Timberwolves Vs Pacers Game Thread

[TwolvesFanRome]

Good morning my friends...I am here just to say...


ARRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Domejandro]

Definitely the first win that warrants optimism, for the team. It’s insane how flat the standings are, this far into the season.

[shrink]

Is SloMo the best Timberwolves free agent signing of all-time? I don't know who else is in contention.

Joe Smith is simultaneously the best and worst.

[winforlose]

Is SloMo the best Timberwolves free agent signing of all-time? I don't know who else is in contention.

Joe Smith is simultaneously the best and worst.

Not sure about that one. There are a few that you could argue but I really liked the AK47 signing.

[TwolvesFanRome]

Anyway I'm still in love with J.Mcdaniels...he's really absurd...I'd like to see him here for a long time. Regardless of what time will say about Gobert's trade I understand why we did everything to not involve him in any negotiation..

[shrink]

Is SloMo the best Timberwolves free agent signing of all-time? I don't know who else is in contention.

Joe Smith is simultaneously the best and worst.

Not sure about that one. There are a few that you could argue but I really liked the AK47 signing.

Loved Kirilenko. But that process drastically lowered my impression of NBA front offices.

For those that remember, we had David Kahn as GM back then, and he had already leaked, but hadn’t officially submitted, a free agent deal to the corpse of Brandon Roy. He then signed Kirilenko to a two year deal, and nobody here on the Wolves board could figure out how he made that offer, because if the Roy number was true, we simply didn’t have enough cap space.

Turns out, we knew better than Kahn. The NBA main office rejected the deal for just that reason - Kahn didn’t know how much cap space the team had! Worse, he thought he had to act fast to get more cap space, to keep AK on board, so he attached a 1st round pick to Wes Matthews to get the additional cap space to make the contract legal.

So, while I know logically Kirilenko is a free agent, I feel like Kahn traded a 1st to sign a free agent, because an NBA GM didn’t know how much cap space he had! True story!

[Domejandro]

I think Minnesota should consider offering the Mikal Bridges extension to Jaden McDaniels, next off-season.

[shrink]

So when American fans are sitting around the Thanksgiving table tomorrow and they’re asked what they are thankful for, am I going to be the only person that includes the Timberwolves?

What a great game!

[Calinks]

That was a quality win! Not quite a signature win but a really good one. Pacers are hot, they are a good team, and we handled them like big boys. We looked like a team that knew what they were doing. Rudy was fantastic, our bigs played big. We got boards, we got inside buckets.

We even had some big things go against us. Indiana's three-point shooting was marvelous. Turner looked like Curry. They bombed us out big time and we turned the ball over drastically. That said, we still handled them pretty comfortably. That's a dominant game, you would think we would lose because of those two factors alone but we balled out. If those turnovers were more respectable and Indy was not shooting well that would have been a beat a down.

I think we are starting to find ourselves. We are believing.

[winforlose]

That was a quality win! Not quite a signature win but a really good one. Pacers are hot, they are a good team, and we handled them like big boys. We looked like a team that knew what they were doing. Rudy was fantastic, our bigs played big. We got boards, we got inside buckets.

We even had some big things go against us. Indiana's three-point shooting was marvelous. Turner looked like Curry. They bombed us out big time and we turned the ball over drastically. That said, we still handled them pretty comfortably. That's a dominant game, you would think we would lose because of those two factors alone but we balled out. If those turnovers were more respectable and Indy was not shooting well that would have been a beat a down.

I think we are starting to find ourselves. We are believing.

Everything you said is true. But… the unsung hero of this game was Dlo. Even though he was credited with 5 TOs and Only hit 1 of 4 from deep, he also had 12 assists, 15 points on 10 shots, shot 7 of 10 from the field, and most importantly, he had 3 steals and 1 block while actually PLAYING DEFENSE. Everything else that happened tonight can and should happen again. But this Dlo just isn’t the Dlo we are gonna see next time. That really pisses me off. That is the linchpin in the whole offensive and defensive scheme. I am a Dlo defender, but this is what he should be, and I cannot figure out why he isn’t more often.

[Calinks]

Hottest team in Da Lee!

Read on Twitter

[TwolvesFanRome]

I think Minnesota should consider offering the Mikal Bridges extension to Jaden McDaniels, next off-season.

100% Agree

We absolutely have to lock him!

[minimus]

That was a quality win! Not quite a signature win but a really good one. Pacers are hot, they are a good team, and we handled them like big boys. We looked like a team that knew what they were doing. Rudy was fantastic, our bigs played big. We got boards, we got inside buckets.

We even had some big things go against us. Indiana's three-point shooting was marvelous. Turner looked like Curry. They bombed us out big time and we turned the ball over drastically. That said, we still handled them pretty comfortably. That's a dominant game, you would think we would lose because of those two factors alone but we balled out. If those turnovers were more respectable and Indy was not shooting well that would have been a beat a down.

I think we are starting to find ourselves. We are believing.

I have not seen this game yet, but I have a question. Turner had 12-17 from field and 7-9 from 3pt. Is it something that we allowed "by design"? Let me explain I saw following tweet:

Read on Twitter

?s

We dominated interior and we defended Hield and Haliburton well, although Mathurin and Turner had good game.

Did we exchanged hard defense on Mathurin and Turner for good interior defense + defense on Hield and Haliburton?

This is something I am thinking about. With Gobert and no elite PoA defender we cant say that we have the most versatile defense in NBA. It means that we need to prioritize our targets in defence carefully, we cant defend everything well. Not yet.

[Grubie024]

I have not seen this game yet, but I have a question. Turner had 12-17 from field and 7-9 from 3pt. Is it something that we allowed "by design"? Let me explain I saw following tweet:

Read on Twitter

?s

We dominated interior and we defended Hield and Haliburton well, although Mathurin and Turner had good game.

Did we exchanged hard defense on Mathurin and Turner for good interior defense + defense on Hield and Haliburton?

This is something I am thinking about. With Gobert and no elite PoA defender we cant say that we have the most versatile defense in NBA. It means that we need to prioritize our targets in defence carefully, we cant defend everything well. Not yet.

Not sure if we gave up perimeter defense in any capacity, but it's been a struggle this year I believe.
You mentioned we have no elite PoA defender but I'd say McDaniels and Ant have to be pretty close.

[life_saver]

Jaden's offensive improvements have been very encouraging. His 3 point shooting has definitely gotten better since like middle of last season..he also seems more comfortable now when he is driving and his off-the ball movement has also improved. I really like the cuts he makes.

[winforlose]

That was a quality win! Not quite a signature win but a really good one. Pacers are hot, they are a good team, and we handled them like big boys. We looked like a team that knew what they were doing. Rudy was fantastic, our bigs played big. We got boards, we got inside buckets.

We even had some big things go against us. Indiana's three-point shooting was marvelous. Turner looked like Curry. They bombed us out big time and we turned the ball over drastically. That said, we still handled them pretty comfortably. That's a dominant game, you would think we would lose because of those two factors alone but we balled out. If those turnovers were more respectable and Indy was not shooting well that would have been a beat a down.

I think we are starting to find ourselves. We are believing.

I have not seen this game yet, but I have a question. Turner had 12-17 from field and 7-9 from 3pt. Is it something that we allowed "by design"? Let me explain I saw following tweet:

Read on Twitter

?s

We dominated interior and we defended Hield and Haliburton well, although Mathurin and Turner had good game.

Did we exchanged hard defense on Mathurin and Turner for good interior defense + defense on Hield and Haliburton?

This is something I am thinking about. With Gobert and no elite PoA defender we cant say that we have the most versatile defense in NBA. It means that we need to prioritize our targets in defence carefully, we cant defend everything well. Not yet.

Turner got the hot hand, and we didn’t adjust. We kept Rudy on him and kept him down, and Turner made us pay. That said, in a playoff series he isn’t going to shoot 5 of 7 every night. Meanwhile we dominated the paint and glass by keeping Rudy down. Rudy doesn’t get the shot blocks that Turner gets. But he alters so many shots, and acts like an invisible fence around the paint. Guys might drive anyway, but they drive scared and often timid.

Mathurn got a lot of whistles, and hit a ton of circus shots. Double teamed off balance at the shot clock buzzer from one step instead the 3 point line style shots. Our defense on him was pretty good, his shooting was just better.

We have Jaden’s length and quickness to lock down one elite player for the opposing team. Beyond that, we make do or we go zone. Dlo stepped up and played wonderful, active hands, smart defense last night. That is why instead of a typical loss, we got a big win.

[shrink]

Jaden's offensive improvements have been very encouraging. His 3 point shooting has definitely gotten better since like middle of last season..he also seems more comfortable now when he is driving and his off-the ball movement has also improved. I really like the cuts he makes.

I agree, and I think we see him (and others) making stronger cuts when the team is sharing the ball.

[minimus]

I have not seen this game yet, but I have a question. Turner had 12-17 from field and 7-9 from 3pt. Is it something that we allowed "by design"? Let me explain I saw following tweet:

Read on Twitter

?s

We dominated interior and we defended Hield and Haliburton well, although Mathurin and Turner had good game.

Did we exchanged hard defense on Mathurin and Turner for good interior defense + defense on Hield and Haliburton?

This is something I am thinking about. With Gobert and no elite PoA defender we cant say that we have the most versatile defense in NBA. It means that we need to prioritize our targets in defence carefully, we cant defend everything well. Not yet.

Not sure if we gave up perimeter defense in any capacity, but it's been a struggle this year I believe.
You mentioned we have no elite PoA defender but I'd say McDaniels and Ant have to be pretty close.

Yes, Ant is pretty capable PoA defender. When he is engaged.