Fun facts and unreal stats

[Klomp]

Josh Minott leads the NBA Preseason in Scoring at 22. Dillingham is third with 21, and Garza is #7 at 20.

Didn’t KAT drop 25 last night?

Yes, but if you add that to the 10 points he scored in the preseason opener, that drops his average down to 17.5 ppg.

[Klomp]

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[frankenwolf]

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KAT @ 19?!?! Did he shoot that many all of last year?

[Klomp]

Games of 30-plus points, 2023-24 regular season and postseason
Julius Randle - 10
Donte DiVincenzo - 9
Karl-Anthony Towns - 5

[Neeva]

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KAT @ 19?!?! Did he shoot that many all of last year?

Wait till he starts missing games though knicks will be **** with their other made of glass center missing also.

[Klomp]

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[winforlose]

Fun fact: at 42:31 on the game recording Naz flips off Jingles. Jingles grabs Naz arm and Naz was startled, they have a brief exchange (I assume playfull) and Naz flips the bird on camera. A two word gesture from Mr. Two Words.

[Klomp]

Fun fact: at 42:31 on the game recording Naz flips off Jingles. Jingles grabs Naz arm and Naz was startled, they have a brief exchange (I assume playfull) and Naz flips the bird on camera. A two word gesture from Mr. Two Words.

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[minimus]

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[minimus]

In preseason we were 2nd in 3PA before DEN game, when we played our 3rd string players.

[Klomp]

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[Klomp]

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I think Wolves fans as a whole are underrating the trade, because I think there's not a full understanding of how Randle and DiVincenzo are both exactly what Finch wants out of his players.

Towns was the best player in the trade, but I think there was always a bit of frustration that Towns wasn't willing to do what Finch wanted him to do. When Finch talks about how a team that leads the league in 3-point percentage is actually a bad thing, that screams KAT to me. He just was never willing to put them up at a higher clip, never willing to get in the corner. He'd pump and drive into an offensive foul instead because he'd get tunnel vision.

When Randle pumps and drives, his eyes are still up.

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So even if Gobert is on the court, you can surround with three of Conley (44%), Reid (41%), DiVincenzo (40%), Alexander-Walker (39%) and Edwards (36%) and have an absolutely lethal lineup out there. Or you could take out Gobert and have a fourth even.

[minimus]

I think Wolves fans as a whole are underrating the trade, because I think there's not a full understanding of how Randle and DiVincenzo are both exactly what Finch wants out of his players.

Yes. Towns trade should be viewed through players roles. First, Anderson played 1782 minutes last season, for comparison Towns played 2026 minutes. Anderson was a luxury on defensive end, because of his versatility, but he often was a bad fit in offense, forcing plays, because he is not a natural, aggressive scorer. That is why Randle is Anderson replacement as well. Much better scorer, rebounder and passer, worse defender. Second, when we speak about stretching the floor at 4/5 then Reid is a direct Towns replacement both in terms 3pt volume and accuracy.

[thinktank]

I think Wolves fans as a whole are underrating the trade, because I think there's not a full understanding of how Randle and DiVincenzo are both exactly what Finch wants out of his players.

Yes. Towns trade should be viewed through players roles. First, Anderson played 1782 minutes last season, for comparison Towns played 2026 minutes. Anderson was a luxury on defensive end, because of his versatility, but he often was a bad fit in offense, forcing plays, because he is not a natural, aggressive scorer. That is why Randle is Anderson replacement as well. Much better scorer, rebounder and passer, worse defender. Second, when we speak about stretching the floor at 4/5 then Reid is a direct Towns replacement both in terms 3pt volume and accuracy.

However, Randle is starting for us. Just saying, that comparison is far from perfect because Anderson was a in a bench role and only played 22 minutes a game.

How often will you actually see Randle in Anderson's role? 10 minutes a game? 5 minutes? I'm just asking the question, is it enough to make a significant difference?

[minimus]

I think Wolves fans as a whole are underrating the trade, because I think there's not a full understanding of how Randle and DiVincenzo are both exactly what Finch wants out of his players.

Yes. Towns trade should be viewed through players roles. First, Anderson played 1782 minutes last season, for comparison Towns played 2026 minutes. Anderson was a luxury on defensive end, because of his versatility, but he often was a bad fit in offense, forcing plays, because he is not a natural, aggressive scorer. That is why Randle is Anderson replacement as well. Much better scorer, rebounder and passer, worse defender. Second, when we speak about stretching the floor at 4/5 then Reid is a direct Towns replacement both in terms 3pt volume and accuracy.

However, Randle is starting for us. Just saying, that comparison is far from perfect because Anderson was a in a bench role and only played 22 minutes a game.

How often will you actually see Randle in Anderson's role? 10 minutes a game? 5 minutes? I'm just asking the question, is it enough to make a significant difference?

Just for the record: Finch played Anderson in playoffs a lot. Finch played him even with Gobert on the floor.

[Klomp]

I think Wolves fans as a whole are underrating the trade, because I think there's not a full understanding of how Randle and DiVincenzo are both exactly what Finch wants out of his players.

Yes. Towns trade should be viewed through players roles. First, Anderson played 1782 minutes last season, for comparison Towns played 2026 minutes. Anderson was a luxury on defensive end, because of his versatility, but he often was a bad fit in offense, forcing plays, because he is not a natural, aggressive scorer. That is why Randle is Anderson replacement as well. Much better scorer, rebounder and passer, worse defender. Second, when we speak about stretching the floor at 4/5 then Reid is a direct Towns replacement both in terms 3pt volume and accuracy.

However, Randle is starting for us. Just saying, that comparison is far from perfect because Anderson was a in a bench role and only played 22 minutes a game.

How often will you actually see Randle in Anderson's role? 10 minutes a game? 5 minutes? I'm just asking the question, is it enough to make a significant difference?

In one of DiVincenzo's first media availabilities, he talked about how the versatility of the lineup allows the team to essentially switch everything 1 through 4 on both sides of the court. Mike Conley doesn't always initiate the offense, just because he's the "PG" or the shortest guy on the court. Honestly, last year, he probably only initiated under 50% of the possessions.

If Randle is on the court, he is in that role. Simply because the option is always there to go to it. That versatility is so underrated, and a big reason why we eventually got exposed last season in the playoffs. Point blank. Period.

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[Colbinii]

Something interesting regarding ATG defenses in the 21st Century.

I looked at all defenses who finished better than 4.5 Relative Defensive Rating better than league average since we have the data for, which included 52 teams. The average team had a defensive drop by ~3 Rating Points. However, when looking at the Top Tier Teams--teams with a 5.5 Relative Defensive Rating or Better--those teams only dropped by, on average, 2.1 Rating Points.

Realistically, Minnesota will still be a -4 to -6 Defense in 2025, but maintaining the -6 to -7 level is unlikely. However, our offense is where we should see a massive improvement. The jump from KAT to Randle is neutral at best, but going from SlowMo/Morris/Milton/McLaughlin to DDV/More Naz/More Jaden/Dilly/Ingles is a sizeable jump.

Last year we were #1 in Defense and #16 in Offense.
This year, I expect us to be #1-#4 in Defense and #5-#10 in Offense.

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