Minnesota Meltdown already, interior clogged with 2 centers, offense floundering.

Hoops Addict · Post #1 » by **Hoops Addict** » Tue Nov 8, 2022 3:57 pm

Great news! Minnesota has lost 4 of their last 5 games!

The Gobert Trade was awesome.....receiving 3 very good players and upcoming unprotected first round picks.

Minnesota is already stressing......their offense is clogged up with having 2 centers. Plus they traded V8, their toughest player.

Anthony Edwards called them soft. He has done a lot of complaining...no dunks.....he says the paint is too crowded now.

Minnesota FRP might be in the range of #14-#18. Minnesota is a big injury away from the lottery.....let's hope the meltdown continues and the players hate each other. If we get the 15th pick, nbadraft.net predicts Cam Whitemore.
https://www.nbadraft.net/players/cam-whitmore/

Great trade so far!!

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2022/11/minnesota-timberwolves-anthony-edwards-rudy-gobert-trade-lineups

Overall, in 42 minutes Edwards has appeared without the two bigs, the Timberwolves have actually outscored opponents by a comically high 51.2 points per 100 possessions.

Post #2 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Tue Nov 8, 2022 4:19 pm

I'm not convinced the Wolves will miss the playoffs but I do think the Gobert trade was a huge mistake on their part. By getting Gobert they traded for the same problems the Jazz had.

I think they'll probably make the playoffs but imho they could have gotten the same results without trading for Gobert and simply run back the roster they had with little tweaks, and rely on progressing from internal growth of their core. Paring Gobert and KAT made no sense to me. Sure, KAT can shoot really well form outside but so could Bojan. KAT also likes to post up and it's much harder to do because Gobert is ineffective outside the paint, so KAT will either get double-teamed or he won't have the space to operate because Gobert clogs the paint. And as mentioned, we already see Ant complaining about lack of spacing and a crowded paint. And defensively it will be harder to a Gobert-KAT pairing to guard small lineups against teams who will play 5-out. I think ultimately they'll have to play with one of them on the bench to close games.

Overall, I never saw how Gobert helps them advance in the playoffs. Obviously, there's plenty of time to turn things around and figure things out, but I don't think that when it's all said and done, they'll make any notable achievements. Looks like another fleecing of Tim Connelly, who's been the gift that keeps on giving for the Jazz, regardless of which team he's working for.

Daddy 801 · Post #3 » by **Daddy 801** » Tue Nov 8, 2022 8:22 pm

I have to eat crow on this one. I thought Gobert and Towns would be a great duo. Thought an offensive minded big who shoots threes and can play the help defender the way Favors did would work on defense.

Haven't watched their games to see what the issue is, but I like knowing the Wolves pick will be good since the Jazz are not tanking.

Daddy 801 · Post #4 » by **Daddy 801** » Tue Nov 8, 2022 8:22 pm

I have to eat crow on this one. I thought Gobert and Towns would be a great duo. Thought an offensive minded big who shoots threes and can play the help defender the way Favors did would work on defense.

Haven't watched their games to see what the issue is, but I like knowing the Wolves pick will be good since the Jazz are not tanking.

Rauxcee · Post #5 » by **Rauxcee** » Wed Nov 9, 2022 3:20 am

I've watched almost all the Wolves games. Gobert and Towns on the floor together aren't the issue. I believe the team even has their best net rating when they are together.

The issue is Dlo is trash and desperately needs to be upgraded. Ant hasn't taken that next step and is playing a lot if hero ball chucking. Finch doesn't seem to run any offense-its just do what you want. Their 3pt defense is atrocious and no one rebounds but Gobert.

Come to think of it, it's like watching the Jazz of last year.

pickIBL · Post #6 » by **pickIBL** » Wed Nov 9, 2022 4:00 am

We already got MVP Lauri... ehh let's call him Larry Second Amendment. We are contenders right now. Buckle up!

Post #7 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Wed Nov 9, 2022 7:39 am

pickIBL wrote:We already got MVP Lauri... ehh let's call him Larry Second Amendment. We are contenders right now. Buckle up!

His name is Prime Dirk.

pickIBL · Post #8 » by **pickIBL** » Wed Nov 9, 2022 12:53 pm

Inigo Montoya wrote:
pickIBL wrote:We already got MVP Lauri... ehh let's call him Larry Second Amendment. We are contenders right now. Buckle up!

His name is Prime Dirk.

With the dunking repertoire of Darryl Dawkins. He's straight up plagiarizing his yo mama dunk.

Hoops Addict · Post #9 » by **Hoops Addict** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 1:49 am

MInnesota losing by 10 in the 2nd quarter....

dautjazz · Post #10 » by **dautjazz** » Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:08 am

The two bigs I thought would work together since Towns can step outside, but looks like Gobert is still clogging the paint for their slashers. Snyder knew how to utilize him well, maybe the Wolves need to go after Snyder? Anyways, I see them struggling, missing the playoffs is certainly possible. Blazers and Jazz are looking like they really belong in the playoffs, and if Leonard can ever get healthy, they'll probably make the playoffs. I would say PHX, GS, DEN, DAL, and MEM are near locks, so there is a very good chance that the Wolves miss the playoffs. The Pelicans have an excellent shot of making the playoffs as well if Zion stays relatively healthy. It's going to be a blood bath out west.

Hoops Addict · Post #11 » by **Hoops Addict** » Fri Nov 11, 2022 2:57 pm

Watch on YouTube

vryadli · Post #12 » by **vryadli** » Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:26 pm

Hoops Addict wrote:

Watch on YouTube

Very interesting. That basically shows that their guards are all ball hogs and only good interaction is with CAT. Comparison with good (older!)pg in this video speaks tons about why in modern league classic centers are "obsolette". Modern league is so much revolving about "own shots" scorers - with very small exception.

I think in that league current Jazz with current coach Jazz will easily get in PO and has a real shot on at least WCF.

Catchall · Post #13 » by **Catchall** » Fri Nov 11, 2022 5:51 pm

I agree that their main problem is not getting enough consistent guard play. They haven't gotten Gobert very involved in the offense, and offensively they seem to be more effective playing 5-out.

They'll probably finish somewhere in the play-in range.

Post #14 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Fri Nov 11, 2022 7:35 pm

Catchall wrote:I agree that their main problem is not getting enough consistent guard play. They haven't gotten Gobert very involved in the offense, and offensively they seem to be more effective playing 5-out.

They'll probably finish somewhere in the play-in range.

Gobert is currently averaging 8.4FGA, which is he second highest of his career (highest is 8.8FGA). Gobert is a very limited offensive player so it's hard to involve him in the offense because all he can do is dunk when other players set him up or score off tip-ins and offensive rebounds.

We heard the same argument when he played for us, that the Jazz players didn't involve him enough on offense. Well, his new team isn't doing that either, so maybe the problem isn't the coaches or his teammates--maybe it's him and the fact he still has zero offensive moves. How do you increase the involvement of such a player in the offense? The other team also knows that all he can do is dunk off of other players setups. There is a limit to how many alley-hoops and wide open dunks\layups a player can get every game.

Crunch 99 · Post #15 » by **Crunch 99** » Sat Nov 12, 2022 6:12 am

The Wolves are giving me some hope for a high draft pick. After tonight's loss to Memphis, the Wolves have the sixth worse record in the league.

bkohler · Post #16 » by **bkohler** » Sat Nov 12, 2022 7:29 pm

This would be the funniest of all outcomes.

Post #17 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:20 pm

A funner outcome would be the Jazz getting both Victor and Scoot.

Hoops Addict · Post #18 » by **Hoops Addict** » Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:31 pm

If MInnesota suffers a season ending injury to any of their top 4 players......they will be the 5th worst team.

I never wish anyone to be injured, but...........

They are falling apart at 5-8, fighting with each other......any injury will kill them.

Post #19 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:53 am

Hoops Addict wrote:If MInnesota suffers a season ending injury to any of their top 4 players......they will be the 5th worst team.

I never wish anyone to be injured, but...........

They are falling apart at 5-8, fighting with each other......any injury will kill them.

An injury might actually help them, as long as it's not Edwards. What they're doing now isn't working. They need to be forced into lineup changes, which would be dictated by an injury. Look at what happens in Brooklyn - Kyrie gets suspended and suddenly they start winning.

Hoops Addict · Post #20 » by **Hoops Addict** » Tue Nov 15, 2022 3:48 am

Inigo Montoya wrote:
Hoops Addict wrote:If MInnesota suffers a season ending injury to any of their top 4 players......they will be the 5th worst team.

I never wish anyone to be injured, but...........

They are falling apart at 5-8, fighting with each other......any injury will kill them.

An injury might actually help them, as long as it's not Edwards. What they're doing now isn't working. They need to be forced into lineup changes, which would be dictated by an injury. Look at what happens in Brooklyn - Kyrie gets suspended and suddenly they start winning.

I would agree, but their bench is terrible....so they would suffer more from an injury.

They were up 20 the other night, then barely won.......i cheer for their losses.