Post Game Thoughts. OKC.

[coolcono]

I was only able to watch the 2nd half.
Gobert- Best player in the game by far. He altered so many shots and proved effective on the boards. Worth his price in draft picks. A.
Russell- Played well. Made some key shots. B.
Slow-Mo. Played decently. He will need to adjust to the timing on offense, but this defense helped the club out. B.
McDaniels. Looked nervous. He altered some shots. C.
Kat. He looked nervous. Seemed like he was trying to impress Gobert with razzle-dazzle, but he needs to relax and play his own game. C.
Ant- Terrible game. Very poor shooting night and everyone of them felt awkward. Terrible passes. Finch needs to rein him in when he has this types of nights. D.

Nobody really held onto the ball very well, but that might be opening night jitters.
Finch did a great job coaching with subs etc.
The new announcer feels too serious, but it is the first game of the season.

[King Malta]

McDaniels easily the second best player on the court to Gobert in my opinion. Played outstanding defense (in particular in the first half, so perhaps you missed that to be fair) and was very efficient offensively. DLo made some key shots but I found him a bit frustrating, again, particularly in the first half. Prince was good in the first half then petered off, same for Nowell, although I don't think he got a tonne of burn in the second. Ant was absolutely terrible, but thankfully that performance came in a game where we still picked up the W.

Gobert was absolutely amazing, stuffed the stat sheet and also did so much more that won't show up, thank goodness he was out there. You could see the team is lacking cohesion and reps together, and that will take time. As long as we can keep picking up wins at a good rate we'll be fine. 3rd quarter was absolutely brutal and unacceptable though.

[shrink]

I recorded the game and will watch it later, but I was able to jump in tonight EXACTLY at the point OKC was down by 14 and started their run. What a weird perspective for me on this one!

[theGreatRC]

Gobert & Mcdaniels were our two most impactful players tonight, we don't win without those 2. I'd say Jaylen Nowell was our 4th best guy tonight after DLO.

I thought DLO played great, very steady and calming for the group, made tough shots & moved the ball when needed..we need this DLO all the time.

KAT & Ant..Ant was being a ball stopper and KAT just seemed like he was trying too hard to get others involved early and then selfishly feeding himself later in the game when he should've just let the flow of the offense do it's thing. Ant just seemed disinterested for whatever reason.

Prince played well in the first half then completely did a 180 in the second half, Slow Mo looks like he's still getting a feel for this team, but he's a jack of all trades type of player so you can't look at the box score and expect big numbers from him, he is a very solid 2 way guy.

[Plunkett]

Spoiler:

Ish
Like most of the sites say Minnesota will be a 7 or eight seed I think Minnesota will be an 8 behind the pelicans and an easy first round exit. Rudy was actually taken out of games last year in Utah during the playoffs in late game situations. Easy pick and roll fodder.

Previously Banned Poster

[MN7725]

Russell deserves a bit of blame for 3rd quarter, very slow getting into action

It was ironic because at the time Jim Pete was going on about what he thinks Finch's offensive philosophy was (Fast and Free was Jim's nickname), comparing him to Don Nelson, etc

[Devilzsidewalk]

There's so much lineup versatility, I hope Finch is open to playing the rotation by ear night to night depending on who has it and who doesn't. Opening night is whatever, but if this was a random night in January, I think you buff Nowell's minutes to like 24. I feel really confident in D'Lo/Edwards/Nowell as a trio, I think there will be very few nights when all 3 don't have it.

[shrink]

I have a suggestion for this season, and I’m wondering if you guys like the idea.

Years ago, after each game, the Wizard posters would award Hammers to the top three performers of the game. They used hammers in honor of the Polish Hammer, Marcin Gortat, but we could use Howls? For example, for the game, I’d say

Three Howls: Rudy Gobert! What a first game! He was entirely responsible for this win. How great was it to see a ball on the glass, and see a Wolves player emerge with the rebound.

Two Howls: Jaden McDaniels! He seemed so much more fluid this year, defended well, and got to the free throw stripe 10 times?!? So fitting he got that slam at the end,

One Howl: Jaylen Nowell! I love that guy’s confidence. His three pointer in the middle of OKC’s run woke up the Wolves.

[D1SGRUNTL3D]

Thunder young and pesky. They also Went 4-1 in preseason and obviously built off of that heading into the season. Solid win. I wish finch would call timeouts on these runs when the tide is obviously turning. That 16-0 should’ve been halted after 8 straight points.