Re: WCS Game 2: Minnesota at Denver Monday 5/6/24 1-0
Posted: Tue May 7, 2024 8:59 am
Wow, here I keep thinking we just played our best game ever and we get even BETTER in the next one!
That first half was an amazing masterclass on defense. Just suffocating.
Got nervous when I read Rudy was out, and even more nervous when Anderson started, but we didn't miss a beat.
Karl was very good and Naz was phenomenal on defense guarding Jokic and protecting the paint.
And Jaden and NAW, my lord flying around like they were all hopped up on sugar cereal, getting their hands on everything, and making Murray look like a total chump. Just amazing!
When we can rotate 3 elite wings defenders and throw 3 elite big man defenders at Jokic, and then on top of that work in savvy vets like Conley and Anderson, all bought in and playing with crazy energy and mental focus.
I felt sorry for Denver at points tonight, not because they weren't getting calls, but because they were so badly over matched.
Glad the refs didn't buy into Murray's usual foul hunting and flopping bs garbage tonight.
Ant got a bad whistle at times too, but he kept his composure.
That was a flop from Murray and Jokic ran over Karl a little earlier on a very similar play, both no-calls.
Ref did the right thing and let them play on and kept the game flowing and the players in the game instead of on the bench.
They aren't calling many of the marginal body contact fouls that they did in the regular season, and I really like that, should be that way all the time. If they cleaned up all the foul hunting that goes on, NBA games would be so much more enjoyable to watch.
What I saw from Denver in the first half tonight gave me flashbacks from some of our lowest points earlier in the season where we lost some calls, lost our cool, and lost the game.
The playoff composure from the Wolves with regards to officiating has been nothing short of a revelation.
The 2nd half wasn't pretty, but we did take care of business as the defense carried the day.
Lead never got below 15.
There was some poor offensive decision making and sloppy turnovers (after only 3 in the first half resulting in zero denver points).
Jaden picked up some needless fouls and took himself out of the game.
From Denver's side, you can see there was an effort to be more deliberate on offense after we sped them up a lot in game one.
While it cut down the turnovers, it led to a lot of long possessions and bad shots late in the shot clock.
With Gobert out, I thought they would go to Joker more attacking in the paint.
Naz and KAT did a good job walling up and Kyle gave great help.
It looked like Jokic was making an effort this game to be more of a passer, but we did a great job forcing him to one side and cutting the court in half.
I don't think Murray has it this series, and Jackson is banged up. None of their other guys besides Jokic create their own offense.
Jokic is going to have to be a beast and dominate going forward for them to have any shot at all.
As Shem alluded to, our supporting cast no longer has the deer in headlights look.
NAW and NAZ really met the moment tonight, each draining 4 triples.
I hope Monte has a quick recovery from the sprained finger.
His defense has been a good surprise, he has a bit more size than Jmac.
That first half was an amazing masterclass on defense. Just suffocating.
Got nervous when I read Rudy was out, and even more nervous when Anderson started, but we didn't miss a beat.
Karl was very good and Naz was phenomenal on defense guarding Jokic and protecting the paint.
And Jaden and NAW, my lord flying around like they were all hopped up on sugar cereal, getting their hands on everything, and making Murray look like a total chump. Just amazing!
When we can rotate 3 elite wings defenders and throw 3 elite big man defenders at Jokic, and then on top of that work in savvy vets like Conley and Anderson, all bought in and playing with crazy energy and mental focus.
I felt sorry for Denver at points tonight, not because they weren't getting calls, but because they were so badly over matched.
Glad the refs didn't buy into Murray's usual foul hunting and flopping bs garbage tonight.
Ant got a bad whistle at times too, but he kept his composure.
That was a flop from Murray and Jokic ran over Karl a little earlier on a very similar play, both no-calls.
Ref did the right thing and let them play on and kept the game flowing and the players in the game instead of on the bench.
They aren't calling many of the marginal body contact fouls that they did in the regular season, and I really like that, should be that way all the time. If they cleaned up all the foul hunting that goes on, NBA games would be so much more enjoyable to watch.
What I saw from Denver in the first half tonight gave me flashbacks from some of our lowest points earlier in the season where we lost some calls, lost our cool, and lost the game.
The playoff composure from the Wolves with regards to officiating has been nothing short of a revelation.
The 2nd half wasn't pretty, but we did take care of business as the defense carried the day.
Lead never got below 15.
There was some poor offensive decision making and sloppy turnovers (after only 3 in the first half resulting in zero denver points).
Jaden picked up some needless fouls and took himself out of the game.
From Denver's side, you can see there was an effort to be more deliberate on offense after we sped them up a lot in game one.
While it cut down the turnovers, it led to a lot of long possessions and bad shots late in the shot clock.
With Gobert out, I thought they would go to Joker more attacking in the paint.
Naz and KAT did a good job walling up and Kyle gave great help.
It looked like Jokic was making an effort this game to be more of a passer, but we did a great job forcing him to one side and cutting the court in half.
I don't think Murray has it this series, and Jackson is banged up. None of their other guys besides Jokic create their own offense.
Jokic is going to have to be a beast and dominate going forward for them to have any shot at all.
As Shem alluded to, our supporting cast no longer has the deer in headlights look.
NAW and NAZ really met the moment tonight, each draining 4 triples.
I hope Monte has a quick recovery from the sprained finger.
His defense has been a good surprise, he has a bit more size than Jmac.