Game 42: Timberwolves at Grizzlies, 7:00 pm CST

[Calinks]

This season, if we are shooting well, we can beat any team in the NBA. Grizzlies have a superior offense and they did well on all the margins to get the win. We foul too much, don't generate enough calls, and our offense needs work. It was not a terrible game by any means, we just didn't have enough to get it done. Grizzlies are deep, their bench destroyed us, and they are firing on all cylinders right now. We made a game of it but they were better.

[winforlose]

This season, if we are shooting well, we can beat any team in the NBA. Grizzlies have a superior offense and they did well on all the margins to get the win. We foul too much, don't generate enough calls, and our offense needs work. It was not a terrible game by any means, we just didn't have enough to get it done. Grizzlies are deep, their bench destroyed us, and they are firing on all cylinders right now. We made a game of it but they were better.

I think in general what you are saying is true, I just don’t think it applies to last night. We gave up so many uncontested shots. Open 3s, putbacks, we got killed on the glass. 46 reb for us and 56 for them. Not to mention we only got 23 assists on the night. Some of that is not making shots, but some is poor ball movement. We turned it over 15 times and only generated 13. They shot 8 of 32 from 3 and we still lost. They also missed a ton of free throws going 24 of 35 from the line. They didn’t play well, we played awful. We refused to box out, were slow and out of position on defense, didn’t move the ball enough, and lacked energy.

[Calinks]

This season, if we are shooting well, we can beat any team in the NBA. Grizzlies have a superior offense and they did well on all the margins to get the win. We foul too much, don't generate enough calls, and our offense needs work. It was not a terrible game by any means, we just didn't have enough to get it done. Grizzlies are deep, their bench destroyed us, and they are firing on all cylinders right now. We made a game of it but they were better.

I think in general what you are saying is true, I just don’t think it applies to last night. We gave up so many uncontested shots. Open 3s, putbacks, we got killed on the glass. 46 reb for us and 56 for them. Not to mention we only got 23 assists on the night. Some of that is not making shots, but some is poor ball movement. We turned it over 15 times and only generated 13. They shot 8 of 32 from 3 and we still lost. They also missed a ton of free throws going 24 of 35 from the line. They didn’t play well, we played awful. We refused to box out, were slow and out of position on defense, didn’t move the ball enough, and lacked energy.

I thought the energy was there. I think for them ost part, Memphis just played a lot smarter/better. I don't think we were awful, we maybe were not great but Memphis has better cohesion and a more solid identity. They were attacking, being very aggressive, taking advantage of us not putting bodies on people, beating us to the right spots. They were much sharper. I think that is due to the types of players they have and due to their experience. They have been building that team and identity longer than we have ours.

I just don't think we will be there this season. Not saying we can't beat them but I just don't think our team as a whole, has the experience to consistently be as good as that. Not saying it's hopeless or not something we should aspire to but I just don't think we are at that level maturity. It even took Memphis like a quarter of the season for them to turn it up like this, it's not easy to do, especially for a team as inexperienced together as ours.

I still think we are on a good pace/path but making the postseason wont be easy, We are going to have to play the best we have in years, can't afford to continue the trend of several losing streaks, we got to start stringing together wins and taking a loss once in awhile. I think finishing the season very close to .500 is who we are in year 3 of this current rebuild.

We are a talented team that hasn't figured out how to be consistently good, it will be a work in progress all season IMO. The hope is next year we are little bit better and have some better roster fits.

[Nick K]

This season, if we are shooting well, we can beat any team in the NBA. Grizzlies have a superior offense and they did well on all the margins to get the win. We foul too much, don't generate enough calls, and our offense needs work. It was not a terrible game by any means, we just didn't have enough to get it done. Grizzlies are deep, their bench destroyed us, and they are firing on all cylinders right now. We made a game of it but they were better.

I think in general what you are saying is true, I just don’t think it applies to last night. We gave up so many uncontested shots. Open 3s, putbacks, we got killed on the glass. 46 reb for us and 56 for them. Not to mention we only got 23 assists on the night. Some of that is not making shots, but some is poor ball movement. We turned it over 15 times and only generated 13. They shot 8 of 32 from 3 and we still lost. They also missed a ton of free throws going 24 of 35 from the line. They didn’t play well, we played awful. We refused to box out, were slow and out of position on defense, didn’t move the ball enough, and lacked energy.

I thought the energy was there. I think for them ost part, Memphis just played a lot smarter/better. I don't think we were awful, we maybe were not great but Memphis has better cohesion and a more solid identity. They were attacking, being very aggressive, taking advantage of us not putting bodies on people, beating us to the right spots. They were much sharper. I think that is due to the types of players they have and due to their experience. They have been building that team and identity longer than we have ours.

I just don't think we will be there this season. Not saying we can't beat them but I just don't think our team as a whole, has the experience to consistently be as good as that. Not saying it's hopeless or not something we should aspire to but I just don't think we are at that level maturity. It even took Memphis like a quarter of the season for them to turn it up like this, it's not easy to do, especially for a team as inexperienced together as ours.

I still think we are on a good pace/path but making the postseason wont be easy, We are going to have to play the best we have in years, can't afford to continue the trend of several losing streaks, we got to start stringing together wins and taking a loss once in awhile. I think finishing the season very close to .500 is who we are in year 3 of this current rebuild.

We are a talented team that hasn't figured out how to be consistently good, it will be a work in progress all season IMO. The hope is next year we are little bit better and have some better roster fits.

Both of you have valid points.

The good news is the staff knows it's strengths and weaknesses by now. Gupta needs to step up at the trade deadline and move players. We need another scoring g/f and a big. We need that to take the next step.

It might be my imagination but Taurean Prine has played better of late. He's quiet but does some good things.

Pat Beverly puts up good overall numbers and is a cheerleader and all that but he does just as much to help us lose. Careless passes, hero ball, bad shots etc. I like him....we all like him, but he drives me nuts. If he would only play less hero ball and slow down just a bit, and think before he jumps we'd all be better off.

For all the great things Memphis did we barely lost that game. and mistakes late sealed the deal. For having 3 guys shoot 1 of 8 or worse it shouldn't have been close.

I'm really disappointed we didn't find a way to keep Greg Monroe. He just put up 6 and 6 in 16 minutes for Washington the other night. I liked his game. Every young team needs guys like that.

[minimus]

I was so disappointed when we didn't draft Tillman. This player is special.

[fattymcgee]

Pat Beverly puts up good overall numbers and is a cheerleader and all that but he does just as much to help us lose. Careless passes, hero ball, bad shots etc. I like him....we all like him, but he drives me nuts. If he would only play less hero ball and slow down just a bit, and think before he jumps we'd all be better off.

Are you sure you don't mean D'Lo? Hero ball? Pat takes less than 8 shots a game and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team (much better than D'Lo).