WCF Game 1 5-22-24 Series tied 0-0

[KATKlownFeet]

Should they switch: Edwards on Luka, McDaniels on Kyrie?

Well, only if its effective. Maybe, we take away Doncic and the big men and let Kyrie get his points. NAW can't stay with Kyrie and McDaniels didn't look all that great on Kyrie either. Maybe we just put Conley or Morris on him and mix it up with some doubles or traps, just to keep him from getting too comfortable.

[life_saver]

Defense had some breakdowns...also looked quite bad when Rudy was off floor. But most importantly, we are not winning this series if Ant is playing like this. He just seems to be bit more hesitant and less aggressive since the G6 vs Nuggets. idk if it's the fall he took in G6 that's still bothering him or fatigue or just him overthinking but that needs to change and be improved for rest of the series if Wolves wanna win the series.

Ant usually struggles in B2Bs. His conditioning isn't the best. Wonder having just 1 day rest between each games in this series will have an affect on Ant

[Note30]

We can not underestimate Luka and Kyrie.

The bigger issue is that a lot of Wolves fans underestimated our front court and PJ/DJJ. I've seen so many guys here saying PJs too slow for Edwards, DJJ too thin. Rudy & KAT are all-stars, Lively & Gafford do not. The reality is, those 4 guys on the Mavs bludgeon teams on defense and the boards on a nighty basis. MIN has the tools to counter, but they gotta play tougher than they did last night. Rudy/KAT have to significantly outplay Lively/Gafford to make this a series. They have the awards to suggest they can do it, now it's down to execution.

I think they combined for over 70+ points made and created, if we shut them down everyone else falls in line.

[jpatrick]

We can not underestimate Luka and Kyrie.

The bigger issue is that a lot of Wolves fans underestimated our front court and PJ/DJJ. I've seen so many guys here saying PJs too slow for Edwards, DJJ too thin. Rudy & KAT are all-stars, Lively & Gafford do not. The reality is, those 4 guys on the Mavs bludgeon teams on defense and the boards on a nighty basis. MIN has the tools to counter, but they gotta play tougher than they did last night. Rudy/KAT have to significantly outplay Lively/Gafford to make this a series. They have the awards to suggest they can do it, now it's down to execution.

I think they combined for over 70+ points made and created, if we shut them down everyone else falls in line.

My main takeaway from game 1 is that the Mavs defense is good. They have two legit, mobile rim protectors. Lively not only was protecting the rim, but he was also staying with KAT on the perimeter, which most centers cannot do. Also, Ant, whether it was fatigue or that he’s banged up, couldn’t take DJJ one-on-one. Something you’ll rarely see.

I have faith that we’ll slow down the Mavs pick/roll more than we did in game one. They’ll probably hit more threes to balance that out, but I think our defense will be alright. My bigger concern is that we’re going to need to score. Our offense last night was buoyed by Jaden, Kyle, and some 30 footers from Ant/KAT. If that’s what we’re counting on, we’re dead. We need better shots.

[life_saver]

This was the major problem..we sucked in non-Gobert minutes

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[Note30]

This was the major problem..we sucked in non-Gobert minutes

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Our transition defense was partially caused by our turnovers and the fact that we took early shots and poor shots when Gobert sat. That has just as much to do with our pace and ability to slow things down when Conley is out there.

We need to play more half court ball and less in transition because our transition defense is ass.

[BlacJacMac]

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[BlacJacMac]

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[Klomp]

Great stat by Zach Lowe....

43% of Dallas FGs in the game were mid-range shots, their fourth-most of any game this year regular season or playoffs. Between that and top-of-the-break 3s, Minnesota's defense forced Dallas into a lot of the shots they wanted them to take. But 11 offensive rebounds (I'm pretty sure close to half of them were in the 10:24 Gobert was on the bench). Those 10 minutes were a big turning point in the game for that reason.

[TimberKat]

Should they switch: Edwards on Luka, McDaniels on Kyrie?

Well, only if its effective. Maybe, we take away Doncic and the big men and let Kyrie get his points. NAW can't stay with Kyrie and McDaniels didn't look all that great on Kyrie either. Maybe we just put Conley or Morris on him and mix it up with some doubles or traps, just to keep him from getting too comfortable.

I would think between Ant, NAW, and Conley. We could stick with 1 on 1 D on Kyrie and hold him to 20 pts range. We did a much better job on him in the second half (I think, didn't get a chance to rewind and watch). Still keep JMcD and KA on Luka (because Luka like to body up smaller players) and hold him to below 30pts. Maybe get TJ or Minott in there for a few mins to guard Luka. Gobert and Towns have to stay closer to their guy to limit the pass/dunk from Luka. Continue to limit the 3pt shots from DAL like game 1.

[UglyBugBall]

Should they switch: Edwards on Luka, McDaniels on Kyrie?

Well, only if its effective. Maybe, we take away Doncic and the big men and let Kyrie get his points. NAW can't stay with Kyrie and McDaniels didn't look all that great on Kyrie either. Maybe we just put Conley or Morris on him and mix it up with some doubles or traps, just to keep him from getting too comfortable.

I would think between Ant, NAW, and Conley. We could stick with 1 on 1 D on Kyrie and hold him to 20 pts range. We did a much better job on him in the second half (I think, didn't get a chance to rewind and watch). Still keep JMcD and KA on Luka (because Luka like to body up smaller players) and hold him to below 30pts. Maybe get TJ or Minott in there for a few mins to guard Luka. Gobert and Towns have to stay closer to their guy to limit the pass/dunk from Luka. Continue to limit the 3pt shots from DAL like game 1.

Luka would torch Ant. He's too small and you don't want to waste ants energy guarding Luka. We saw what it looked like on several possessions yesterday. Luka pushed him like he wasnt even there.

Luka should be guarded by a different rotation of guys every few possessions. Min doesn't have the personnel to 1 on 1 guard luka or kyrie like OKC did, so it has to be by committee. I'd put Conley on Kai. He'll get torched but at least Ant will have energy on offense.

[TimberKat]

Well, only if its effective. Maybe, we take away Doncic and the big men and let Kyrie get his points. NAW can't stay with Kyrie and McDaniels didn't look all that great on Kyrie either. Maybe we just put Conley or Morris on him and mix it up with some doubles or traps, just to keep him from getting too comfortable.

I would think between Ant, NAW, and Conley. We could stick with 1 on 1 D on Kyrie and hold him to 20 pts range. We did a much better job on him in the second half (I think, didn't get a chance to rewind and watch). Still keep JMcD and KA on Luka (because Luka like to body up smaller players) and hold him to below 30pts. Maybe get TJ or Minott in there for a few mins to guard Luka. Gobert and Towns have to stay closer to their guy to limit the pass/dunk from Luka. Continue to limit the 3pt shots from DAL like game 1.

Luka would torch Ant. He's too small and you don't want to waste ants energy guarding Luka. We saw what it looked like on several possessions yesterday. Luka pushed him like he wasnt even there.

Luka should be guarded by a different rotation of guys every few possessions. Min doesn't have the personnel to 1 on 1 guard luka or kyrie like OKC did, so it has to be by committee. I'd put Conley on Kai. He'll get torched but at least Ant will have energy on offense.

Seems like you agree with me? See Bold and underline text above. I did also post elsewhere that you have to throw different look at Luka. Agree with you on that. But I do feel Wolves could guard Kyrie 1-1.

[UglyBugBall]

I would think between Ant, NAW, and Conley. We could stick with 1 on 1 D on Kyrie and hold him to 20 pts range. We did a much better job on him in the second half (I think, didn't get a chance to rewind and watch). Still keep JMcD and KA on Luka (because Luka like to body up smaller players) and hold him to below 30pts. Maybe get TJ or Minott in there for a few mins to guard Luka. Gobert and Towns have to stay closer to their guy to limit the pass/dunk from Luka. Continue to limit the 3pt shots from DAL like game 1.

Luka would torch Ant. He's too small and you don't want to waste ants energy guarding Luka. We saw what it looked like on several possessions yesterday. Luka pushed him like he wasnt even there.

Luka should be guarded by a different rotation of guys every few possessions. Min doesn't have the personnel to 1 on 1 guard luka or kyrie like OKC did, so it has to be by committee. I'd put Conley on Kai. He'll get torched but at least Ant will have energy on offense.

Seems like you agree with me? See Bold and underline text above. I did also post elsewhere that you have to throw different look at Luka. Agree with you on that. But I do feel Wolves could guard Kyrie 1-1.

I could see Jaden guarding Kyrie one on one. Worth trying. But definitely not Conley or Ant in that case. It's a tough situation because MIN doesn't really have the defensive pieces OKC had to matchup against Dallas two stars. So I think it'll have to be more by committee on both guys to make it work. On the other hand you have much better rim and lane protection than OKC did and it didn't show at all last night.

That said, IMO, looking at shutting down LuKai might be a red herring here. Gobert/Towns have to thoroughly outplay Gafford/Lively to make this a series. If that matchup is anywhere close it negates your biggest advantage on paper. When we got this matchup against the wolves I was worried not because of Ant or the perimeter defense, but because of those twin towers. It looked like our backline on steroids. It can't be played to a wash, because that gives the advantage to Mavs on the perimeter.

[TimberKat]

Luka would torch Ant. He's too small and you don't want to waste ants energy guarding Luka. We saw what it looked like on several possessions yesterday. Luka pushed him like he wasnt even there.

Luka should be guarded by a different rotation of guys every few possessions. Min doesn't have the personnel to 1 on 1 guard luka or kyrie like OKC did, so it has to be by committee. I'd put Conley on Kai. He'll get torched but at least Ant will have energy on offense.

Seems like you agree with me? See Bold and underline text above. I did also post elsewhere that you have to throw different look at Luka. Agree with you on that. But I do feel Wolves could guard Kyrie 1-1.

I could see Jaden guarding Kyrie one on one. Worth trying. But definitely not Conley or Ant in that case. It's a tough situation because MIN doesn't really have the defensive pieces OKC had to matchup against Dallas two stars. So I think it'll have to be more by committee on both guys to make it work. On the other hand you have much better rim and lane protection than OKC did and it didn't show at all last night.

That said, IMO, looking at shutting down LuKai might be a red herring here. Gobert/Towns have to thoroughly outplay Gafford/Lively to make this a series. If that matchup is anywhere close it negates your biggest advantage on paper. When we got this matchup against the wolves I was worried not because of Ant or the perimeter defense, but because of those twin towers. It looked like our backline on steroids. It can't be played to a wash, because that gives the advantage to Mavs on the perimeter.

Sure, I suggest you watch more Twolves basketball to understand the team better.

[UglyBugBall]

Seems like you agree with me? See Bold and underline text above. I did also post elsewhere that you have to throw different look at Luka. Agree with you on that. But I do feel Wolves could guard Kyrie 1-1.

I could see Jaden guarding Kyrie one on one. Worth trying. But definitely not Conley or Ant in that case. It's a tough situation because MIN doesn't really have the defensive pieces OKC had to matchup against Dallas two stars. So I think it'll have to be more by committee on both guys to make it work. On the other hand you have much better rim and lane protection than OKC did and it didn't show at all last night.

That said, IMO, looking at shutting down LuKai might be a red herring here. Gobert/Towns have to thoroughly outplay Gafford/Lively to make this a series. If that matchup is anywhere close it negates your biggest advantage on paper. When we got this matchup against the wolves I was worried not because of Ant or the perimeter defense, but because of those twin towers. It looked like our backline on steroids. It can't be played to a wash, because that gives the advantage to Mavs on the perimeter.

Sure, I suggest you watch more Twolves basketball to understand the team better.

What part do you disagree with? Reason I'm here is to exchange ideas with opposing fans. I don't watch a lot of wolves games, most wolves fans probably don't watch a lot of mavs games so these forums let us bridge the gap.

[Basti]

I won't be able to watch the game live tonight but I reckon I'll get up early and watch it before I have to go to work.

Speaking of work, which is a day care/kindergarten with a bi-cultural background (German and Norwegian), I have been rocking an old KG jersey the last two days. A few of the kids' fathers and I have been chatting basketball over the past year but they support other teams. So earlier today, a father of a kid who will join my group after the summer, approached me and was wondering if I am a Wolves fan. Much to my delight, he said he's also been a fan of the Wolves ever since he lived there some years ago. There's only a handful of Norwegians who are interested in basketball, much less support the Wolves and one of them will have his kid in my group soon. Now there's two of us here in Oslo

Awesome story! Did you ever marry the ball girl who works the Wolves games? I still see her at times and I wonder if you ever made it happen.

HA! Good one!

During one of the few games I watched in the regular season I saw her and I was pleasantly surprised to see her. And she's still as beautiful as she was 10 years ago.

But I haven't been married to her unfortunately