Game 52 Rockets (32-18) @ Wolves (28-23)

[Baseline81]

And that's fine. Some franchises don't care about locker room chemistry. Minnesota does.

KAT says hello.

[WolfAddict]

And that's fine. Some franchises don't care about locker room chemistry. Minnesota does.

KAT says hello.

Preach

[Baseline81]

If Ant got the whistle he’s had the past 2 games every night, he’d average 40 PPG.

FT averages by month
October: 6.3 (4 games)
November: 4.4 (15 games)
December: 2.4 (13 games)
January: 8.1 (16 games)
February: 12.3 (through 3 games)

[winforlose]

My brother who is less invested in basketball was asking me if we should cut Jingles and convert Clark on the last day. What would that cost?

[Klomp]

And that's fine. Some franchises don't care about locker room chemistry. Minnesota does.

KAT says hello.

He wasn't traded because he was a bad teammate.

He was traded because it is going to be very difficult going forward to build a championship roster with two $40 million-plus contracts. It was a choice between Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. Who would you choose?

[WolfAddict]

And that's fine. Some franchises don't care about locker room chemistry. Minnesota does.

KAT says hello.

He wasn't traded because he was a bad teammate.

He was traded because it is going to be very difficult going forward to build a championship roster with two $40 million-plus contracts. It was a choice between Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. Who would you choose?

So Minnesota cares more about money than chemistry?

We had a great team - Money was an issue and I don't pretend to understand all the nuances around that, but they sold chemistry to save $$

[life_saver]

Our rookies contributing positively over last month has been cool to see...even if this season ends up as first round exit, I would still say its a good season as long as rookies are progressing well

[winforlose]

Our rookies contributing positively over last month has been cool to see...even if this season ends up as first round exit, I would still say its a good season as long as rookies are progressing well

Tell me honestly that you think this team knocks us out in a 7 game series. They were missing Jabari and FVV, we were missing DDV and Randle and on the back end of a tough B2B. We are as good as they are, the difference in record is the difference in Ant not taking bad teams seriously.

[younggunsmn]

And that's fine. Some franchises don't care about locker room chemistry. Minnesota does.

KAT says hello.

He wasn't traded because he was a bad teammate.

He was traded because it is going to be very difficult going forward to build a championship roster with two $40 million-plus contracts. It was a choice between Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. Who would you choose?

WRONG.

It was a choice between KAT and Rudy Gobert.
2 Max (even supermax) contract players is not a dealbreaker for any team.

3 Players at 40 mil plus was the problem.

New York and Chris Finch talked Tim Connelly into believing adding Julius Randle and DDV was a good basketball move.
That's what happened.
We could have had a lot of different things from a lot of different teams had we really shopped him, but TC took what he thought would be a win now and save money later "eat your cake and have it too" poo poo platter.

[Nick K]

He’s super cheap, a great teammate and never complains about not playing. Of course they love him!

He’s a great 15th man as long as you don’t have to play him in any role beyond “human victory cigar”.

I love the humor!

The other problem is he hasn’t yet shown he can shoot the 3 at the actual NBA level.

Granted, he hasn’t had a ton of chances, but he’s never going to be a guy who gets consistent playing time. So if he needs to find a groove to be a good shooter, he has no chance to succeed.

Agreed. You've got to bring something. I know this kid can shoot. He has other skills too. He can pass and rebound and handle the ball. He just needs time for the pro game to slow down. He needs to anticipate better. I just want to see how it plays out for him.

[Nick K]

If Ant got the whistle he’s had the past 2 games every night, he’d average 40 PPG.

FT averages by month
October: 6.3 (4 games)
November: 4.4 (15 games)
December: 2.4 (13 games)
January: 8.1 (16 games)
February: 11 (through 3 games)

WOW! Is that revealing or what?

[life_saver]

Our rookies contributing positively over last month has been cool to see...even if this season ends up as first round exit, I would still say its a good season as long as rookies are progressing well

Tell me honestly that you think this team knocks us out in a 7 game series. They were missing Jabari and FVV, we were missing DDV and Randle and on the back end of a tough B2B. We are as good as they are, the difference in record is the difference in Ant not taking bad teams seriously.

If we face Rockets in playoffs, then I would definitely back Wolves...but I don't think Wolves will face Rockets in playoffs. Rockets will slide in standings...they are already down to 4th seed and are on a slump

[Nick K]

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise having DDV and Randle out. We're finding out what we have. We might have lost this game tonight if Randle played. I just hate Randle's fit with this team.

Guys are stepping up and we're playing better team ball. Better ball movement by a mile.

[younggunsmn]

Why can't we play defense for a whole game like we did in the 4th quarter?
Defense was awful the first 3 quarters. Very little ball pressure or point of attack resistance against a team missing a PG and playing with a bunch of shaky ballhandlers.

Great to see Ant get to the line so much again.
Jaylen Clark plays with great BBIQ.
I don't know if I like him as a 6'4 backup PF but he is always in the right spot making the right play.
Tj Shannon with a wicked dunk and finally got minutes. Gonna be a rotation piece sooner rather than later.

Lots of heart shown from Mike tonight.
Playing banged up.
Smallest and oldest guy out there getting super physical when we needed it, knifing in for long rebounds, hitting big shots.

Naz was taking some sketchy 3's but the want-to was off the charts tonight on defense and the offensive boards.

Kind of an up and down game from Rudy.
Don't know if its the back to back or nagging soreness/injury but he wasnt moving as well as he needs to be defensively.

We can't play this small against everyone.
Luka's got to be able to give us a decent 10 minutes until Julius is back.

[winforlose]

Why can't we play defense for a whole game like we did in the 4th quarter?
Defense was awful the first 3 quarters. Very little ball pressure or point of attack resistance against a team missing a PG and playing with a bunch of shaky ballhandlers.

Great to see Ant get to the line so much again.
Jaylen Clark plays with great BBIQ.
I don't know if I like him as a 6'4 backup PF but he is always in the right spot making the right play.
Tj Shannon with a wicked dunk and finally got minutes. Gonna be a rotation piece sooner rather than later.

Lots of heart shown from Mike tonight.
Playing banged up.
Smallest and oldest guy out there getting super physical when we needed it, knifing in for long rebounds, hitting big shots.

Naz was taking some sketchy 3's but the want-to was off the charts tonight on defense and the offensive boards.

Kind of an up and down game from Rudy.
Don't know if its the back to back or nagging soreness/injury but he wasnt moving as well as he needs to be defensively.

We can't play this small against everyone.
Luka's got to be able to give us a decent 10 minutes until Julius is back.

Ant doesn’t have the stamina, Jaden was in foul trouble, NAW has lost a step, I could go on. We are not a defensive identity team this year. We have not been, we will not be. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can start to shift expectations. We win when we rebound, when we limit turnovers, and when we score large numbers. It is not a coincidence that most quarters we play the opponents drop around 30.

[younggunsmn]

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise having DDV and Randle out. We're finding out what we have. We might have lost this game tonight if Randle played. I just hate Randle's fit with this team.

Guys are stepping up and we're playing better team ball. Better ball movement by a mile.

This.
Also the spacing is so much better with Naz out there.

The defense has been pretty bad without Julius but I don't think that is about Naz Reid being bad.
But Julius is not the only scapegoat for the big drop in our defensive efficiency this year.

[younggunsmn]

Why can't we play defense for a whole game like we did in the 4th quarter?
Defense was awful the first 3 quarters. Very little ball pressure or point of attack resistance against a team missing a PG and playing with a bunch of shaky ballhandlers.

Great to see Ant get to the line so much again.
Jaylen Clark plays with great BBIQ.
I don't know if I like him as a 6'4 backup PF but he is always in the right spot making the right play.
Tj Shannon with a wicked dunk and finally got minutes. Gonna be a rotation piece sooner rather than later.

Lots of heart shown from Mike tonight.
Playing banged up.
Smallest and oldest guy out there getting super physical when we needed it, knifing in for long rebounds, hitting big shots.

Naz was taking some sketchy 3's but the want-to was off the charts tonight on defense and the offensive boards.

Kind of an up and down game from Rudy.
Don't know if its the back to back or nagging soreness/injury but he wasnt moving as well as he needs to be defensively.

We can't play this small against everyone.
Luka's got to be able to give us a decent 10 minutes until Julius is back.

Ant doesn’t have the stamina, Jaden was in foul trouble, NAW has lost a step, I could go on. We are not a defensive identity team this year. We have not been, we will not be. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can start to shift expectations. We win when we rebound, when we limit turnovers, and when we score large numbers. It is not a coincidence that most quarters we play the opponents drop around 30.

On paper the lineup the Rockets put out there tonight shouldn't have been able to crack 100 points.
Some of the drop off is being short and having to incorporate new and inexperienced players into the 2nd unit, but this team is capable of being MUCH better defensively than they showed in the first 3 quarters tonight.

[younggunsmn]

It was really sweet to see that POS Dillon Brooks get wrecked by Ant in the 4th quarter tonight after being a punk earlier in the game and have Ant give him the victory dance at the end.

[Klomp]

Why can't we play defense for a whole game like we did in the 4th quarter?.

With being the back end of a back-to-back, I wonder if a few were trying to keep a little gas in the tank for the end of the game. Playing defense is hard. It takes a lot of energy. Guys like Ant get bored out there sometimes.

I would also add that the tussle between Reid and Londale fired up the guys. 31-14 run in the last 9:22 after that dust-up.

[Domejandro]

It might be a good time to convert Clark to a regular contract.

Two words… HELL NO!

We have 14 players. If we convert Clark that shortens our control for a year, prevents us from signing a backup C, prevents us from signing another PG, and costs Millions in tax.

Big consideration is that Jaylen Clark is not eligible to play in the Playoffs, as a two-way player. If he continues to be an important part of the rotation, Minnesota will likely move him up to a full-time deal.