Wolves back! ***Pre-Season Game 1 Thread Wolves vs Mavs Thursday 11CST***

[andyhop]

I'm also not thrilled about the team losing focus in the 3rd and falling into a repeating pattern of missed 3s and turnovers. That pattern happened way to frequently last year and the team is going to need to figure out how to break out of those types of death spirals before they turn into 10+ point swings on the scoreboard.

It seems like they panic when the other team goes on a 5-0 run and think they have to get it all back as soon as possible, so shoot a terrible contested 3 and then panic more when it turns into a 7-0 run and take an even worse 3.

[thinktank]

We need to stop gambling in defense.

That will be interesting because I view playing Up more instead of Drop as kind of a gamble.

Last season we were one of the best team in generating TOs. I think it historically comes from 2021-22 season when we were super aggressive with high wall pnr coverage.

Read on Twitter

However, after Gobert trade our players were asked to completely change pnr coverage to drop scheme. But we still maintained level of aggressiveness in patrolling passing lanes and pick pocketing. IMO the key here is reducing fouls and TOs. Yesterday MCD had 3 fouls, Milton had 4 fouls, Anderson had 3 fouls, Brown had 3 fouls. We need to cut down these weak fouls.

That’s very interesting. Good insight. In your opinion, is being great at generating turnovers associated with increased risks? And then, how will playing Up more impact turnover generation and risk?

[vtime]

Neither Shake nor NAW can play PG. Turnover after turnover. Great in their roles. Their role is not PG.

Wolves should’ve taken Hardy when they had the chance. That’s who I wanted!

Ben Beecken disagrees
https://youtu.be/7Aj3x7Zp_o4?si=GLIlxMNOF_eRnBpQ

[Neeva]

Neither Shake nor NAW can play PG. Turnover after turnover. Great in their roles. Their role is not PG.

Wolves should’ve taken Hardy when they had the chance. That’s who I wanted!

Hardy is a mediocre chucker though, but sadly that still might end up being better than Wendall Moore.

[minimus]

Neither Shake nor NAW can play PG. Turnover after turnover. Great in their roles. Their role is not PG.
Wolves should’ve taken Hardy when they had the chance. That’s who I wanted!

Yeah, they should not play as traditional PG. I think their role is bench unit ballhanders who shares duties, running five-out offense. It was evident yesterday when our 2nd and 3rd unit played with Reid and Garza involved at the top of the key.

[minimus]

That will be interesting because I view playing Up more instead of Drop as kind of a gamble.

Last season we were one of the best team in generating TOs. I think it historically comes from 2021-22 season when we were super aggressive with high wall pnr coverage.

Read on Twitter

However, after Gobert trade our players were asked to completely change pnr coverage to drop scheme. But we still maintained level of aggressiveness in patrolling passing lanes and pick pocketing. IMO the key here is reducing fouls and TOs. Yesterday MCD had 3 fouls, Milton had 4 fouls, Anderson had 3 fouls, Brown had 3 fouls. We need to cut down these weak fouls.

That’s very interesting. Good insight. In your opinion, is being great at generating turnovers associated with increased risks? And then, how will playing Up more impact turnover generation and risk?

I think here the key is defense versatility and trademark coverages. Let me explain. Trademark coverage means defensive coverage that our team uses to completely break offensive rhythm of opponent team. Some examples are TOR box-and-one, MIA zone defense, MIL drop coverage etc. But at the same time our defense should be versatile enough to play against various matchups. For instance, this MIN roster must know how to toggle between drop and high wall in order to be successful in playoffs, they must know how to defend smallball and twin tower lineups. With NAW, MCD and Edwards they should be able to generate enough turnovers, but last season they were not good at scoring in transition. Which is surprising because on paper they have a lot of athleticism.

[thinktank]

Neither Shake nor NAW can play PG. Turnover after turnover. Great in their roles. Their role is not PG.

Wolves should’ve taken Hardy when they had the chance. That’s who I wanted!

Ben Beecken disagrees
https://youtu.be/7Aj3x7Zp_o4?si=GLIlxMNOF_eRnBpQ

Someone disagree with me? No way!

[thinktank]

Neither Shake nor NAW can play PG. Turnover after turnover. Great in their roles. Their role is not PG.

Wolves should’ve taken Hardy when they had the chance. That’s who I wanted!

Hardy is a mediocre chucker though, but sadly that still might end up being better than Wendall Moore.

Again, look at where he is for his age. Ahead of the two guys we got. And it’s not an either or choice. Could’ve had him and still kept NAW and got Shake. Weird.

[TimberKat]

Anthony Edwards is our only saving grace with the national media. Tows and Gobert are absolutely despised.

Fun game but I wont be shocked to see Dallas dominate Saturday. They looked really off and shell-shocked in that first half, they will be more prepared this weekend.

They really need another guy to step up and be likeable. KAT will likely always draw hate and if Ant is the only other star I feel like all it’s ever going to be is “Ant was great. Gotta wonder when he’s leaving Minnesota”.

Some good news on national media: ESPN is projecting Wolves to have the second best record with 47.7 wins behind Grizzlies. No team out west is projected to win 50 games. DAL is at 9th with 41.4. Although, still don't bet against Vegas. They usually win one way or the other The Wolves projection is based on a lot of assume improvements such as Ant take another step up and Gobert/Towns combo finally clicks.

[Calinks]

Anthony Edwards is our only saving grace with the national media. Tows and Gobert are absolutely despised.

Fun game but I wont be shocked to see Dallas dominate Saturday. They looked really off and shell-shocked in that first half, they will be more prepared this weekend.

They really need another guy to step up and be likeable. KAT will likely always draw hate and if Ant is the only other star I feel like all it’s ever going to be is “Ant was great. Gotta wonder when he’s leaving Minnesota”.

Some good news on national media: ESPN is projecting Wolves to have the second best record with 47.7 wins behind Grizzlies. No team out west is projected to win 50 games. DAL is at 9th with 41.4. Although, still don't bet against Vegas. They usually win one way or the other The Wolves projection is based on a lot of assume improvements such as Ant take another step up and Gobert/Towns combo finally clicks.

I'm really surprised any major media outlet would project us to have the second best record. I don't even agree with that. The Grizzlies having the best either, they are missing Ja for a ton of games You sure this isn't from last seasons projections?

[TimberKat]

They really need another guy to step up and be likeable. KAT will likely always draw hate and if Ant is the only other star I feel like all it’s ever going to be is “Ant was great. Gotta wonder when he’s leaving Minnesota”.

Some good news on national media: ESPN is projecting Wolves to have the second best record with 47.7 wins behind Grizzlies. No team out west is projected to win 50 games. DAL is at 9th with 41.4. Although, still don't bet against Vegas. They usually win one way or the other The Wolves projection is based on a lot of assume improvements such as Ant take another step up and Gobert/Towns combo finally clicks.

I'm really surprised any major media outlet would project us to have the second best record. I don't even agree with that. The Grizzlies having the best either, they are missing Ja for a ton of games You sure this isn't from last seasons projections?

I am sure it's this year because it say Gobert and Towns didn't work last year. I think it accounts for DEN, PHX, and LAx wants to rest people. Also, GRIZ is still a very good team without Ja. They won without him before. So many good teams out west, this is why # of wins is going to be so hard to get this year.

It could also be this ranking was a small market special edition

[Calinks]

Some good news on national media: ESPN is projecting Wolves to have the second best record with 47.7 wins behind Grizzlies. No team out west is projected to win 50 games. DAL is at 9th with 41.4. Although, still don't bet against Vegas. They usually win one way or the other The Wolves projection is based on a lot of assume improvements such as Ant take another step up and Gobert/Towns combo finally clicks.

I'm really surprised any major media outlet would project us to have the second best record. I don't even agree with that. The Grizzlies having the best either, they are missing Ja for a ton of games You sure this isn't from last seasons projections?

I am sure it's this year because it say Gobert and Towns didn't work last year. I think it accounts for DEN, PHX, and LAx wants to rest people. Also, GRIZ is still a very good team without Ja. They won without him before. So many good teams out west, this is why # of wins is going to be so hard to get this year.

It could also be this ranking was a small market special edition

That's wild.

Being really optimistic. I think Denver and Phoenix still have better records. Still, I guess its not crazy that we could wind up number 1, we are coming in with some stability for once. Also every other team has some question marks IMO, probably more than we do actually. They could all go either way us included. No one is really a lock to be really good outside of Denver and maybe Memphis who has much the same cast so maybe ESPN is on to something.

[shangrila]

I'm really surprised any major media outlet would project us to have the second best record. I don't even agree with that. The Grizzlies having the best either, they are missing Ja for a ton of games You sure this isn't from last seasons projections?

I am sure it's this year because it say Gobert and Towns didn't work last year. I think it accounts for DEN, PHX, and LAx wants to rest people. Also, GRIZ is still a very good team without Ja. They won without him before. So many good teams out west, this is why # of wins is going to be so hard to get this year.

It could also be this ranking was a small market special edition

That's wild.

Being really optimistic. I think Denver and Phoenix still have better records. Still, I guess its not crazy that we could wind up number 1, we are coming in with some stability for once. Also every other team has some question marks IMO, probably more than we do actually. They could all go either way us included. No one is really a lock to be really good outside of Denver and maybe Memphis who has much the same cast so maybe ESPN is on to something.

...I do still think it's crazy for us to end up as #1. You're not wrong about the other teams though. Just going down the current standings list over at ESPN (which, ironically, has us #1 after today):

Pelicans = Is Zion healthy? Can he stay healthy? How does their team look with/without him?
Nuggets = How will they treat the regular season after winning the title? Will they take the foot off the gas? How will they fill in for the loss of Brown?
Warriors = Can they continue to fight off Father Time? How do they integrate Chris Paul? Will a Curry-Paul back court actually work?
Rockets = Will the youth finally translate to winning? Is Green and/or Smith Jr actually worth their draft spots? Are FVV and Brooks going to be the leadership vets they need (unlikely)?
Clippers = Can they stay healthy?
Lakers = Can Lebron and AD stay healthy? Can the rest of the roster compensate? Will the league put the fix in at the start of the season or wait until their playoff chances slim up?
Suns = Similar health questions as above. But also, how does the top heavy nature of this roster work? How do they operate seemingly without a PG on the team?
Blazers = Irrelevant, tanking.
Kings = Was last season a fluke or a sign of who they are? Can Murray take a leap? Fox, Sabonis?
Spurs = Irrelevant, tanking. Realistically, and I want to stress I'm not wishing this on him, but I can see a Victor W injury by about midseason even if they do surprise people.
Thunder = How do they integrate a healthy Chet? Can they continue to build on what they have with their youth movement?
Jazz = Irrelevant, tanking? Not sure what the Jazz are doing or aiming for.
Grizzlies = Can they stay afloat without Ja? What kind of impact does Smart have?
Mavericks = Can Luka/Kyrie positively co-exist? Can they rebound? What kind of contributions do they get from their role players?

So a lot has to go right for us to get #1. Not to mention we'll have to show the kind of mental discipline I've never seen from this team outside of the Thibs years.