*** Wolves @ Kings - Tuesday Night - 9pm CT FSN ***

[Neeva]

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

Really nice way to close the game out. I really hope we can get our first two-game streak since the season start and end the season on a positive note. That defense was atrocious, in the 4th we got a decent effort and the Kings were missing some shots others teams have been nailing.

Edwards play should bury the Haliburton for rookie of the year talk.

In their heads to head it has not even been close. with Ball it was.

[Nick K]

We surpassed the Rockets! We no longer have the worst record in the league!

WE'RE NOT THE WORST! WE'RE NOT THE WORST! WE'RE NOT THE WORST!

Man, the good news just keeps piling up today.....

Great stuff!

[Nick K]

Third quarter:
Rubio 2 bad passes, leads to 0 kings points. 2 assist, and plays defense.
“He’s having a bad quarter”

DLo, zero points scored, zero defense played, 2 assists, 1to leading to 2 kings points.
....crickets



One of these guys is a max (paid) player. Maybe they should be the one getting the most scrutiny?

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Thank You!

[LesGrossman]

Third quarter:
Rubio 2 bad passes, leads to 0 kings points. 2 assist, and plays defense.
“He’s having a bad quarter”

DLo, zero points scored, zero defense played, 2 assists, 1to leading to 2 kings points.
....crickets



One of these guys is a max (paid) player. Maybe they should be the one getting the most scrutiny?

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Thank You!

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

[shrink]

We surpassed the Rockets! We no longer have the worst record in the league!

WE'RE NOT THE WORST! WE'RE NOT THE WORST! WE'RE NOT THE WORST!

It’s good to have goals!

[shrink]

Third quarter:
Rubio 2 bad passes, leads to 0 kings points. 2 assist, and plays defense.
“He’s having a bad quarter”

DLo, zero points scored, zero defense played, 2 assists, 1to leading to 2 kings points.
....crickets



One of these guys is a max (paid) player. Maybe they should be the one getting the most scrutiny?

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

And that’s the point many DLo fans neglect.

I looked at Russell’s stat line, and I came in to post to give him the credit he deserved. 10-13, 6-8 3P, 6 AST, 28 PTS. He had one of his best games, right?

So I read Les, post, and went back and checked, -1 +/-. In fact, was the only player on the Wolves with a negative +/-.

Now, I know +/- isn’t the best stat in the world, but Les is right here. He needed to score 28, because the other team scored 29. And what’s more likely to be repeated next game? This level of shooting, or this level of defense?

We need to give credit to players for their entire contribution on the floor. That’s not always easy or fun, with so many one-way players on the team, but that’s real.

[TheZachAttack]

Third quarter:
Rubio 2 bad passes, leads to 0 kings points. 2 assist, and plays defense.
“He’s having a bad quarter”

DLo, zero points scored, zero defense played, 2 assists, 1to leading to 2 kings points.
....crickets



One of these guys is a max (paid) player. Maybe they should be the one getting the most scrutiny?

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

And that’s the point many DLo fans neglect.

I looked at Russell’s stat line, and I came in to post to give him the credit he deserved. 10-13, 6-8 3P, 6 AST, 28 PTS. He had one of his best games, right?

So I read Les, post, and went back and checked, -1 +/-. In fact, was the only player on the Wolves with a negative +/-.

Now, I know +/- isn’t the best stat in the world, but Les is right here. He needed to score 28, because the other team scored 29. And what’s more likely to be repeated next game? This level of shooting, or this level of defense?

We need to give credit to players for their entire contribution on the floor. That’s not always easy or fun, with so many one-way players on the team, but that’s real.

It seems like if we're going to do what you're doing we should add a little nuance on top of that. The reason that D Lo was a negative was because the Kings were essentially shooting 60% from 3 in the first half--that had very little to do with D Lo's defense or lack there of. They were just hitting everything. In addition, to take it even a step further we currently have D lo playing mainly with bench players. His role is entirely to score enough to keep us in the game until the starters get back in--pulling away is a bonus. The fact that D Lo was able to single-handedly allow us to keep pace with a Kings team who was unconscious from 3 in the first half... is a huge part of the reason that we were eventually able to win this game.

[AbeVigodaLive]

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

And that’s the point many DLo fans neglect.

I looked at Russell’s stat line, and I came in to post to give him the credit he deserved. 10-13, 6-8 3P, 6 AST, 28 PTS. He had one of his best games, right?

So I read Les, post, and went back and checked, -1 +/-. In fact, was the only player on the Wolves with a negative +/-.

Now, I know +/- isn’t the best stat in the world, but Les is right here. He needed to score 28, because the other team scored 29. And what’s more likely to be repeated next game? This level of shooting, or this level of defense?

We need to give credit to players for their entire contribution on the floor. That’s not always easy or fun, with so many one-way players on the team, but that’s real.

It seems like if we're going to do what you're doing we should add a little nuance on top of that. The reason that D Lo was a negative was because the Kings were essentially shooting 60% from 3 in the first half--that had very little to do with D Lo's defense or lack there of. They were just hitting everything. In addition, to take it even a step further we currently have D lo playing mainly with bench players. His role is entirely to score enough to keep us in the game until the starters get back in--pulling away is a bonus. The fact that D Lo was able to single-handedly allow us to keep pace with a Kings team who was unconscious from 3 in the first half... is a huge part of the reason that we were eventually able to win this game.

While it's true Russell needs to score well with the bench guys to keep them afloat... and he did that as well as possible in the first half yesterday... it's important to note that he is a max guy playing a lot of his minutes against reserves. The bench argument works both ways.

[TheZachAttack]

And that’s the point many DLo fans neglect.

I looked at Russell’s stat line, and I came in to post to give him the credit he deserved. 10-13, 6-8 3P, 6 AST, 28 PTS. He had one of his best games, right?

So I read Les, post, and went back and checked, -1 +/-. In fact, was the only player on the Wolves with a negative +/-.

Now, I know +/- isn’t the best stat in the world, but Les is right here. He needed to score 28, because the other team scored 29. And what’s more likely to be repeated next game? This level of shooting, or this level of defense?

We need to give credit to players for their entire contribution on the floor. That’s not always easy or fun, with so many one-way players on the team, but that’s real.

It seems like if we're going to do what you're doing we should add a little nuance on top of that. The reason that D Lo was a negative was because the Kings were essentially shooting 60% from 3 in the first half--that had very little to do with D Lo's defense or lack there of. They were just hitting everything. In addition, to take it even a step further we currently have D lo playing mainly with bench players. His role is entirely to score enough to keep us in the game until the starters get back in--pulling away is a bonus. The fact that D Lo was able to single-handedly allow us to keep pace with a Kings team who was unconscious from 3 in the first half... is a huge part of the reason that we were eventually able to win this game.

While it's true Russell needs to score well with the bench guys to keep them afloat... and he did that as well as possible in the first half yesterday... it's important to note that he is a max guy playing a lot of his minutes against reserves. The bench argument works both ways.

Yes, but it's also important to note that it's actually what many have said would be the best way to utilize D Lo. It's a role that, if D Lo were to accept it, would actually be huge for this team based on roster construction and allow the Wolves to be the best balanced version of themselves with both their starters and bench rotations on the floor and thus the best version of themselves for 48 minutes.

D Lo, when fully healthy, will not only play 25-26 minutes per game whether he comes off the bench or not. However, if Finch has found a role for D Lo that allows him to produce +20-5-5 in say 30 minutes per game and allow us to fix our issues with consistent bench scoring when Towns isn't on the floor as well as allow Edwards to be able to have time being the primary scorer leading to an elite offense... why is that a bad thing? Why does it matter if D Lo is scoring 20-5-5 in 30 minutes but he starts with the starting unit and plays the first 8-10 minutes of a quarter and then sits for the next 6-8 minutes instead of doing the opposite? That's really the only difference in role.

Were the Spurs mad that they had Ginobli start off the bench? Did that hurt them? Did that mean that Ginobli was a bad player? Or was it an x-factor for them? I'm not sure why there's hate for what D Lo has been doing when it's actually one of the more encouraging and interesting signs of the season for me in terms of what D Lo has been willing to do since back from his injury under Finch (not play the primary initiator and bring the ball up the floor and come off the bench). In doing these things, which many said he would be the best version of himself doing but wouldn't be willing to do it, he's found a role that allows him to produce more efficiently and more impactfully than he did in his starting role while also minimizing his warts and also the iso ball and other things where there's stretches of just D Lo, D Lo, D lo.

I guess I just really don't understand the comment.

[Nick K]

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

Thank You!

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

The problem is he can't guard 5 guys. He didn't give up all those points. There are 4 other guys out there that have a say in things.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It seems like if we're going to do what you're doing we should add a little nuance on top of that. The reason that D Lo was a negative was because the Kings were essentially shooting 60% from 3 in the first half--that had very little to do with D Lo's defense or lack there of. They were just hitting everything. In addition, to take it even a step further we currently have D lo playing mainly with bench players. His role is entirely to score enough to keep us in the game until the starters get back in--pulling away is a bonus. The fact that D Lo was able to single-handedly allow us to keep pace with a Kings team who was unconscious from 3 in the first half... is a huge part of the reason that we were eventually able to win this game.

While it's true Russell needs to score well with the bench guys to keep them afloat... and he did that as well as possible in the first half yesterday... it's important to note that he is a max guy playing a lot of his minutes against reserves. The bench argument works both ways.

Yes, but it's also important to note that it's actually what many have said would be the best way to utilize D Lo. It's a role that, if D Lo were to accept it, would actually be huge for this team based on roster construction and allow the Wolves to be the best balanced version of themselves with both their starters and bench rotations on the floor and thus the best version of themselves for 48 minutes.

D Lo, when fully healthy, will not only play 25-26 minutes per game whether he comes off the bench or not. However, if Finch has found a role for D Lo that allows him to produce +20-5-5 in say 30 minutes per game and allow us to fix our issues with consistent bench scoring when Towns isn't on the floor as well as allow Edwards to be able to have time being the primary scorer leading to an elite offense... why is that a bad thing? Why does it matter if D Lo is scoring 20-5-5 in 30 minutes but he starts with the starting unit and plays the first 8-10 minutes of a quarter and then sits for the next 6-8 minutes instead of doing the opposite? That's really the only difference in role.

Were the Spurs mad that they had Ginobli start off the bench? Did that hurt them? Did that mean that Ginobli was a bad player? Or was it an x-factor for them? I'm not sure why there's hate for what D Lo has been doing when it's actually one of the more encouraging and interesting signs of the season for me in terms of what D Lo has been willing to do since back from his injury under Finch (not play the primary initiator and bring the ball up the floor and come off the bench). In doing these things, which many said he would be the best version of himself doing but wouldn't be willing to do it, he's found a role that allows him to produce more efficiently and more impactfully than he did in his starting role while also minimizing his warts and also the iso ball and other things where there's stretches of just D Lo, D Lo, D lo.

I guess I just really don't understand the comment.

1. I agree. I dig Russell off the bench.
2. My comment was directed at "to take it even a step further we currently have D lo playing mainly with bench players..." as an excuse for just trying to keep us in the game like it's some heroic act. I'm just pointing out that he's probably playing against bench units more often off the bench. And that ultimately, is going to make it easier for him to go for 20/5/5 or whatever.

It works both ways. It sounded like we're giving him credit for having to play with bench guys... but ignoring that he's playing against bench guys. See what I mean?

[Sugarless]

Third quarter:
Rubio 2 bad passes, leads to 0 kings points. 2 assist, and plays defense.
“He’s having a bad quarter”

DLo, zero points scored, zero defense played, 2 assists, 1to leading to 2 kings points.
....crickets



One of these guys is a max (paid) player. Maybe they should be the one getting the most scrutiny?

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

And that’s the point many DLo fans neglect.

I looked at Russell’s stat line, and I came in to post to give him the credit he deserved. 10-13, 6-8 3P, 6 AST, 28 PTS. He had one of his best games, right?

So I read Les, post, and went back and checked, -1 +/-. In fact, was the only player on the Wolves with a negative +/-.

Now, I know +/- isn’t the best stat in the world, but Les is right here. He needed to score 28, because the other team scored 29. And what’s more likely to be repeated next game? This level of shooting, or this level of defense?

We need to give credit to players for their entire contribution on the floor. That’s not always easy or fun, with so many one-way players on the team, but that’s real.

It's a vicious circle. Most fans understand that defense is part of the game, but they are not really used to paying attention and analyzing what happens on that end of the floor. That in turn makes them poorly equipped to understand or even notice what's happening on defense, so they end up becoming even less interested in that aspect of the game (which is HALF of the action taking place on the court at any point).

Russell's defense is simply non-existent most of the time. Just like it happens with fans, he usually doesn't care about that 50% of the game, and when he does he just doesn't really understand what's happening, and how he's supposed to act and react.

Let me show you just two consecutive plays that happened merely 1 minute into his first stint of the game. Keep in mind that in the previous minute there had been two more attacks by Sacramento where Russell (as well as Edwards and KAT, cause 'Lo is not the only one who really sucks on that end) had played a similarly disgraceful role, only I couldn't get the full clips quickly, as with these next two plays:

- The first clip shows Edwards matched with Fox, 'defending' the PoA. Rubio is paired with Buddy Hield while trying to provide some help defense at the top of the key and not leave too much open space for Fox to drive. McDaniels is matched with Harrison Barnes and following him closely. Towns is paired with Whiteside and ready to do his job and help inside if Fox penetrates. And Russell is... well, Russell is standing in the paint, 15 ft away from Moe Harkless, his guy, who's all alone on the corner, where he's shooting 43% on the season from 3 and where he had already nailed one a few minutes earlier (it wouldn't be his last one either, he had another one later with Edwards now playing some headscratchingly bad D again).

As the half-court play develops, Barnes intends to set a screen for Fox, who pays it no mind as he can instead casually drive by a matador Edwards who basically GETS OUT OF THE WAY. Rubio now needs to choose whether to stick to his man or become a helper. The thing is he can't really bother Fox since Edwards has made absolutely no opposition, so as he tries to reach he finally chooses to stay with Hield and not leave him alone at the 3-pt line. Towns moves to the middle to be able to disrupt a possible floater or layup by Fox. And Russell... Russell's still inside, right in the middle of the paint, where he jumps in the air as soon as Fox is close and kills any little chance he had at being able to cover ground and prevent -or at least hinder- Harkless' wide open 3. Rubio tries to scramble back, but he started at the top of the key, he's too far and he can't closeout on Harkless without leaving Hield wide open instead. Result: 3 easy points for the Kings.

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

- On the very next play the Kings are coming up the floor with the ball after a long defensive rebound. This time Edwards is matched with Hield and Rubio's the PoA defender; he stays in front of Fox, who's surveying the floor. McDaniels is the guy defending the middle and he's matched up with Whiteside. Towns is close and he should communicate with McD and switch so he can be the one on Whiteside, while McD should move to the perimeter and guard the smaller Harkless who's again beyond the 3-pt line. In any case they've all ran back on transition and everyone has their guy. Everyone but Russell, that is. 'Lo is yet again in the middle of the paint defending no one, while this time Harrison Barnes (46% 3-pt shooter from the corner) remains wide open in exactly the same spot that Harkless had occupied the play before.

We hit play and see Fox recognizing the mismatch inside and making an entry pass to Whiteside. Rubio tips the ball but it's not enough and it gets to the Kings' C. McDaniels tries to stay upright but Whiteside is just bigger and stronger and he doesn't have much of a problem putting the ball up and banking a 4-ft shot while Towns tries to collapse on him as well. Now, there was a communication issue between a young guy like McDaniels and a bad defender with poor awareness like KAT, and that lead to the mismatch and to Moe Harkless being wide open again once KAT helped inside. But the worst thing in this play BY FAR is our usual suspect, 'Angelo Russell. Just look at the guy stand around the paint doing nothing, from the beginning of the play till the end, while Harrison Barnes is all by himself on the corner. It's a good thing that Fox recognized the mismatch and that Whiteside has never been able to see the floor, cause those 2 points for the Kings could very well have been 3 again.

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

The Wolves are a bottom-3 defensive team in the league along with the Kings and Blazers, and they're the absolute worst when it comes to defending the 3 (opponents shoot a crazy 39.6% from 3 against Minnesota, 45% from the corner), and these types of plays AND PLAYERS are the reason why.

These are simple, short half-court plays, it's nothing complicated to understand, and they happen all the time. Like I said, the two plays before these as Russell came into the game at the 7-minute mark weren't better, nor was his defensive effort or understanding through the rest of the game (or any game, for that matter). And Edwards isn't any better either, but at least he's a rookie (I don't think his lack of BBIQ will allow him to become a great defensive player, but if he learns to put some effort he can be more effective with his size). Russell is on his 6th year and 4th team already, and he should do way better than this.

But back to what I said at the beginning, a majority of fans just don't notice or care about defensive plays. It seems like being a fan you're merely required to recognize that the guy with the jersey you like making a shot = good, and him missing = bad. You don't need to think about that, you don't need to process any information, you don't need to pay attention (hell, most people don't even care if you miss way more often more than you make them, as long as your point total looks nice at the end). So that's all they think about, and how they rate each player on the team.

[Note30]

So are you gonna ignore the 26 pts in 16 mins?

And he literally shot one in the 3rd

He has to make up for the 30 points he allowed tho

And that’s the point many DLo fans neglect.

I looked at Russell’s stat line, and I came in to post to give him the credit he deserved. 10-13, 6-8 3P, 6 AST, 28 PTS. He had one of his best games, right?

So I read Les, post, and went back and checked, -1 +/-. In fact, was the only player on the Wolves with a negative +/-.

Now, I know +/- isn’t the best stat in the world, but Les is right here. He needed to score 28, because the other team scored 29. And what’s more likely to be repeated next game? This level of shooting, or this level of defense?

We need to give credit to players for their entire contribution on the floor. That’s not always easy or fun, with so many one-way players on the team, but that’s real.

It's a vicious circle. Most fans understand that defense is part of the game, but they are not really used to paying attention and analyzing what happens on that end of the floor. That in turn makes them poorly equipped to understand or even notice what's happening on defense, so they end up becoming even less interested in that aspect of the game (which is HALF of the action taking place on the court at any point).

Russell's defense is simply non-existent most of the time. Just like it happens with fans, he usually doesn't care about that 50% of the game, and when he does he just doesn't really understand what's happening, and how he's supposed to act and react.

Let me show you just two consecutive plays that happened merely 1 minute into his first stint of the game. Keep in mind that in the previous minute there had been two more attacks by Sacramento where Russell (as well as Edwards and KAT, cause 'Lo is not the only one who really sucks on that end) had played a similarly disgraceful role, only I couldn't get the full clips quickly, as with these next two plays:

- The first clip shows Edwards matched with Fox, 'defending' the PoA. Rubio is paired with Buddy Hield while trying to provide some help defense at the top of the key and not leave too much open space for Fox to drive. McDaniels is matched with Harrison Barnes and following him closely. Towns is paired with Whiteside and ready to do his job and help inside if Fox penetrates. And Russell is... well, Russell is standing in the paint, 15 ft away from Moe Harkless, his guy, who's all alone on the corner, where he's shooting 43% on the season from 3 and where he had already nailed one a few minutes earlier (it wouldn't be his last one either, he had another one later with Edwards now playing some headscratchingly bad D again).

As the half-court play develops, Barnes intends to set a screen for Fox, who pays it no mind as he can instead casually drive by a matador Edwards who basically GETS OUT OF THE WAY. Rubio now needs to choose whether to stick to his man or become a helper. The thing is he can't really bother Fox since Edwards has made absolutely no opposition, so as he tries to reach he finally chooses to stay with Hield and not leave him alone at the 3-pt line. Towns moves to the middle to be able to disrupt a possible floater or layup by Fox. And Russell... Russell's still inside, right in the middle of the paint, where he jumps in the air as soon as Fox is close and kills any little chance he had at being able to cover ground and prevent -or at least hinder- Harkless' wide open 3. Rubio tries to scramble back, but he started at the top of the key, he's too far and he can't closeout on Harkless without leaving Hield wide open instead. Result: 3 easy points for the Kings.

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

- On the very next play the Kings are coming up the floor with the ball after a long defensive rebound. This time Edwards is matched with Hield and Rubio's the PoA defender; he stays in front of Fox, who's surveying the floor. McDaniels is the guy defending the middle and he's matched up with Whiteside. Towns is close and he should communicate with McD and switch so he can be the one on Whiteside, while McD should move to the perimeter and guard the smaller Harkless who's again beyond the 3-pt line. In any case they've all ran back on transition and everyone has their guy. Everyone but Russell, that is. 'Lo is yet again in the middle of the paint defending no one, while this time Harrison Barnes (46% 3-pt shooter from the corner) remains wide open in exactly the same spot that Harkless had occupied the play before.

We hit play and see Fox recognizing the mismatch inside and making an entry pass to Whiteside. Rubio tips the ball but it's not enough and it gets to the Kings' C. McDaniels tries to stay upright but Whiteside is just bigger and stronger and he doesn't have much of a problem putting the ball up and banking a 4-ft shot while Towns tries to collapse on him as well. Now, there was a communication issue between a young guy like McDaniels and a bad defender with poor awareness like KAT, and that lead to the mismatch and to Moe Harkless being wide open again once KAT helped inside. But the worst thing in this play BY FAR is our usual suspect, 'Angelo Russell. Just look at the guy stand around the paint doing nothing, from the beginning of the play till the end, while Harrison Barnes is all by himself on the corner. It's a good thing that Fox recognized the mismatch and that Whiteside has never been able to see the floor, cause those 2 points for the Kings could very well have been 3 again.

Gfycat Video - Click to Play

The Wolves are a bottom-3 defensive team in the league along with the Kings and Blazers, and they're the absolute worst when it comes to defending the 3 (opponents shoot a crazy 39.6% from 3 against Minnesota, 45% from the corner), and these types of plays AND PLAYERS are the reason why.

These are simple, short half-court plays, it's nothing complicated to understand, and they happen all the time. Like I said, the two plays before these as Russell came into the game at the 7-minute mark weren't better, nor was his defensive effort or understanding through the rest of the game (or any game, for that matter). And Edwards isn't any better either, but at least he's a rookie (I don't think his lack of BBIQ will allow him to become a great defensive player, but if he learns to put some effort he can be more effective with his size). Russell is on his 6th year and 4th team already, and he should do way better than this.

But back to what I said at the beginning, a majority of fans just don't notice or care about defensive plays. It seems like being a fan you're merely required to recognize that the guy with the jersey you like making a shot = good, and him missing = bad. You don't need to think about that, you don't need to process any information, you don't need to pay attention (hell, most people don't even care if you miss way more often more than you make them, as long as your point total looks nice at the end). So that's all they think about, and how they rate each player on the team.

Pin this post.

Maybe having a DLo Defensive Juggernaut video like they did for James Harden all those seasons ago will open some eyes.

[TheZachAttack]

While it's true Russell needs to score well with the bench guys to keep them afloat... and he did that as well as possible in the first half yesterday... it's important to note that he is a max guy playing a lot of his minutes against reserves. The bench argument works both ways.

Yes, but it's also important to note that it's actually what many have said would be the best way to utilize D Lo. It's a role that, if D Lo were to accept it, would actually be huge for this team based on roster construction and allow the Wolves to be the best balanced version of themselves with both their starters and bench rotations on the floor and thus the best version of themselves for 48 minutes.

D Lo, when fully healthy, will not only play 25-26 minutes per game whether he comes off the bench or not. However, if Finch has found a role for D Lo that allows him to produce +20-5-5 in say 30 minutes per game and allow us to fix our issues with consistent bench scoring when Towns isn't on the floor as well as allow Edwards to be able to have time being the primary scorer leading to an elite offense... why is that a bad thing? Why does it matter if D Lo is scoring 20-5-5 in 30 minutes but he starts with the starting unit and plays the first 8-10 minutes of a quarter and then sits for the next 6-8 minutes instead of doing the opposite? That's really the only difference in role.

Were the Spurs mad that they had Ginobli start off the bench? Did that hurt them? Did that mean that Ginobli was a bad player? Or was it an x-factor for them? I'm not sure why there's hate for what D Lo has been doing when it's actually one of the more encouraging and interesting signs of the season for me in terms of what D Lo has been willing to do since back from his injury under Finch (not play the primary initiator and bring the ball up the floor and come off the bench). In doing these things, which many said he would be the best version of himself doing but wouldn't be willing to do it, he's found a role that allows him to produce more efficiently and more impactfully than he did in his starting role while also minimizing his warts and also the iso ball and other things where there's stretches of just D Lo, D Lo, D lo.

I guess I just really don't understand the comment.

1. I agree. I dig Russell off the bench.
2. My comment was directed at "to take it even a step further we currently have D lo playing mainly with bench players..." as an excuse for just trying to keep us in the game like it's some heroic act. I'm just pointing out that he's probably playing against bench units more often off the bench. And that ultimately, is going to make it easier for him to go for 20/5/5 or whatever.

It works both ways. It sounded like we're giving him credit for having to play with bench guys... but ignoring that he's playing against bench guys. See what I mean?

I'm not sure that was my argument, but sure it's fair to acknowledge that he's putting up numbers against, to some degree, bench players.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I dig the screen shots. But neither captures the trademarked "point out the open guy to teammates" move that has often accompanied the less-than-stellar defense from Russell this season.

My favorite play from the Kings game came on the first possession of the 2nd quarter. As Russell was barking orders and pointing at something while standing on the right side of the lane... his guy (Wright) simply jogged from the right side of the court to the left, entirely ignored by Russell. The Kings simply passed it to him for an open three... without a Timberwolves player (Russell) within 15 feet.

As noted... nobody cares. Seemingly not even the players. Personally, I think Anthony Edwards is an embarrassingly indifferent defender. But he and Russell are so gifted offensively that they will both be paid enormous sums of money for putting the ball in the basket. So why would they concentrate on defense? Especially in a lost season. It's human nature.

[Sugarless]

I dig the screen shots. But neither captures the trademarked "point out the open guy to teammates" move that has often accompanied the less-than-stellar defense from Russell this season.

LOL, that kills me every time. It actually happens right before those two plays, on a fastbreak after a TO by Towns (who then proceeds to jog back instead of running), when Edwards and Russell both want to stay in the middle and both point at Harkless, who's -as usual- running all alone to stand on the corner. Luckily for Minnesota that play ends up on an offensive 3-second violation by Whiteside (who's a horrific defender -despite his shot-blocking numbers- and low-BBIQ player himself) while Harrison Barnes shoots yet another wide open 3 and the Wolves defense scrambles trying to make up for their terrible transition D.

PS: And yeah, Edwards' lack of interest and effort on D is as embarrasing as Russell's. He's young and new to the league enough that he still has a chance to turn things around somewhat, but Russell is what he is at this point: one of the absolute worst defenders in the league. And he couldn't care less.

[Klomp]

Russell's defense is simply non-existent most of the time. Just like it happens with fans, he usually doesn't care about that 50% of the game, and when he does he just doesn't really understand what's happening, and how he's supposed to act and react.

Let me show you just two consecutive plays that happened merely 1 minute into his first stint of the game. Keep in mind that in the previous minute there had been two more attacks by Sacramento where Russell (as well as Edwards and KAT, cause 'Lo is not the only one who really sucks on that end) had played a similarly disgraceful role, only I couldn't get the full clips quickly, as with these next two plays:

You say some fans don't care about 50% of the game, yet I don't see you posting screenshot analyses of his offensive performances. Now who doesn't care about half of the game?