportunity due to KATs injury.

The biggest issue has been consistency, which can only be fixed by getting more experience together. Last year it was clear we had glaring holes that needed roster changes, this year they needed much more time together to find their identity.

[TimberKat]

I don't expect we win the series but I do like to see Towns play better. He needs to get his go to moves back, be more efficient with post up, etc. regardless of who is out there. I don't even feel it's a matter of fit right now. If you are a top big man in the league, you got to have 1 or 2 go to moves. OK, Gobert could only dunk, but he is the exception.