Game 80: Minnesota at Memphis

[Baseline81]

MIN starts the third quarter on a 26-2 run!

Will the Finch haters that blame him for MIL’s run give him credit for our own run against MEM?

No problem giving credit to Finch. Bane was 6-6 from behind the arc in the first half. He finished the game 0-4.

[Klomp]

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[guest81]

The team does look exhausted. Biggest reason why they need to stay out of the play in is for that extra rest

[winforlose]

This game has a lot of the same offensive process as last night, the difference is we are hitting these shots.

Are you saying that as a good thing or bad thing?

Typically bad, but when the hot hand is being fed all bets are off. I am firm believer that the hot hand is the ultimate trump card. The golden rule is hot shooters shoot until they cool down. They also stay on the floor until they cool down or MUST come out (foul trouble, minute limit, ect…) Bane shot 6 consecutive 3s against us, then the 2nd half happened and he was cold. Morant also got hot and then cooled down. Normally I would chide Ant for back to back no pass 3s, but when he is hitting the last 4 or 5 shots in a row, I am more flexible. Bad process, but not necessarily bad basketball.

[thinktank]

The team does look exhausted. Biggest reason why they need to stay out of the play in is for that extra rest

Of course.

[shrink]

A couple thoughts about last nights game

1. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Randle score as well as he did in the second half. We trumpet the efficiency Ant showed getting 44, but Randle was 10-5-31, FG 13-22, 3P 5-10.

2. There were a couple plays in the second half where Ant got blitzed, he zipped it to Gobert, and Rudy found a cutter. Beautiful, veteran basketball!

3. The TNT announcers mentioned the MIL meltdown frequently, as they should. But one thing they said encouraged me. Finch went over the game with the team, because even in a game like that, there was a lot to learn. First, credit to the players for being adults and willing to look without tuning out everyone. But Finch deserves a ton of credit in my eyes, for getting the team to look at their failures and try to learn from them. It did not sound like this was the coach just balling them out either, he kept the walked that line and got the team motivated and together to go beat Memphis.

[Worm Guts]

I was so upset with the Milwaukee game that I couldn't watch this game. I didn't check the score until this morning. I'm glad they won and still control their destiny to avoid to the play-in tournament.

[shrink]

Has anyone seen stats exclusively for that 52-point third quarter? I’d love to know FG% and 3P%!

[TimberKat]

2. There were a couple plays in the second half where Ant got blitzed, he zipped it to Gobert, and Rudy found a cutter. Beautiful, veteran basketball!

3. The TNT announcers mentioned the MIL meltdown frequently, as they should. But one thing they said encouraged me. Finch went over the game with the team, because even in a game like that, there was a lot to learn. First, credit to the players for being adults and willing to look without tuning out everyone. But Finch deserves a ton of credit in my eyes, for getting the team to look at their failures and try to learn from them. It did not sound like this was the coach just balling them out either, he kept the walked that line and got the team motivated and together to go beat Memphis.

Yes, great progress with Ant/Gobert connection. So happy to see that. It will also open up shots for Ant too. If Randle wants to be here, he needs to learn interior passing and not just kickouts.

Also agree on Finch point but will comment after season is over if a coaching change is the best. For all we know, they can lay an egg tonight or Sunday. The team seems to freeze up in Bucks game is concerning. I see games where one team shot lights out, just everything magically goes in, while the other team misses open shots. But that wasn't the case with Bucks. We were the deer looking into headlights. Do give Finch credit for seems to turn a bad situation into positive teaching moments.

[Klomp]

3. The TNT announcers mentioned the MIL meltdown frequently, as they should. But one thing they said encouraged me. Finch went over the game with the team, because even in a game like that, there was a lot to learn. First, credit to the players for being adults and willing to look without tuning out everyone. But Finch deserves a ton of credit in my eyes, for getting the team to look at their failures and try to learn from them. It did not sound like this was the coach just balling them out either, he kept the walked that line and got the team motivated and together to go beat Memphis.

A few guys also said they got cussed out at halftime last night for their defense. This is not a team that has tuned out its coach.

[Klomp]

Has anyone seen stats exclusively for that 52-point third quarter? I’d love to know FG% and 3P%!

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[winforlose]

Has anyone seen stats exclusively for that 52-point third quarter? I’d love to know FG% and 3P%!

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

That last one about our offense being our defense is a point I have made before about the identity this season. We are a high volume 3 point shooting team. When you miss, long rebounds create run outs. We also tend to turn the ball over leading to transition opportunities (which we struggle to defend.) Also unlike last season where we had a lot of size, when Rudy is on the bench we play small and give up a lot of paint points and open 3s. We are an offensive identity team more so than a defensive one. As evidenced by the number of games our offense goes stagnant and our defense collapses.

[Baseline81]

A few guys also said they got cussed out at halftime last night for their defense. This is not a team that has tuned out its coach.

Curious, who has said the players have?

[Klomp]

A few guys also said they got cussed out at halftime last night for their defense. This is not a team that has tuned out its coach.

Curious, who has said the players have?

I can't find it now, but I'm fairly confident that winforlose has been a big proponent of this argument, citing when Finch calls a play and Ant does something else. This has been a big crux of the "fire Finch" crowd's argument.

[Klomp]

Has anyone seen stats exclusively for that 52-point third quarter? I’d love to know FG% and 3P%!

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

This was one of those misses btw

Read on Twitter

[Klomp]

That last one about our offense being our defense is a point I have made before about the identity this season. We are a high volume 3 point shooting team. When you miss, long rebounds create run outs. We also tend to turn the ball over leading to transition opportunities (which we struggle to defend.) Also unlike last season where we had a lot of size, when Rudy is on the bench we play small and give up a lot of paint points and open 3s. We are an offensive identity team more so than a defensive one. As evidenced by the number of games our offense goes stagnant and our defense collapses.

It's a good thing the team is 3rd in 3-point percentage and 5th in volume and makes then, I guess....

If it was last year where the team was 23rd in volume, yeah I'd probably be as concerned about our "identity" as you. But on the whole, it has worked. It's not even a situation where you could say Gobert can't function on a team that has an offensive identity, because that's what he came from in Utah. Ant clearly functions well on a team like this, as evidenced by his just-shy-of-40% mark on 10 3FGAs per game.....a mark only ever reached by Curry, Thompson and Lillard.

The only real concern I see is that it can feed into the team's lack of IQ or immaturity at times, where you see some rough stretches, but overall I believe this has been a positive development for the team.

[Klomp]

Hold up, this game was on FDSN as well?! I guess I have to go watch the game a second time after watching it on TNT live.

[winforlose]

That last one about our offense being our defense is a point I have made before about the identity this season. We are a high volume 3 point shooting team. When you miss, long rebounds create run outs. We also tend to turn the ball over leading to transition opportunities (which we struggle to defend.) Also unlike last season where we had a lot of size, when Rudy is on the bench we play small and give up a lot of paint points and open 3s. We are an offensive identity team more so than a defensive one. As evidenced by the number of games our offense goes stagnant and our defense collapses.

It's a good thing the team is 3rd in 3-point percentage and 5th in volume and makes then, I guess....

If it was last year where the team was 23rd in volume, yeah I'd probably be as concerned about our "identity" as you. But on the whole, it has worked. It's not even a situation where you could say Gobert can't function on a team that has an offensive identity, because that's what he came from in Utah. Ant clearly functions well on a team like this, as evidenced by his just-shy-of-40% mark on 10 3FGAs per game.....a mark only ever reached by Curry, Thompson and Lillard.

The only real concern I see is that it can feed into the team's lack of IQ or immaturity at times, where you see some rough stretches, but overall I believe this has been a positive development for the team.

Think about it like this. Plenty of high school basketball players have poor shot mechanics but score at a high clip. They get to College and their coach wants them to clean up their mechanics. It is an adjustment, their shooting percentage might go down for a bit, ect… eventually, by the time they get to the NBA you would expect them to use the proper mechanics most of the time. Ant shooting no pass shots is the equivalent of shooting with bad mechanics. Julius ISO is the equivalent of bad mechanics. Sometimes they revert and it costs us. Sometimes they revert and they hit their shots. You don’t want to encourage it, because it is not consistent or sustainable. It will cost you much more than it will serve you. But, when it is working, you don’t always have to stop doing it. Some nights you say, get it out of your system while it is working, then clean it up for next time. That was last night.

[Klomp]

That last one about our offense being our defense is a point I have made before about the identity this season. We are a high volume 3 point shooting team. When you miss, long rebounds create run outs. We also tend to turn the ball over leading to transition opportunities (which we struggle to defend.) Also unlike last season where we had a lot of size, when Rudy is on the bench we play small and give up a lot of paint points and open 3s. We are an offensive identity team more so than a defensive one. As evidenced by the number of games our offense goes stagnant and our defense collapses.

It's a good thing the team is 3rd in 3-point percentage and 5th in volume and makes then, I guess....

If it was last year where the team was 23rd in volume, yeah I'd probably be as concerned about our "identity" as you. But on the whole, it has worked. It's not even a situation where you could say Gobert can't function on a team that has an offensive identity, because that's what he came from in Utah. Ant clearly functions well on a team like this, as evidenced by his just-shy-of-40% mark on 10 3FGAs per game.....a mark only ever reached by Curry, Thompson and Lillard.

The only real concern I see is that it can feed into the team's lack of IQ or immaturity at times, where you see some rough stretches, but overall I believe this has been a positive development for the team.

Think about it like this. Plenty of high school basketball players have poor shot mechanics but score at a high clip. They get to College and their coach wants them to clean up their mechanics. It is an adjustment, their shooting percentage might go down for a bit, ect… eventually, by the time they get to the NBA you would expect them to use the proper mechanics most of the time. Ant shooting no pass shots is the equivalent of shooting with bad mechanics. Julius ISO is the equivalent of bad mechanics. Sometimes they revert and it costs us. Sometimes they revert and they hit their shots. You don’t want to encourage it, because it is not consistent or sustainable. It will cost you much more than it will serve you. But, when it is working, you don’t always have to stop doing it. Some nights you say, get it out of your system while it is working, then clean it up for next time. That was last night.

Sure, there are facets within the offense that are "bad mechanics", but I disagree with the premise - which seems like it has been prevalent on this forum and within most of the fan base for most of the season - that an offensive identity in itself is "bad mechanics".

[winforlose]

It's a good thing the team is 3rd in 3-point percentage and 5th in volume and makes then, I guess....

If it was last year where the team was 23rd in volume, yeah I'd probably be as concerned about our "identity" as you. But on the whole, it has worked. It's not even a situation where you could say Gobert can't function on a team that has an offensive identity, because that's what he came from in Utah. Ant clearly functions well on a team like this, as evidenced by his just-shy-of-40% mark on 10 3FGAs per game.....a mark only ever reached by Curry, Thompson and Lillard.

The only real concern I see is that it can feed into the team's lack of IQ or immaturity at times, where you see some rough stretches, but overall I believe this has been a positive development for the team.

Think about it like this. Plenty of high school basketball players have poor shot mechanics but score at a high clip. They get to College and their coach wants them to clean up their mechanics. It is an adjustment, their shooting percentage might go down for a bit, ect… eventually, by the time they get to the NBA you would expect them to use the proper mechanics most of the time. Ant shooting no pass shots is the equivalent of shooting with bad mechanics. Julius ISO is the equivalent of bad mechanics. Sometimes they revert and it costs us. Sometimes they revert and they hit their shots. You don’t want to encourage it, because it is not consistent or sustainable. It will cost you much more than it will serve you. But, when it is working, you don’t always have to stop doing it. Some nights you say, get it out of your system while it is working, then clean it up for next time. That was last night.

Sure, there are facets within the offense that are "bad mechanics", but I disagree with the premise - which seems like it has been prevalent on this forum and within most of the fan base for most of the season - that an offensive identity in itself is "bad mechanics".

It isn’t. But a defensive identity is always better because Offense wins games and defense wins championships. Our defensive potential may exist somewhere in the top 10, but the reality is that when Gobert and is on the bench and the offense stalls, we are gonna give up pretty much any lead and CAN lose any game. This team is not consistent to the point of not being trustworthy. Even last night they cut it to 10, and two more bad decisions or missed shots may have cost us the game.