Fan Enthusiasm (or lack of it)

[shrink]

And some here still think coaching isn’t the problem. i don’t think Finch will ever get us past mediocre even with a healthy Kat.

What's that based on? I know that people act like Edwards is the best player on the team (and he may be), but KAT has been the best player for much longer and isn't exactly falling off production wise (health-wise not so great).

You take away a 3x All-Star and 2x All-NBA player from most rosters (especially while they are still in their prime and making max money) and obviously things aren't usually going to go well. They are fortunate to be .500 without him and still fighting for a decent playoff spot. Without KAT the margin for error with this team is much smaller and their lack of maturity/consistency at times has really hurt their chances.

Not sure how that's on Finch though. He's not perfect, but it's as if people don't remember how bad the coaching has been with this franchise for so long. Finch isn't out on the floor making careless turnovers and falling asleep on defense. The players need to be held accountable, and that is in part Finch's role, but there's only so much you can do as a coach.

Wolves have the same problems that they had last year with Kat and in the playoffs. Blowing big leads embarrassingly with stupid play and turnovers. Yes wolves have low basketball iq players but they are not well coached either. Finch fails to put in the better lineups does not know when to slow down opponents momentum. He’s just mediocre. A lot of posters are giving Finch credit for the wins and excusing him for the bad losses.

I definitely think the BB IQ has improved, by adding vets like Conley, SloMo etc, and improvements from last year from very young players like Ant and JMac. It’s true that we blow big leads with embarrassing turnovers, but DLo is gone, and I hope Ant just needs time, since the ball is in his hands so much.

[urinesane]

And some here still think coaching isn’t the problem. i don’t think Finch will ever get us past mediocre even with a healthy Kat.

What's that based on? I know that people act like Edwards is the best player on the team (and he may be), but KAT has been the best player for much longer and isn't exactly falling off production wise (health-wise not so great).

You take away a 3x All-Star and 2x All-NBA player from most rosters (especially while they are still in their prime and making max money) and obviously things aren't usually going to go well. They are fortunate to be .500 without him and still fighting for a decent playoff spot. Without KAT the margin for error with this team is much smaller and their lack of maturity/consistency at times has really hurt their chances.

Not sure how that's on Finch though. He's not perfect, but it's as if people don't remember how bad the coaching has been with this franchise for so long. Finch isn't out on the floor making careless turnovers and falling asleep on defense. The players need to be held accountable, and that is in part Finch's role, but there's only so much you can do as a coach.

Wolves have the same problems that they had last year with Kat and in the playoffs. Blowing big leads embarrassingly with stupid play and turnovers. Yes wolves have low basketball iq players but they are not well coached either. Finch fails to put in the better lineups does not know when to slow down opponents momentum. He’s just mediocre. A lot of posters are giving Finch credit for the wins and excusing him for the bad losses.

Right, but context matters. KAT, JMac, and Prince have missed a large amount of games this year and the last two have always provided consistency/accountability when they are on the floor. It's hard to make a recipe when you're missing some of the ingredients that make it work. If KAT were playing, I don't think they'd blow as many leads as they have (and they would build bigger ones), mainly because when things have gotten tight, the ball movement has stopped and there aren't a ton of guys that consistently get you a big bucket (that included DLO even though he's known for being clutch).

Better lineups are tough when you're consistently having to give decent minutes to guys that normally wouldn't get them and don't fit well together. I think he's actually done a decent job to not have the wheels fall completely off this year.

Sure, playing down to lesser teams is bad (and shows their immaturity and lack of consistency), but they've held their own against teams that they probably shouldn't have more often than I would expect.

You have to give him some credit for that, as well as some blame when they play down (as you said, but more negatively framed).

Also, like shrink said. DLO was not a good leader/vet to have around this young core. Way too cool for school and chill about consistently having lapses and making TERRIBLE turnovers. Conley is a much better fit and more of what the team needs in their current state.

Only way they hold onto that last game vs the Clippers with DLO is if he's shooting lights out. Otherwise, they probably blow the lead and lose by the same margin they won by.

[Klomp]

Right, but context matters. KAT, JMac, and Prince have missed a large amount of games this year and the last two have always provided consistency/accountability when they are on the floor. It's hard to make a recipe when you're missing some of the ingredients that make it work.

Exactly!

Towns: 43 games missed
McLaughlin: 37 games missed
Prince: 24 games missed
Anderson: 13 games missed

With all of those games missed, we're having to replace them with guys who were fringe NBA players at the beginning of the season. Our two-way center who earned the 17th spot in training camp (Luka Garza) has played in more games this season than Towns.

[urinesane]

Right, but context matters. KAT, JMac, and Prince have missed a large amount of games this year and the last two have always provided consistency/accountability when they are on the floor. It's hard to make a recipe when you're missing some of the ingredients that make it work.

Exactly!

Towns: 43 games missed
McLaughlin: 37 games missed
Prince: 24 games missed
Anderson: 13 games missed

With all of those games missed, we're having to replace them with guys who were fringe NBA players at the beginning of the season. Our two-way center who earned the 17th spot in training camp (Luka Garza) has played in more games this season than Towns.

And if they weren't limited on how many games he can play due to the two way rules, he'd probably have played even more.

I get the expectations were high, probably way higher than they should have been, but injuries happen and adjustments are needed.

Any other year without KAT for this amount of time would have made them a lottery team... this year they're still fighting for a playoff spot. Yes those losses to bad teams hurt, but when two of your best starters can't rent a car, you have to temper expectations a bit (or you can keep em and be butthurt).

[Worm Guts]

Context matters you’re trying to objectively evaluate the team, but when we’re talking fan enthusiasm, not so much.

[Mamba4Goat]

It’s understandable that there is a lack of fan enthusiasm. The Gobert trade was a gigantic overpay and the initial returns of the KAT pairing with him was the team basically getting out hustled and beat by worse teams that were simply just trying hard. After KAT went down Ant and D’Lo turned it up more often than not but this team was still ugly from a fit perspective and was routinely getting out coached (Finch has favored two big lineups or 3 guard lineups and neither have been profitable). Even still, everything circles back to most losses coming from the other team just playing with more effort than the Wolves. They traded away 3 of their major effort guys (Bev, Beas, Vando) and let JO walk. Even these losses post-D’Lo have mostly come from a lack of giving a damn and coaching incompetence.

Normally this would be fine but the Wolves went all in and the preseason expectations was HCA and a few playoff wins. Now they’re fighting for the play in.

The injury excuse is meh. They’re still the more talented team in a lot of these matchups regardless of injuries and a lot of the problems show up with or without guys x, y, and z.

Unfortunately I don’t think Finch is the man for this job and a coach that is a lot more open to a pick and roll heavy matchup and has more creativity defensively is who Minnesota should be looking for. It’s unfortunate that Snyder got signed.

[urinesane]

It’s understandable that there is a lack of fan enthusiasm. The Gobert trade was a gigantic overpay and the initial returns of the KAT pairing with him was the team basically getting out hustled and beat by worse teams that were simply just trying hard. After KAT went down Ant and D’Lo turned it up more often than not but this team was still ugly from a fit perspective and was routinely getting out coached (Finch has favored two big lineups or 3 guard lineups and neither have been profitable). Even still, everything circles back to most losses coming from the other team just playing with more effort than the Wolves. They traded away 3 of their major effort guys (Bev, Beas, Vando) and let JO walk. Even these losses post-D’Lo have mostly come from a lack of giving a damn and coaching incompetence.

Normally this would be fine but the Wolves went all in and the preseason expectations was HCA and a few playoff wins. Now they’re fighting for the play in.

The injury excuse is meh. They’re still the more talented team in a lot of these matchups regardless of injuries and a lot of the problems show up with or without guys x, y, and z.

Unfortunately I don’t think Finch is the man for this job and a coach that is a lot more open to a pick and roll heavy matchup and has more creativity defensively is who Minnesota should be looking for. It’s unfortunate that Snyder got signed.

Finch is about optionality which means that it will take time for people to gel and learn how to make the right decisions. Throw in a mix of different rotations out of necessity due to injury and it extends the amount of time it takes for the younger players to build comfort. That doesn't mean it's not worth the time to make it work, because when it clicks with this team it will make them very difficult to gameplan against (because if you take something away they know the other options).

The injury excuse isn't meh, it's the main reason they aren't a 4 seed right now. It's amazing how people have such short memories when it comes to this team, do you not remember how bad we were just a few years ago?

Finch is trying different things to see if they work and they don't always work. That's not bad coaching, it comes with the territory of not running a strict (predictable) system. I trust him over EVERY other coach we've had when it comes to ATO and end of game play calls. Now that there is less hero ball (*cough* DLO *cough*) I'm more confident in their potential to close out games (good examples being Dallas and LAC).

Seriously, Snyder wouldn't have whipped this team into a contender with the available players this year either. Stop with the grass is greener crap and appreciate what we have, a talented team and a capable coach. They haven't had a ton of time to figure things out and it would be a huge mistake to remove that stability they currently have in their HC (and haven't had since KAT was drafted).

The inconsistency is very frustrating, but it comes with the territory with an overhauled and unhealthy roster that has two of their starters (and core players) under 23 years old.

[urinesane]

I'm definitely not trying to make excuses for the team lacking effort and consistency. It's incredibly frustrating to see a team that when it plays together can beat any team in the league, and when they don't can (and has) lost to some of the worst teams out there.

That being said, you take away a guy who's averaged 23 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 39% from 3 for his career from most rosters and you are going to have some major issues. The fact that they are in the position they are in is both frustrating and kind of miraculous.

[minimus]

I'm definitely not trying to make excuses for the team lacking effort and consistency. It's incredibly frustrating to see a team that when it plays together can beat any team in the league, and when they don't can (and has) lost to some of the worst teams out there.

That being said, you take away a guy who's averaged 23 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 39% from 3 for his career from most rosters and you are going to have some major issues. The fact that they are in the position they are in is both frustrating and kind of miraculous.

Our top scorers this season:

Ant - 25 ppg
Towns - 21 ppg
DLo - 18 ppg

Towns has been down with injury. And now FO traded DLo. So these are 2nd and 3rd scorer. Finch has to figure out how to get 40(!!!) points more from current players. The next guys in scorer list are Gobert - 13.4 ppg, MCD - 11.6 ppg, Nowell 10.9 ppg. It is obvious that you can't get from Gobert more offense. On paper this is a task for Nowell, but he has been bad. So where you get 40 more points? In my opinion you need multiple guys to step up: Edwards, MCD, Nowell, Prince. Which means a system change, but keep in mind that this happens in midseason when there is no time for system changes that take time.

[shrink]

I'm definitely not trying to make excuses for the team lacking effort and consistency. It's incredibly frustrating to see a team that when it plays together can beat any team in the league, and when they don't can (and has) lost to some of the worst teams out there.

That being said, you take away a guy who's averaged 23 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 39% from 3 for his career from most rosters and you are going to have some major issues. The fact that they are in the position they are in is both frustrating and kind of miraculous.

Our top scorers this season:

Ant - 25 ppg
Towns - 21 ppg
DLo - 18 ppg

Towns has been down with injury. And now FO traded DLo. So these are 2nd and 3rd scorer. Finch has to figure out how to get 40(!!!) points more from current players. The next guys in scorer list are Gobert - 13.4 ppg, MCD - 11.6 ppg, Nowell 10.9 ppg. It is obvious that you can't get from Gobert more offense. On paper this is a task for Nowell, but he has been bad. So where you get 40 more points? In my opinion you need multiple guys to step up: Edwards, MCD, Nowell, Prince. Which means a system change, but keep in mind that this happens in midseason when there is no time for system changes that take time.

Good post. One of the hidden jobs for GM’s is to create opportunities for rising (and cheaper) young players, and this usually happens by trading away a more established player for assets. I usually look at it as finding minutes, not just for young players on your roster, but to be a more appealing destination for free agents.

Among my many failed expectations last summer was the thought that Jaylen Nowell would succeed with more minutes. After all, he had done well with every random opportunity he had gotten the previous three years, and it felt like he had earned a bigger opportunity. It makes it easier to trade guys like Beverley, Beasley and Vanderbilt if you have guys ready to step into the 75 minutes they averaged in the games they played. Gobert upgrades the Vando minutes, and the consolidation trade helped get Prince’s minutes back in the 20’s, but we really needed Nowell to step up.

I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Nowell wants to go elsewhere, so hopefully we can use the MLE to find a defensive guard this summer. He will have lots of opportunity.

[urinesane]

It may sound crazy based on how he played in LA, but I think if they'd held onto PatBev and they had him instead of Rivers this season, I don't think they'd have as many lapses as they've had. While Rivers is a vet, he just doesn't have the same credibility with the roster as Pat had. Pat is the perfect mix of crazy and intelligent.

He is all about accountability and playing your role, they've missed that spark plug this season. I'm not talking about a scoring one, I'm talking about the type that lights a fire in everyone around them and gets them to believe (which is such a massive thing in sports).

The last guy we had like that before PatBev was KG.

PLEASE BRING HIM BACK NEXT YEAR! He doesn't need a ton of minutes to have a massive impact on this roster, and you need that kind of heart and energy to absorb into our young guys (and KAT). One season isn't enough to sustain that longterm.

Bring him back next year and depending on where he's at, keep him on as a player development coach beyond that. This team needs an edge.

[Klomp]

Among my many failed expectations last summer was the thought that Jaylen Nowell would succeed with more minutes. After all, he had done well with every random opportunity he had gotten the previous three years, and it felt like he had earned a bigger opportunity. It makes it easier to trade guys like Beverley, Beasley and Vanderbilt if you have guys ready to step into the 75 minutes they averaged in the games they played. Gobert upgrades the Vando minutes, and the consolidation trade helped get Prince’s minutes back in the 20’s, but we really needed Nowell to step up.

I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Nowell wants to go elsewhere, so hopefully we can use the MLE to find a defensive guard this summer. He will have lots of opportunity.

Exacerbated by the injury to Towns (and the overall injury issues for the team), this has been the biggest letdown for the season.

I think this is the role they'll target for the MLE this summer. My dream target right now has a couple of former teammates on the roster already and would fit seamlessly into the role if he's willing to accept the role and the MLE money.

[Folklore]

We’re a .500 team after the Gobert trade, I don’t think there should be any dispute that’s a disappointment. If we start performing like a team with championship expectations, the enthusiasm will improve.

We're a .500 team without KAT. You can't just leave that out, even though they struggled at the start of the season with him playing.

What would last year's team be this year with him losing this much time? It'd be a valid point if he'd played a decent number of games this year and it just didn't work. Obviously they should have a better record (those losses to bad teams hurts), but to leave that factor out kind of invalidates the statement.

Championship expectations this year, even with KAT were not anywhere near realistic. Getting the chemistry with Gobert, and ANT/Jaden development to lead to competing in the next few years is more realistic.

I gotta say it, Minnesota sports fans are some of the most bi-polar around. Constantly expecting to blow it, then expecting the moon when things are going well, only to play chicken little as soon as adversity strikes.

The fans of the Wolves are only an asset when things are going well, when they aren't going well they are pretty worthless to the team (i.e. no home court advantage at all).

You can talk about spending your money and blah blah blah, they should do this, and they should do that, but it's the truth. What happened to trying to uplift the team when the chips are down?

The replies will all be "they are millionaires, they need to prove, they don't deserve etc etc" but we don't control what they do. If you support them, do it through the ups and downs, if not, well that's fine, but I don't really care about fairweather fans.

Why anyone would agree with this nonsense is mind numbing.

So WE are bi-polar? have you been a fan of this team for long? this team is so up and down with its potential that all can say for sure is that everyone who expects more from the Wolves other than a possible source of entertainment is crazy. You think that watching this team was fun before? this is entertainment for those who actually go to the games. for the fans it was fun watching Zach and other rookies show their stuff.
Last year had the everyone casuals turn into fans because the team was fun to watch and everyone had a player they liked.Then a a new employee ripped that away with a horrible trade. wth are you talking about "If you support them, do it through the ups and downs, if not, well that's fine, but I don't really care about fairweather fans" How dare you? Real fans have been through waaaaay too much with this team to sit here and let someone sht on our plate and expect us to continue giving out good reviews. No way can you be a serious fan and judging from your delusional, contradicting posts.The way you're willing to ignore the facts and the reality of the situation and post so much is too much, please stop it.

owner: Hey can you run my team? They have a bright future and we still have our picks along with young talent and great contracts.
We just fell flat in the playoffs so we'd like to trade away the weak links if you could. maybe get a mobile PF and a backup Center who could be brought in to play against those teams who can outrebound us. The fans seem to really like what we have going here and the players get along.
Kahn: Sounds good, did you know I'm good at drafting?
Owner: Are you? that's great. maybe you could even solve our issues in the draft.
Kahn:Yep

A couple months later.
Owner: Hey uh...wtf man? so you, traded our heart, soul and spark plug and future 1st round picks for an aging Center?
Kahn: Yep
Owner: ...
Kahn: Trust me this'll work. i simulated a couple seasons on this game called NBA2K and they did great with no changes. everyone's stats went up but they got beat in the finals. But guess what? once i added Rudy to the team, Moved Towns to PF we dominated. Rudy had over 4 blocks a game and Towns crushed every PF it was great.
Owner:.. .
Kahn: yeah man. good thing I had player Moral and team chemistry turned off who needs that?
Owner: let me get this straight.... you played 2K to figure out your big trade and you traded away players who the fans loved and came to watch along with our young star? I mean even casual fans love to watch players who give it their all after watching years of Wiggins....you really traded that away?
Kahn: that's right
Owner: Have you spoken to anyone to see if something like this would even work? I don't even think that Finch ever played two centers together. Finch likes for the floor to be spaced for our young guys right?
Kahn: no worries. I ran several simulations. I even put Jaden at SG one time and he won MVP
Owner:...

[Ranger]

That article is a bit misleading as it never mentions the impact Towns has had on the season.

This is a great comment. I was feeling kinda ho-hum about the team as well, then I remembered that (possibly) our best player hasn't been on the court in a hot minute. Once he's back in and going, I'll no doubt get fired up again.

[urinesane]

We’re a .500 team after the Gobert trade, I don’t think there should be any dispute that’s a disappointment. If we start performing like a team with championship expectations, the enthusiasm will improve.

We're a .500 team without KAT. You can't just leave that out, even though they struggled at the start of the season with him playing.

What would last year's team be this year with him losing this much time? It'd be a valid point if he'd played a decent number of games this year and it just didn't work. Obviously they should have a better record (those losses to bad teams hurts), but to leave that factor out kind of invalidates the statement.

Championship expectations this year, even with KAT were not anywhere near realistic. Getting the chemistry with Gobert, and ANT/Jaden development to lead to competing in the next few years is more realistic.

I gotta say it, Minnesota sports fans are some of the most bi-polar around. Constantly expecting to blow it, then expecting the moon when things are going well, only to play chicken little as soon as adversity strikes.

The fans of the Wolves are only an asset when things are going well, when they aren't going well they are pretty worthless to the team (i.e. no home court advantage at all).

You can talk about spending your money and blah blah blah, they should do this, and they should do that, but it's the truth. What happened to trying to uplift the team when the chips are down?

The replies will all be "they are millionaires, they need to prove, they don't deserve etc etc" but we don't control what they do. If you support them, do it through the ups and downs, if not, well that's fine, but I don't really care about fairweather fans.

Why anyone would agree with this nonsense is mind numbing.

So WE are bi-polar? have you been a fan of this team for long? this team is so up and down with its potential that all can say for sure is that everyone who expects more from the Wolves other than a possible source of entertainment is crazy. You think that watching this team was fun before? this is entertainment for those who actually go to the games. for the fans it was fun watching Zach and other rookies show their stuff.
Last year had the everyone casuals turn into fans because the team was fun to watch and everyone had a player they liked.Then a a new employee ripped that away with a horrible trade. wth are you talking about "If you support them, do it through the ups and downs, if not, well that's fine, but I don't really care about fairweather fans" How dare you? Real fans have been through waaaaay too much with this team to sit here and let someone sht on our plate and expect us to continue giving out good reviews. No way can you be a serious fan and judging from your delusional, contradicting posts.The way you're willing to ignore the facts and the reality of the situation and post so much is too much, please stop it.

I've been here 7 years longer than you, champ. Maybe you should get a blog instead of enduring our "mind numbing" posts here, after that long winded nonsense.

I lived in MN for my first 28 years and have followed the wolves for over 20 years. I've been through the worst of the worst... this is nowhere near that. That being said, I am not saying anyone should be ra-ra go team, everything is awesome... but pump the breaks on the self righteous drama. If it's soooooo painful for people to watch this team.... maybe don't watch them?

I've been frustrated as well with the dips and lack of effort, but that's because I had high expectations coming into this season... guess who's fault that is? IT'S MINE.

With using that little thing called context, I've lowered my expectations, not only due to the fact that KAT has missed 40+ games this year, but also because the expectation that things would just click right away were not realistic. They were hopeful, but not realistic. That doesn't mean that the experiment has failed, it's had 21 games so far at it's full strength. Sure, they were disappointing games, but hardly enough of a sample size to call this H. Walker territory (which is hilarious that vikings fans are still so butt hurt about it).

You have a choice. Learn from mistakes, or repeat them. The Wolves mistake has been lacking effort, a sense of urgency, and consistency. The fans' mistake has been expecting a tiger to change its stripes overnight (as if all but a few seasons before last season weren't brutal lottery dwelling hot garbage fests).

It's YOUR FAULT that you're upset and if you don't own that, you will continue to suffer due to a situation you have no control over. If you want to take your money away from the franchise in a show of protest, that would carry a lot more weight than crying on an internet forum.

If the fact that I am able to use context when it comes to this team makes me a "casual" then I guess that's what I am. Which seems weird considering I have 4,000 more posts on this forum than you and 54% And 1 ratio compared to your 26% (which I take as meaning that I contribute more value to the people who post here than you).

Enjoy your misery, I watch this team for enjoyment, but I certainly am not silly enough at my age to tie my happiness to their results.

[shangrila]

It may sound crazy based on how he played in LA, but I think if they'd held onto PatBev and they had him instead of Rivers this season, I don't think they'd have as many lapses as they've had. While Rivers is a vet, he just doesn't have the same credibility with the roster as Pat had. Pat is the perfect mix of crazy and intelligent.

He is all about accountability and playing your role, they've missed that spark plug this season. I'm not talking about a scoring one, I'm talking about the type that lights a fire in everyone around them and gets them to believe (which is such a massive thing in sports).

The last guy we had like that before PatBev was KG.

PLEASE BRING HIM BACK NEXT YEAR! He doesn't need a ton of minutes to have a massive impact on this roster, and you need that kind of heart and energy to absorb into our young guys (and KAT). One season isn't enough to sustain that longterm.

Bring him back next year and depending on where he's at, keep him on as a player development coach beyond that. This team needs an edge.

As weird as it might sound I think Bev's impact on this team was underrated if anything.

I know people point to Vando as having the same impact in that regard but the team was legitimately night and day in terms of effort when Bev was available, regardless of Vando.

[urinesane]

It may sound crazy based on how he played in LA, but I think if they'd held onto PatBev and they had him instead of Rivers this season, I don't think they'd have as many lapses as they've had. While Rivers is a vet, he just doesn't have the same credibility with the roster as Pat had. Pat is the perfect mix of crazy and intelligent.

He is all about accountability and playing your role, they've missed that spark plug this season. I'm not talking about a scoring one, I'm talking about the type that lights a fire in everyone around them and gets them to believe (which is such a massive thing in sports).

The last guy we had like that before PatBev was KG.

PLEASE BRING HIM BACK NEXT YEAR! He doesn't need a ton of minutes to have a massive impact on this roster, and you need that kind of heart and energy to absorb into our young guys (and KAT). One season isn't enough to sustain that longterm.

Bring him back next year and depending on where he's at, keep him on as a player development coach beyond that. This team needs an edge.

As weird as it might sound I think Bev's impact on this team was underrated if anything.

I know people point to Vando as having the same impact in that regard but the team was legitimately night and day in terms of effort when Bev was available, regardless of Vando.

PatBev planted the seed of playoffs in a team that probably had no business thinking that way and he kept it through the ups and downs. When it comes to doing something special and especially overachieving like they did, it doesn't just happen through dumb luck. That team believed in themselves well before the fans ever did and the one thing I liked about DLO last year was when he challenged the fans to show up and do their part. To their credit, they did. You can't always expect the team to prove that you should believe in them first, sometimes you just have to have some faith (and if they fail, is it really so bad?).

Last year was special because the team and city believed that they could succeed (and making the playoffs last year with that roster was a HUGE success). That doesn't mean they should have ran it back and tried to catch lightning in a bottle this season. If they kept the same roster + Kessler and lost KAT for this amount of games, we'd be a lottery team.

I do think that PatBev wouldn't have let this team lose their discipline as much as they have this season. I really like Vando and Beasley, but they aren't needle pushers in the same way. Everyone points to PatBev's stats to try and discredit his contribution, but they don't have stats for heart. They also don't have stats for inspiration.

PatBev has those two gifts, and when it comes to a sports team (especially a young NBA team) that can be the difference between the first round in the playoffs and the lottery.

[Jailblazers7]

The Gobert trade was an enthusiasm killer for multiple reasons. It was obviously a dumb trade the second it happened which has heaped a ton of ridicule on the team. And on top of that, the product on the court has been terrible. Bad effort, constant miscommunication, turnovers, etc.

The other reason is that it short circuited a fun youth rebuild that played an exciting style. Fan favorite effort guys like Bev & Vando got unceremoniously moved in an already demoralizing trade. Last years team was full of athleticism & guys were flying around the court. Now the Wolves give up fastbreak points left & right.

Add on top that KAT got hurt & it’s just not a fun season. It’s not wasted tho. Ant has been getting extremely valuable reps as the top dog & McDaniels has played really well. As long as those two continue to develop, the team should be able to right the ship.

[minimus]

I know nothing about psychology, and I know a little about basketball, but last year this team was built around aggressive defense which means more steals, fastbreaks and dunks. While this year this team is more about structure, discipline, effort. Also we traded our two best 3pt shooters: Beasley and DLo, while Towns is down with injury.

Basically we decreased use of two major elements which give fans excitement: dunks and three point shots. Instead TC brought here methodical, robotic Gobert. Plus Edwards, Gobert and Towns were in a bad physical shape, they didn't move well, didn't dunk much in first games. Plus sometimes chemistry and effort were lacking. So I understand why fans can call this team ugly and weird. Take for example SAC: they play fast, they shoot a ton of threes, it is easier to root for them (and they don't have injuries). Meanwhile MIN is weird team, that looking for new identity.

[Klomp]

I know nothing about psychology, and I know a little about basketball, but last year this team was built around aggressive defense which means more steals, fastbreaks and dunks. While this year this team is more about structure, discipline, effort. Also we traded our two best 3pt shooters: Beasley and DLo, while Towns is down with injury.

Basically we decreased use of two major elements which give fans excitement: dunks and three point shots. Instead TC brought here methodical, robotic Gobert. Plus Edwards, Gobert and Towns were in a bad physical shape, they didn't move well, didn't dunk much in first games. Plus sometimes chemistry and effort were lacking. So I understand why fans can call this team ugly and weird. Take for example SAC: they play fast, they shoot a ton of threes, it is easier to root for them (and they don't have injuries). Meanwhile MIN is weird team, that looking for new identity.

I think this may actually be getting to a big root of the enthusiasm.

It's easy to get fans hyped with personalities like Beverley and Vanderbilt, and to a lesser extent guys like Beasley. I think that's probably why fans immediately attached more to Minott than Moore. Connelly comes in with a more business-like approach. Come in and do your job. Those personalities were replaced by more serious veterans like Gobert, Conley, Rivers and Anderson.

The funny thing is, I think that's a better fit with most of the younger guys. Jaden, Naz and Jordan all seem much more serious in nature with a business-like approach. Ant has shown in each of his first three seasons that he can thrive in any environment.