**** MN Timberwolves 9-31 @ 26-12 Phoenix Suns - 10:00pm FSN ****

[Baseline81]

People here just arent excited for the kid. Smh. Always have something to say

It's almost as if they, I can immediately think of two posters, believe a 19-year old should be playing flawless basketball. Enjoy watching his growth. The early years of Garnett still hold some of the fondest Wolves' memories for me.

[_AIJ_]

You think Vando gets demoted?

[life_saver]

KAT's ability to draw the bigman out and leave the paint less crowded really helps out Ant a lot on his drives. I remember some games earlier in the season when KAT was injured and the paint was so crowded most of the time

[Nick K]

Okogie was MVP tonight

I know what your saying but let's not get carried away. He had zero points. 1 reb and 1 ast. Sure he was disruptive at times on defense but not very high bar for MVP.

[PharmD]

Looking at the box score i see 8 minutes for Vando. I feel like he's had a lot of "starts then plays so bad he doesn't get any more minutes" games lately. I wonder if he'll keep starting.

[Nick K]

This is what I am talking about needing a wing/guard to be your closer. A player who can attack and get to the line in this moment is massive, you can't stop it in the NBA, bigs can't do this in today's game.

Exactly!! No one can stop Ant in isolation off the bounce.

Works when he's driving to the rim. Team has needed someone that coul, would, and that could draw fouls doing so for endless years.

Give it up Jezz and get on the Ant bandwagon. It's ok he's not perfect at age 19.

[jpatrick]

Read on Twitter

Keeping him in the middle of the floor like Finchis doing makes Okogie way less of an offensive liability.

Finch is really the MVP of this team. Can’t believe how much better we now look.

Bench was pretty garbage tonight on the offensive end except Juancho. He made some huge shots.

[_AIJ_]

Okogie was MVP tonight

I know what your saying but let's not get carried away. He had zero points. 1 reb and 1 ast. Sure he was disruptive at times on defense but not very high bar for MVP.

Pretty sure he locked up Booker in the 4th.

[Jedzz]

Kat was passing to garbage tonight and still got 8 dimes. Imagine if he had shooters.

i don't think that's fair to the other players tonight. 55 shots came from two players and this is not the way this team has been playing. If they are going to play this way from now on the other players will start to be prepared for such better.

You don't think the rotations they are used to got a little jacked tonight with Edwards having 30 minutes before the 3rd quarter was done? Vando got one shot attempt. Layman got two. Two of the starters?

[Nick K]

Looking at the box score i see 8 minutes for Vando. I feel like he's had a lot of "starts then plays so bad he doesn't get any more minutes" games lately. I wonder if he'll keep starting.

Because you don't need him to score just defend, rebound and play hard and he does that. You can't play him late because he makes too many mistakes.

[Jedzz]

Okogie was MVP tonight

I know what your saying but let's not get carried away. He had zero points. 1 reb and 1 ast. Sure he was disruptive at times on defense but not very high bar for MVP.

Pretty sure he locked up Booker in the 4th.

he was beat on screens twice I think I saw. beat ugly by it once. Fairly typically for him not to get around a screen though. Maybe he's better in other ways on D. Suns should have dipped that well more.

[theGreatRC]

Ant has elite change of speed, he can lull you with his between the legs dribble and just explode to the rim..Not many players have that.

[Nick K]

Read on Twitter

Keeping him in the middle of the floor like Finchis doing makes Okogie way less of an offensive liability.

Finch is really the MVP of this team. Can’t believe how much better we now look.

Bench was pretty garbage tonight on the offensive end except Juancho. He made some huge shots.

Finch is unbelievable!!!

Who is Ryan Saunders?

[winforlose]

I was so torn in this one. I love that we won, and I realize how insane it is that we did so with so many players playing so poorly tonight. Layman brought nothing, Vando brought nothing, Okogie did nothing on offense, Rubio didn’t do much. I will address Ant next but I want to spend a moment on Towns. The efficiency, the shot selection, the IQ of knowing when to attack the small and when to dish. KAT had an amazing game and did it with a sore left wrist. I have said this before and I will say it again, KAT is one of the best offensive bigs to ever play the game.

Ant made me go through the five stages of grief and then just when I thought I had found closure he put me right back in the cycle. He started red hot and I believe in feeding the hot hand. That said I don’t like shooting without passing especially on a contested 3. After making 4-6 he went ice cold and wouldn’t stop chucking (and no chucking isn’t simply shooting when cold, it is shooting without passing especially with double digits on the shot clock.) Ants shot selection also bothered me with too many mid range shots (some of them contested.) But, then he attacks and it is a thing of beauty. His passing was better (Vando needs to learn to catch a pass,) and what impressed me the most was he didn’t smile once when we were losing. If he was 25 or 26 it would be easy to be mad at him for what he does wrong, but I keep reminding myself he is 19. Ant had a nice game overall, but I do need to ask an important question and I would love some honest responses. Was part of the reason our bench (and starters like Ricky and Layman) was struggling to score because they didn’t take enough shots to get into any kind of rhythm? Nowell went 0-3 in the first and went 3-8 in the game. If Nowell touches the ball more does he score more? Same question for MCD, and Naz? When you have Edwards taking 31 shots that means other guys are not shooting. Again I am mixed on this and would love other people’s opinions.

[winforlose]

Read on Twitter

Keeping him in the middle of the floor like Finchis doing makes Okogie way less of an offensive liability.

Finch is really the MVP of this team. Can’t believe how much better we now look.

Bench was pretty garbage tonight on the offensive end except Juancho. He made some huge shots.

Finch is unbelievable!!!

Who is Ryan Saunders?

It’s amazing what happens when you don’t put players in a position to fail, but instead play to their strengths. Jo can attack and get fouled (sometimes finish through contact,) so you cannot leave him alone anywhere but behind the 3 point line.

[jpatrick]

Looking at the box score i see 8 minutes for Vando. I feel like he's had a lot of "starts then plays so bad he doesn't get any more minutes" games lately. I wonder if he'll keep starting.

Because you don't need him to score just defend, rebound and play hard and he does that. You can't play him late because he makes too many mistakes.

Finch rightly won’t play Okogie and Vando together. Okogie got the minutes tonight. Plus, Juancho was making shots so Finch kept him in.

[wolves_89]

You think Vando gets demoted?

A couple of bad turnovers to start the game bought him a seat on the bench. I still expect him to be in the rotation (and maybe start) because he provides significantly better defense and rebounding over Layman/Hernangomez.

[wolves_89]

I really like a lot of what Finch is doing with the team, but what might be most impressive is that he's found ways to keep Okogie from killing the offense. Not seeing Okogie standing at the 3pt line all alone time after time is a major improvement. Josh still isn't good on offense, but he at least can stay on the floor and provide needed defense

[winforlose]

You think Vando gets demoted?

A couple of bad turnovers to start the game bought him a seat on the bench. I still expect him to be in the rotation (and maybe start) because he provides significantly better defense and rebounding over Layman/Hernangomez.

I don’t know if Vando can be fixed, but if he can it starts with his hands. You cannot do anything with a guy if he cannot catch a pass. He is literally unplayable if we cannot count on him score when left unguarded within 5 feet of the basket because he literally cannot catch the pass to set up the dunk.

[Neeva]

Ant has elite change of speed, he can lull you with his between the legs dribble and just explode to the rim..Not many players have that.

Jalen Green has it also, he’s like a skinny Ant.