Watched your Game Vs. Utah (McCants)

fluffernutter · Post #1 » by **fluffernutter** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:38 pm

Hi Minnesota people.

I was bored and watched y'all crush Utah last night, which was nice.

I was watching, in particular, McCants. He is a strange player. These are my impressions, from one game. Do they hold up as valid for the entire season, or are they just a fluke?

1) He looks very lackadaisical at times, and somewhat inattentive. But this does not translate into him being late on rotations or failing to guard his man reasonably well. It occurred to me that he may be playing the game at a slightly "faster" rate than your average NBA player. Meaning, he has a little room to be distracted, seem unfocussed, etc. and yet is able to get away with it. Does this make any sense?

2) There were 2-3 times when his dribbling caused a turnover; yet at least twice that I remember he immediately got the ball back somehow through some defensive play. At times it looks like he was a force of pure chaos in there, either generating turnovers or creating them. Is that typical?

3) He seems to have a decent post game which he hardly ever uses. I saw one spin move early in the game which led to an easy bucket. Or was this a fluke?

4) Is he the 6th man? He was playing the 4th quarter but not starting the 1st...does he have stamina or fouling issues?

5) He seems to be a good passer - he takes the ball out of bounds when the other team presses - but his passes seem... somehow not very crisp. They don't often cause a turnover directly, but... oh I don't know. I just never felt totally comfortable when he was passing it.

6) He does not get flustered. I remember one play where he drove into the lane, realized there wasn't anyone around, pump-faked Korver (?) into the air, and drew a shooting foul. He was very calm and professional about it. That was smart. But he missed the shot and both foul shots. Which was not smart.

My overall impression is that he's very serviceable currently, and obviously could improve - but that's if he decides to focus. Will he focus? All game?

big3_8_19_21 · Post #2 » by **big3_8_19_21** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:59 pm

You summarized McCants pretty well. Points 2 and 3 are especially accurate. He has fouling issues (in reference to 4).

Post #3 » by **revprodeji** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:12 pm

McCants is an iceburg to me. We only see glimpse of his overall skill, the sky is the limit. Post game, penetration, jump shooting. It is great. HE just needs to put it all together.

btw, random, but does anyone know how I can get to see the game from yesterday? Does any site have an saved copy?

B Calrissian · Post #4 » by **B Calrissian** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:40 pm

revprodeji wrote:btw, random, but does anyone know how I can get to see the game from yesterday? Does any site have an saved copy?

Rube Nation should have it at some point. But it looks like it has not been updated in awhile..

MN Die Hard · Post #5 » by **MN Die Hard** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:11 pm

He's a tough one to figure out. He does look lackadaisical/disinterested at times, but most of the time he's effective nonetheless. He can make some boneheaded plays but look like an all star the next time down the court. He's scoring a quiet 15 ppg this year, but he doesnt do much else (e.g. rebounds, assists).

I've never been entirely confident that's he's the future SG here, but I know many MN posters swear by him. I dont know how Shad feels about being a 6th man, but its starting to look like that's a pretty solid role for him (i.e. instant offense from the bench).

deeney0 · Post #6 » by **deeney0** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:05 pm

I agree with pretty much everything you've said.

Re: Fouling issue, only two guards (Tony Allen and Nick Young) average more fouls per 40 than Rashad.

Post #7 » by **revprodeji** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:34 pm

I cant find it, there is no pie in the fridge. I am pissed.

horaceworthy · Post #8 » by **horaceworthy** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:46 pm

I like McCants and his potential, but he's the most frustrating player on the team to me.

dunkonu21 · Post #9 » by **dunkonu21** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:55 pm

horaceworthy wrote:I like McCants and his potential, but he's the most frustrating player on the team to me.

Amen.

Post #10 » by **Basti** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:13 pm

@ the OP: nice read and you certainly hit the nail on the head. watching this game is pretty much everything you need to see to make a judgement for his season. unfocused at times but whenever he is focused and willing to play teamball he seems to be our man on the court (next to al of course)

and for the foul issue: I don't wanna defend rashad for his stupid fouls he made throughout the season BUT lately he didn't get the benefit of some questionable calls at all. maybe he got his rep among the refs to foul a lot and they stick to that image. dunny why but last night there was at least one call I didn't agree with the refs. but on the other hand we got a few calls which might have gone the other way so I don't complain about the refs at all

Post #11 » by **Calinks** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:51 pm

ARRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

funkatron101 · Post #12 » by **funkatron101** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:19 am

Korver looks absolutely giddy. HAHA.

Post #13 » by **TheFranchise21** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:58 am

McCants deflected a couple of passes last night. One of them he ended up with a steal.

His spin move was pretty. He set up on the right block and then spun to his left took a dribble or two and then made, what looked like from the angle I was sitting in the arena, a tough layup.

I think Rashad needs to play with more intensity. He played with a lot of fire during his rookie season. He might be getting disinterested or unmotivated due to the team's woes this year. If he can figure out how to play more aggressive but under control 100% of the time, I have no problem with him being our starting SG.