Round 1: LAL

[younggunsmn]

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[winforlose]

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[younggunsmn]

Edit win4lose beat me to it lol.

[TimberKat]

These AI stuff man, it's funny and scary on how fast people crank them out. Some of the Fox/X lemmings are going to think they are real.

The irony of Kleber is that Luka actually wanted him in because familiarity in Dallas.

[winforlose]

It's going to be rough, the Lakers have the defense to really bother us. That said, I don't think Luka will be as problematic as last season because he wont have all those lob threats that absolutely murdered our squad.

Reaves and Luka are both bad defenders. They lack rim protection, and a physical Randle/Lebron matchup could really wear down Bron (who already has groin issues.) The two key players will be Jaden and Rudy. Also Finch needs to realize Randle is not optimal with Ant. Should be more Naz and DDV and less Mike and Randle. We get a week to game plan and then we will see.

Quoting myself because I give Jaden credit for game 1 and probably game 3 (he and Randle each get .5 win for game 3.) Rudy with the credit for the win in game 5. I just hope someone answers that phone…

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[KGdaBom]

Rudy after being mostly nonexistent the first 4 games had a game for the ages last night and the Wolves move on despite an unbelievably pathetic night shooting from 3 and the FT line. We need to be firing on 6 of our 8 cylinders to win the next round and 7 of 8 to beat the Thunder if we meet them.

[KGdaBom]

I wasn't around a lot of this season, but I remember discussions about how much time Dilly would need in the G League. How much time did he spend in the G League?

[frankenwolf]

I wasn't around a lot of this season, but I remember discussions about how much time Dilly would need in the G League. How much time did he spend in the G League?

2 games, 28 minutes, 19.5ppg, 6 apg

[Guest84]

I just want to shout out Julius for his play this series. What we lost shooting, we gained major grit and toughness. I think this was underestimated a bit in terms of how it might translate during the playoffs. Him as a 2nd or 3rd option might not be too bad next to Ant. Similar dog mentality and willing to apply pressure in the paint. Loved his performance.

[KGdaBom]

I wasn't around a lot of this season, but I remember discussions about how much time Dilly would need in the G League. How much time did he spend in the G League?

2 games, 28 minutes, 19.5ppg, 6 apg

Thanks. I think it was WinfForLose expecting him to spend most of the season in the G.

[winforlose]

I wasn't around a lot of this season, but I remember discussions about how much time Dilly would need in the G League. How much time did he spend in the G League?

2 games, 28 minutes, 19.5ppg, 6 apg

Thanks. I think it was WinfForLose expecting him to spend most of the season in the G.

I said he should be in the G. Given his lack of play time, personality clashes with Finch, and lack of development, I was right. They should have sent him to the G instead of benching him down the stretch.

[KGdaBom]

2 games, 28 minutes, 19.5ppg, 6 apg

Thanks. I think it was WinfForLose expecting him to spend most of the season in the G.

I said he should be in the G. Given his lack of play time, personality clashes with Finch, and lack of development, I was right. They should have sent him to the G instead of benching him down the stretch.

I don't think players get better by playing in the G. Better to take your lumps in the NBA IMO. It seemed like he had a few good games early IIRC or do I not recall correctly?
The way Conley is playing he should be relegated to player coach/cheerleader next year. Hopefully Dilly will be ready to take over.

[BlacJacMac]

2 games, 28 minutes, 19.5ppg, 6 apg

Thanks. I think it was WinfForLose expecting him to spend most of the season in the G.

I said he should be in the G. Given his lack of play time, personality clashes with Finch, and lack of development, I was right. They should have sent him to the G instead of benching him down the stretch.

Disagree strongly. I wanted him to spend every minute he could with the big club and coaches. Even if he wasn't playing.

Being "the man" against non-NBA talent wasn't going to prepare him for his hopeful role in the NBA.

[Ethomasp31]

I just want to shout out Julius for his play this series. What we lost shooting, we gained major grit and toughness. I think this was underestimated a bit in terms of how it might translate during the playoffs. Him as a 2nd or 3rd option might not be too bad next to Ant. Similar dog mentality and willing to apply pressure in the paint. Loved his performance.

Randle was very good the last half of the season and excellent since he came back from his injury. This team has a higher ceiling than last years team. I think we will beat GSW or the Rockets, but I prefer to play GSW, mainly because of the home court advantage, but also because they seem to play better when they think they are the underdogs and have something to prove. If it's the Warriors, Wolves in 5, if it's the Rockets, Wolves in 6. I'm actually starting to think the Wolves have a decent chance to beat OKC. We match up pretty well with them.

In the post game interview, a lady asked Ant how he was feeling after the series....he responded with a smile...almost a smirk on his face, "everyone was saying it was going to be the Lakers in 5, but it turned out to be the Wolves in 5. That makes it feel 10 times better." That was the matchup Ant wanted. He seemed very confident, and when people started saying that the Lakers probably had the two best players in the series, I knew we were going to win. Lots of motivation and pay back.

[KGdaBom]

Thanks. I think it was WinfForLose expecting him to spend most of the season in the G.

I said he should be in the G. Given his lack of play time, personality clashes with Finch, and lack of development, I was right. They should have sent him to the G instead of benching him down the stretch.

Disagree strongly. I wanted him to spend every minute he could with the big club and coaches. Even if he wasn't playing.

Being "the man" against non-NBA talent wasn't going to prepare him for his hopeful role in the NBA.

We're seeing eye to eye.

[Klomp]

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[shrink]

I just want to shout out Julius for his play this series. What we lost shooting, we gained major grit and toughness. I think this was underestimated a bit in terms of how it might translate during the playoffs. Him as a 2nd or 3rd option might not be too bad next to Ant. Similar dog mentality and willing to apply pressure in the paint. Loved his performance.

Frank Borman from Locked on Wolves made a similar point. He said we all love Towns, and he is an incredibly gifted scorer, but he did have a tendency to get over-excited in big moments, and it surely affected the team. Randle is a lunch pail guy, he goes to work, he doesn’t get too high or too low - he just goes out and does his job. We needed KAT to lead when Ant was younger, and while he is a great dude who is self-sacrificing, leading really isn’t his personality. Now, Ant is the leader, and we don’t need Randle to lead, and he seems very comfortable just being a great teammate that doesn’t create any problems.

[Klomp]

I just want to shout out Julius for his play this series. What we lost shooting, we gained major grit and toughness. I think this was underestimated a bit in terms of how it might translate during the playoffs. Him as a 2nd or 3rd option might not be too bad next to Ant. Similar dog mentality and willing to apply pressure in the paint. Loved his performance.

Frank Borman from Locked on Wolves made a similar point. He said we all love Towns, and he is an incredibly gifted scorer, but he did have a tendency to get over-excited in big moments, and it surely affected the team. Randle is a lunch pail guy, he goes to work, he doesn’t get too high or too low - he just goes out and does his job. We needed KAT to lead when Ant was younger, and while he is a great dude who is self-sacrificing, that really isn’t his personality. Now, Ant is the leader, and we don’t need Randle to lead, and he seems very comfortable just being a great teammate that doesn’t create any problems.

I've been fairly consistent since the trade about this very aspect. It's nothing against KAT as a player or as a person, but I just never got the feeling that going from Towns to Randle would be as large of a drop-off as everyone else was saying.

Fit matters. Here's part of a post I made just three days after the trade:

I get that player values seem off. While in a vacuum, you probably think Towns is better than Randle, I'd actually argue that for what Minnesota asks of its PFs, Randle is a better fit. Towns might have an A+ potential in general terms. But in Minnesota's scheme, I think he's only a B value. Meanwhile, Randle may have a B+ potential, but he can give Minnesota B or B- production.

[Klomp]

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[cmoss84]

Reddick says the team wasn't in shape. They should be able to play the ENTIRE game.