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Great- Bench- Layman, Nowell, McDaniels. All three looked great with shooting and defense. If they shot half that percentage, I think the Wolves would have a much better record.
Finch must have made some good halftime adjustments. It was competitive in the first half.

Ok-Reid his defense was as terrible as usual.

Bad- I don't like Towns sitting on the perimeter jacking up so many threes.

Other Thoughts- Sometimes I wish I could flagrant Okogie as well.
I wish Annie Sabo would step on me.

Crazy how much better it feels to get one good win.

Nowell won't be able to replicate this game consistently, but still him at backup PG is a long term revelation. Love it. It gets more shooters on the floor and when Beasley comes back Ant and Beasley can take up all of the minutes at the 2 with Ant getting some run at the 3 (split with McDaniels). Back court may be solved with that honestly. Sit D'Lo rest of year and play Rubio. Trade Rubio in offseason. I think there is an argument for Juancho to get minutes as the backup 4 especially since McDaniels is so good at the 3 (we can sit Okogie).

This game also gets me to believe in Finch. The rest of the season will still be a roller coaster, but I think this guy definitely has the chops and should have been Gerson's coach day 1 (I blame Taylor for that).

post0115 wrote:Nowell won't be able to replicate this game consistently, but still him at backup PG is a long term revelation.

I think it'd be foolish to expect anyone to replicate 85% shooting consistently.

The first half of the season, our offense has been the biggest issue. Seeing this performance without two of our best offensive players was refreshing.

This team needed a grown up to hold them accountable. Ryan was too much of a friend than a coach.

Anthony Edwards said Coach Finch cussed them out in practice yesterday and said that he will handle the execution of the offense and the players are responsible for their effort.

Everyone is going to be held accountable now.

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Nowell, McDaniels, Reid combined for 63 points off the bench

Those three making a combined $5,000,722 this season, $5,628,522 next season, and $6,022,802 the year after that. This is how you balance out salaries with two (three?) max contracts on the books.

UnFadeable21 wrote:

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Okogie looked as out of control as he does when driving to the hoop.

To be honest, I stopped following the game once the Wolves were down 16 points in the first quarter. Stunned at the result.

Klomp wrote:Nowell, McDaniels, Reid combined for 63 points off the bench

Those three making a combined $5,000,722 this season, $5,628,522 next season, and $6,022,802 the year after that. This is how you balance out salaries with two (three?) max contracts on the books.

This is my kind of RealGM post! Yeah!!!

Even if that was a flukey type of game, I feel really optimistic about next season. Am I crazy?
Add Cunningham/Suggs, trade Culver, Rubio, Vanderbilt, Juancho, Layman (and maybe Beasley) for front court help. Ant, Nowell and McDaniels will continue to improve and I feel Bolmaro might surprise us.

It’s hard to know how to phrase this. While it is true that Nowell, MCD, and Layman will not always play this well, it is a sign that the roster is better than people think. Nowell was a flamethrower in Iowa last year. I have been waiting for him to light it up, and even if he gives half of what he gave tonight consistently he will be a legit 6th man similar to Lou Williams. MCD is arguably the steal of the draft and is IMO the best wolves pick in years (excluding KAT who was a no brainer.) MCD’s defense is already team best, his 3 point shooting is solid, his shot blocking is damn impressive, and he is only a 20 year old rookie half way through his first season. This kid just flashed his potential for you and I gotta say the future looks bright. As for Layman, his first two 3s were textbook inside outside. This is the style of ball the Wolves must play. His 3rd 3 was insane but it was that type of night.

It’s important to note that though we played much better defense throughout the game (it helps when you have something to play for,) we also got somewhat lucky that the Pels were ice cold.

Ant took too many bad shots tonight. When he attacked he was excellent, when he pulled up, not so much. His attitude is getting in the way of his performance. Still though it was sweet watching him attack on some of those plays.

We did this to a healthy Pels without Dlo, Beasley, Culver, or JMAC. We did this on a night where KAT was ice cold and we got out to a 16 point deficit. We had a night where everything went in, but we also showed that our guys are capable of more than they get credit for.

Finally, people need to ease up on JO. He is not perfect, but he made some excellent passes, hit all his free throws, tipped some rebounds and poked away a steal for an easy two to MCD. He played good defense and was a solid contributor tonight. When you plant him in the corner and demand he hit a 3 you are setting him up to fail. When you let him move without the ball and drive and kick when he has it, more often then not he will make something good happen. As for the times when bad things happen, remember he is 22 years old and never had a decent coach teaching him.

Feel happy for the biggest Nowells stan, Jedzz!

The Pelicans were outscored 125-79 in the final 40 minutes of the game. Unbelievable.
The last time a sub .200 team 30 games into the season won by 30 was 1971. Unbelievable.
Nowell, McDaniels and Reid combined to shoot 26/31. Unbelievable.

I love Jaden McDaniels. He contributes so much. 3 blocks plus a constant threat to block many more and 2 steals. He needs to play +25 minutes.

Man, Nowell played really well. And all of his shots were good, taking what the defense gave him. Multiple young guys having great games, McDaniels, Nowell, Ant. Would love to see a lineup of Nowell, Beasley, Ant, McDaniels, KAT, just have Nowell and Ant run the offense, overwhelm opponents with shooting and athleticism.