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I love Finch as a coach. He must have busted their butts for their lack of effort in the first game.
I was only able to see the 2nd half.
Nowell looked great. He still needs to be traded, because the Timberwolves aren't handing him a big contract, but his value has skyrocketed.
Edwards looked great. Looks he shot lights out from 3.
Towns had a good game, but his passing could use some work. Some terrible passes. That one to Gobert was neat, but still a bit behind.
I still have no problems trading McDaniels, even after this great game, as he doesn't feel that consistent, and if the offer brings in some veteran leadership/energy.

coolcono wrote:I love Finch as a coach. He must have busted their butts for their lack of effort in the first game.
I was only able to see the 2nd half.
Nowell looked great. He still needs to be traded, because the Timberwolves aren't handing him a big contract, but his value has skyrocketed.
Edwards looked great. Looks he shot lights out from 3.
Towns had a good game, but his passing could use some work. Some terrible passes. That one to Gobert was neat, but still a bit behind.
I still have no problems trading McDaniels, even after this great game, as he doesn't feel that consistent, and if the offer brings in some veteran leadership/energy.

KAT had 7 dimes to 3 TOs, he passed fine tonight. Especially when one of those was blown illegal screen call in the first half. His passing in the fourth got at least 3 uncontested dunks (1 for Rudy, 1 for MCD, and I think the other was either Dlo or Nowell.)

MCD can drop 20 any give night. He is the best perimeter defender, switch defender, and POA defender we have. Unless the offer was Dorian Finney Smith and another excellent defender I wouldn’t even pick up the phone. Even then the call better included unprotected firsts to keep me on the line.

Nowell is asking one question tonight. D’Angelo who? He is asking that because he is making a case for starting at PG or SG with Ant. His shooting is solid, his passing to Rudy is solid. His defense is spot on, and he rebounds.

One point I must make. The bar was lowered in game 4 compared to where it started in the opener. The bar was so low tonight all the wolves had to was play transition defense and look like they wanted to win. We still turned it over 16 times. We still played hero ball at the end. We still lost the 3rd quarter. We won’t always make 20 3s much less at 58.8%. We had a great bounce back, but not a great game.

Finch’s defensive scheme is starting to irk me. Rudy keeps being forced out of the paint because defenders won’t switch off their man to cover Rudy’s on the perimeter. Pair Rudy with a non shooter when one is around and then let him defend the paint. When they use five shooters have good enough communication and scheme to have guys switch off and let Rudy defend the low man.

I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

Klomp wrote:I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

Or next month. Dlo needs to fight through screens, play real defense, and box out.

Klomp wrote:I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

Nowell’s game is not maximized or best utilized as the 5th starter—for that you want players like McDaniels or Vanderbilt. Nowell can be one of the Wolves 5 best offensive players and have a Manu type role as a 6th man but you want to stagger him in minutes where he can be the primary or secondary perimeter creator. If he plays with all of the starters he’s a bit piece.

TheZachAttack wrote:

Klomp wrote:I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

Nowell’s game is not maximized or best utilized as the 5th starter—for that you want players like McDaniels or Vanderbilt. Nowell can be one of the Wolves 5 best offensive players and have a Manu type role as a 6th man but you want to stagger him in minutes where he can be the primary or secondary perimeter creator. If he plays with all of the starters he’s a bit piece.

There is truth in this. But right now he is playing high energy defense. We badly need that. He might shoot and score less. But he would get 10+ more minutes, and also play with the bench unit (where he would score more.) Dlo is just not working hard enough.

Lakers are going to be looking to us to get their first win. Expect them to be HIGHLY motivated. This could be messy if we don't come with it, AD, Lebron, or Westbrook could easily get hot and Pat Bev is going to do whatever he can to mess with us, KAT better not get caught up in that, Bev will be ruthless.

TheZachAttack wrote:

Klomp wrote:I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

Nowell’s game is not maximized or best utilized as the 5th starter—for that you want players like McDaniels or Vanderbilt. Nowell can be one of the Wolves 5 best offensive players and have a Manu type role as a 6th man but you want to stagger him in minutes where he can be the primary or secondary perimeter creator. If he plays with all of the starters he’s a bit piece.

Note: By 5th starter, I'm saying in place of Russell. Both players are due contracts next summer. Playing their current roles, Nowell at optimal level probably won't earn more than what Russell would producing his typical output. Nowell is also younger and likely more durable. You might be paying 80% the cost of Russell, but could get 90-95% the production. At that point, Nowell becomes the better value.

Calinks wrote:Lakers are going to be looking to us to get their first win. Expect them to be HIGHLY motivated. This could be messy if we don't come with it, AD, Lebron, or Westbrook could easily get hot and Pat Bev is going to do whatever he can to mess with us, KAT better not get caught up in that, Bev will be ruthless.

I hope Westbrook does play. He is an absolute mess. Put Rudy on him and camp him down low. Completely close the lane, defend LBJ and AD and dare them too shoot 3s. Bev is too beloved to get to anyone. His antics are gonna feel more playful than offensive. I mean it is hard to get in someone’s head when you call them a little brother a week earlier on your debut pod cast.

The simple truth is we have 0 gimmie games on this schedule. Every team can outwork us and kill us in any arena, including our own. We need to play 48 minutes of basketball, and preferably with actual defensive effort for all of those minutes. We need to box out, and we need to stop melting down in the ****** 3rd quarter.

winforlose wrote:

TheZachAttack wrote:

Klomp wrote:I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

Nowell’s game is not maximized or best utilized as the 5th starter—for that you want players like McDaniels or Vanderbilt. Nowell can be one of the Wolves 5 best offensive players and have a Manu type role as a 6th man but you want to stagger him in minutes where he can be the primary or secondary perimeter creator. If he plays with all of the starters he’s a bit piece.

There is truth in this. But right now he is playing high energy defense. We badly need that. He might shoot and score less. But he would get 10+ more minutes, and also play with the bench unit (where he would score more.) Dlo is just not working hard enough.

I disagree. D Lo is a scape goat right now. D Lo has not been a problem this season. He’s had a better shot selection, been more efficient as a scorer, gets to the rim more consistently, and is effectively using Rudy to help him do that. His assist numbers are also pretty good.

He’s had a couple of bad stretches but to whatever extent you see him not visibly scoring as consistently it’s because he’s actually doing what we’ve asked and he’s taking a back seat (and even more so for the second straight year) to Towns/Edwards on the offensive end.

Nowell is great and I’m the biggest and first Nowell fan on this board but he is also a somewhat inconsistent player still at this stage and is even less able than D Lo is to manage pace and keep others involved.

Let’s keep Nowell successful in his role and there’s an opportunity to grow the role but D Lo is not at all the issue right now. D Lo is a secondary offensive option and that’s a good thing.

winforlose wrote:

coolcono wrote:I love Finch as a coach. He must have busted their butts for their lack of effort in the first game.
I was only able to see the 2nd half.
Nowell looked great. He still needs to be traded, because the Timberwolves aren't handing him a big contract, but his value has skyrocketed.
Edwards looked great. Looks he shot lights out from 3.
Towns had a good game, but his passing could use some work. Some terrible passes. That one to Gobert was neat, but still a bit behind.
I still have no problems trading McDaniels, even after this great game, as he doesn't feel that consistent, and if the offer brings in some veteran leadership/energy.

KAT had 7 dimes to 3 TOs, he passed fine tonight. Especially when one of those was blown illegal screen call in the first half. His passing in the fourth got at least 3 uncontested dunks (1 for Rudy, 1 for MCD, and I think the other was either Dlo or Nowell.)

MCD can drop 20 any give night. He is the best perimeter defender, switch defender, and POA defender we have. Unless the offer was Dorian Finney Smith and another excellent defender I wouldn’t even pick up the phone. Even then the call better included unprotected firsts to keep me on the line.

Nowell is asking one question tonight. D’Angelo who? He is asking that because he is making a case for starting at PG or SG with Ant. His shooting is solid, his passing to Rudy is solid. His defense is spot on, and he rebounds.

One point I must make. The bar was lowered in game 4 compared to where it started in the opener. The bar was so low tonight all the wolves had to was play transition defense and look like they wanted to win. We still turned it over 16 times. We still played hero ball at the end. We still lost the 3rd quarter. We won’t always make 20 3s much less at 58.8%. We had a great bounce back, but not a great game.

Finch’s defensive scheme is starting to irk me. Rudy keeps being forced out of the paint because defenders won’t switch off their man to cover Rudy’s on the perimeter. Pair Rudy with a non shooter when one is around and then let him defend the paint. When they use five shooters have good enough communication and scheme to have guys switch off and let Rudy defend the low man.

In fantasy basketball rankings which take a wide view of all stats Russell came into this game the 51st ranked player in the NBA. I bet he's in the 40s tomorrow. If you think Russell is a problem I think most teams in the NBA would like to have that problem.

TheZachAttack wrote:

winforlose wrote:

TheZachAttack wrote:
Nowell’s game is not maximized or best utilized as the 5th starter—for that you want players like McDaniels or Vanderbilt. Nowell can be one of the Wolves 5 best offensive players and have a Manu type role as a 6th man but you want to stagger him in minutes where he can be the primary or secondary perimeter creator. If he plays with all of the starters he’s a bit piece.

There is truth in this. But right now he is playing high energy defense. We badly need that. He might shoot and score less. But he would get 10+ more minutes, and also play with the bench unit (where he would score more.) Dlo is just not working hard enough.

I disagree. D Lo is a scape goat right now. D Lo has not been a problem this season. He’s had a better shot selection, been more efficient as a scorer, gets to the rim more consistently, and is effectively using Rudy to help him do that. His assist numbers are also pretty good.

He’s had a couple of bad stretches but to whatever extent you see him not visibly scoring as consistently it’s because he’s actually doing what we’ve asked and he’s taking a back seat (and even more so for the second straight year) to Towns/Edwards on the offensive end.

Nowell is great and I’m the biggest and first Nowell fan on this board but he is also a somewhat inconsistent player still at this stage and is even less able than D Lo is to manage pace and keep others involved.

Let’s keep Nowell successful in his role and there’s an opportunity to grow the role but D Lo is not at all the issue right now. D Lo is a secondary offensive option and that’s a good thing.

Thank you Zach. Great post.

TheZachAttack wrote:

winforlose wrote:

TheZachAttack wrote:
Nowell’s game is not maximized or best utilized as the 5th starter—for that you want players like McDaniels or Vanderbilt. Nowell can be one of the Wolves 5 best offensive players and have a Manu type role as a 6th man but you want to stagger him in minutes where he can be the primary or secondary perimeter creator. If he plays with all of the starters he’s a bit piece.

There is truth in this. But right now he is playing high energy defense. We badly need that. He might shoot and score less. But he would get 10+ more minutes, and also play with the bench unit (where he would score more.) Dlo is just not working hard enough.

I disagree. D Lo is a scape goat right now. D Lo has not been a problem this season. He’s had a better shot selection, been more efficient as a scorer, gets to the rim more consistently, and is effectively using Rudy to help him do that. His assist numbers are also pretty good.

He’s had a couple of bad stretches but to whatever extent you see him not visibly scoring as consistently it’s because he’s actually doing what we’ve asked and he’s taking a back seat (and even more so for the second straight year) to Towns/Edwards on the offensive end.

Nowell is great and I’m the biggest and first Nowell fan on this board but he is also a somewhat inconsistent player still at this stage and is even less able than D Lo is to manage pace and keep others involved.

Let’s keep Nowell successful in his role and there’s an opportunity to grow the role but D Lo is not at all the issue right now. D Lo is a secondary offensive option and that’s a good thing.

Zach we are talking past each other. I defended Dlo’s offense tonight. 12 points on 10 shots with 9 assists is excellent for Dlo. As KGDABOM said this is good fantasy numbers stuff. My problem is he doesn’t fight through screens. He doesn’t help with box outs which leave Rudy, KAT, and everyone else trying to rebound at a disadvantage. He isn’t closing out or switching off enough either. Our perimeter defense sucks, and he is a big part of that. Nowell isn’t god’s gift to defense either, but at least he is putting in the work.

winforlose wrote:

TheZachAttack wrote:

winforlose wrote:
There is truth in this. But right now he is playing high energy defense. We badly need that. He might shoot and score less. But he would get 10+ more minutes, and also play with the bench unit (where he would score more.) Dlo is just not working hard enough.

I disagree. D Lo is a scape goat right now. D Lo has not been a problem this season. He’s had a better shot selection, been more efficient as a scorer, gets to the rim more consistently, and is effectively using Rudy to help him do that. His assist numbers are also pretty good.

He’s had a couple of bad stretches but to whatever extent you see him not visibly scoring as consistently it’s because he’s actually doing what we’ve asked and he’s taking a back seat (and even more so for the second straight year) to Towns/Edwards on the offensive end.

Nowell is great and I’m the biggest and first Nowell fan on this board but he is also a somewhat inconsistent player still at this stage and is even less able than D Lo is to manage pace and keep others involved.

Let’s keep Nowell successful in his role and there’s an opportunity to grow the role but D Lo is not at all the issue right now. D Lo is a secondary offensive option and that’s a good thing.

Zach we are talking past each other. I defended Dlo’s offense tonight. 12 points on 10 shots with 9 assists is excellent for Dlo. As KGDABOM said this is good fantasy numbers stuff. My problem is he doesn’t fight through screens. He doesn’t help with box outs which leave Rudy, KAT, and everyone else trying to rebound at a disadvantage. He isn’t closing out or switching off enough either. Our perimeter defense sucks, and he is a big part of that. Nowell isn’t god’s gift to defense either, but at least he is putting in the work.

I see - I think the Wolves biggest problem is transition defense and that means defense even outside of the transition points scored. Teams are pushing pace for us and making our bigs run and then attacking us and making us scramble before we get into structure.

I think the Wolves may have to be intentional about when they play with pace and at times slow down the tempo especially with that two big lineup and execute and then force other teams to execute against structure.

The Wolves/Finch seems to love chaos and tempo. I’m not sure this current iteration of the Wolves team can play as well in that as a certain type of roster construction.

I don’t think D Lo versus Nowell changes anything here.

TheZachAttack wrote:The Wolves/Finch seems to love chaos and tempo. I’m not sure this current iteration of the Wolves team can play as well in that as a certain type of roster construction.

I don’t think D Lo versus Nowell changes anything here.

Maybe not. HOWEVER....Russell could potentially give us guys who can do that in trade return. Nowell's trade value is more limited because of his current salary and hasn't built up a resume like Russell has.

TheZachAttack wrote:

winforlose wrote:

TheZachAttack wrote:
I disagree. D Lo is a scape goat right now. D Lo has not been a problem this season. He’s had a better shot selection, been more efficient as a scorer, gets to the rim more consistently, and is effectively using Rudy to help him do that. His assist numbers are also pretty good.

He’s had a couple of bad stretches but to whatever extent you see him not visibly scoring as consistently it’s because he’s actually doing what we’ve asked and he’s taking a back seat (and even more so for the second straight year) to Towns/Edwards on the offensive end.

Nowell is great and I’m the biggest and first Nowell fan on this board but he is also a somewhat inconsistent player still at this stage and is even less able than D Lo is to manage pace and keep others involved.

Let’s keep Nowell successful in his role and there’s an opportunity to grow the role but D Lo is not at all the issue right now. D Lo is a secondary offensive option and that’s a good thing.

Zach we are talking past each other. I defended Dlo’s offense tonight. 12 points on 10 shots with 9 assists is excellent for Dlo. As KGDABOM said this is good fantasy numbers stuff. My problem is he doesn’t fight through screens. He doesn’t help with box outs which leave Rudy, KAT, and everyone else trying to rebound at a disadvantage. He isn’t closing out or switching off enough either. Our perimeter defense sucks, and he is a big part of that. Nowell isn’t god’s gift to defense either, but at least he is putting in the work.

I see - I think the Wolves biggest problem is transition defense and that means defense even outside of the transition points scored. Teams are pushing pace for us and making our bigs run and then attacking us and making us scramble before we get into structure.

I think the Wolves may have to be intentional about when they play with pace and at times slow down the tempo especially with that two big lineup and execute and then force other teams to execute against structure.

The Wolves/Finch seems to love chaos and tempo. I’m not sure this current iteration of the Wolves team can play as well in that as a certain type of roster construction.

I don’t think D Lo versus Nowell changes anything here.

If you DVR the games, go back and watch Dlo get screened vs Nowell get screened. It is night and day. A lot of our problems are because Dlo or Ant get burned (often after a screen,) which puts Rudy in the soup and either leads to open mid range, good looks in the paint, or open 3s on a kick out. That is before we even talk about Dlo going around and the shooters just spotting up and draining it. This is happening over and over again. Also, go back and watch Dlo not box out. It drives me nuts. Nowell has been better at both. I want Dlo to succeed, resign, and help us win multiple titles. But this is his contract year and he is only working on one side of the game. This must change for us to grow from here.

Playing with pace caused Rudy to throw the ball away a lot in the Utah game. Taking the extra second to let the defense get back and then find the guard has been an issue. We also shoot without passing which is STUPID. Sometimes it is a transition pace issue, sometimes it is ball hogging or hero ball. No matter what, passing gets the best shots. Passing unbalances the defense which creates rebounding opportunities. Passing keeps guys engaged and makes them want to play harder. We need to pass more and find the open shooters. The first quarter was poetry in motion. The third quarter when the ball gets sloppy and sticky was a clown car full of rancid milk.

Transition defense is an issue. But that relates more to energy and effort. But, shot selection also plays a role. Trying to force the shot and creating long rebound is a great way to give up points on the other end. Especially against young hungry teams who run.

Klomp wrote:I'm going to say this again: Don't rule out Jaylen Nowell as the fifth starter of the future

My hot take for a while is that, similar to CJ McCollum, Jaylen Nowell could operate as a starting Point-Guard/combo-guard.

Ant is the future pg of this team anyway.

Calinks wrote:Lakers are going to be looking to us to get their first win. Expect them to be HIGHLY motivated. This could be messy if we don't come with it, AD, Lebron, or Westbrook could easily get hot and Pat Bev is going to do whatever he can to mess with us, KAT better not get caught up in that, Bev will be ruthless.

Red hot for westbrook is 4/14…. But I do expect him to go 10-11 because Minnesota

KGdaBom wrote:

winforlose wrote:

coolcono wrote:I love Finch as a coach. He must have busted their butts for their lack of effort in the first game.
I was only able to see the 2nd half.
Nowell looked great. He still needs to be traded, because the Timberwolves aren't handing him a big contract, but his value has skyrocketed.
Edwards looked great. Looks he shot lights out from 3.
Towns had a good game, but his passing could use some work. Some terrible passes. That one to Gobert was neat, but still a bit behind.
I still have no problems trading McDaniels, even after this great game, as he doesn't feel that consistent, and if the offer brings in some veteran leadership/energy.

KAT had 7 dimes to 3 TOs, he passed fine tonight. Especially when one of those was blown illegal screen call in the first half. His passing in the fourth got at least 3 uncontested dunks (1 for Rudy, 1 for MCD, and I think the other was either Dlo or Nowell.)

MCD can drop 20 any give night. He is the best perimeter defender, switch defender, and POA defender we have. Unless the offer was Dorian Finney Smith and another excellent defender I wouldn’t even pick up the phone. Even then the call better included unprotected firsts to keep me on the line.

Nowell is asking one question tonight. D’Angelo who? He is asking that because he is making a case for starting at PG or SG with Ant. His shooting is solid, his passing to Rudy is solid. His defense is spot on, and he rebounds.

One point I must make. The bar was lowered in game 4 compared to where it started in the opener. The bar was so low tonight all the wolves had to was play transition defense and look like they wanted to win. We still turned it over 16 times. We still played hero ball at the end. We still lost the 3rd quarter. We won’t always make 20 3s much less at 58.8%. We had a great bounce back, but not a great game.

Finch’s defensive scheme is starting to irk me. Rudy keeps being forced out of the paint because defenders won’t switch off their man to cover Rudy’s on the perimeter. Pair Rudy with a non shooter when one is around and then let him defend the paint. When they use five shooters have good enough communication and scheme to have guys switch off and let Rudy defend the low man.

In fantasy basketball rankings which take a wide view of all stats Russell came into this game the 51st ranked player in the NBA. I bet he's in the 40s tomorrow. If you think Russell is a problem I think most teams in the NBA would like to have that problem.

Russell is now the 36th ranked player by total, but a bit lower 62nd by average. This makes him a middle of the pack starting PG. Middle of the pack starting PGs are generally stars and get paid a lot of money.