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Our first round is set. I think LAC would have been an easier opponent while MIN is the more fun. I just worry about Bev doing something dirty to Ja.

Funny I had the opposite take. I though LAC would have been a tougher series. Minny will likely win one or two with some offensive explosions but they just don't have the D to hang with us over 7.

I opted for the Grizzlies/Wolves series. These two young teams will be interesting to watch in the series. The Grizzlies have put the league on notice this season. Great chemistry, great brotherhood, great synchronization, what more can you can you ask for with this Grizzlies team.

The Wolves, a young team, had to fight for their playoff lives, overcome a losing start, and issues of mental toughness and accountability. The team improved overtime with the help of vet Pat Bev leading the way in only he could.

Now that this is the matchup, both teams have to show who's going outfight, out smart, and outplay the other in this playoff battle. This should be a good series to watch.

My expectations: Grizzlies beat the Wolves 4-2

Came out really stiff that 1st quarter and Adams was getting cooked bad. Good to see us answer to start the 2nd. JJJ with early foul trouble isn't good though.

Well that wasn't great. Felt like Minny was mostly in control all game even when we were going on runs. It is just one game though. This may be a wakeup call for our guys and lock us in the rest of the way.

The Grizzles will never win a championship with Ja Morant. He's a weak 3pt shooter yet he takes most of the shots. The team has played better without him. Now he's going to the hoop more and drawing fouls, that''s going to get him injured. It's already taken it's toll on him. The team's best shooter should be taking the most shots and that's not Ja. If Memphis is smart they should trade him to the Knicks for Toppin, Quickley, and their 2022 1st. The Knicks just might be dumb enough to make that deal.

Satire?

Ja isn't the problem. He played great the first half and was the reason we were in the game. He generated a ton of great looks that guys just missed on. The second half he started trying to do too much at one point because his teammates had been missing all game. So he started driving into the paint and trying to do it himself when the entire Minny defense collapsed on him instead of kicking it out to players on the wing.

Adams killed us this game. His most important job is to rebound and he had 3. Melton also disappeared in yet another playoff game. JJJ was good on defense, but foul trouble limited him (those offensive fouls were killer) and he continued to not shoot very well. Brooks was really good. Bane was pretty meh by his standards. Tyus was ok but the success of his runs were really just Minny turning the ball over like 6 times in a row. Clarke played really really well but is a cleanup guy and doesn't generate shots. Anderson was solid and should be used more to help defend KAT. Ziaire was so so. Others thought he was good, and I think he outplayed Melton, but ideally you have better players you can lean on instead of him if we shorten the rotation. Still these minutes are huge for his development. Wonder if Konchar will end up being called upon next game.

I thought Jenkins didn't really have the guys prepared and didn't adjust like he needed to in order for us to have a chance to pull this game out. His postgame comments also don't inspire a lot of confidence that he'll learn from his mistakes and make real lineup changes. He is a great coach, but lineups are his biggest weakness IMO. He has done some funky stuff that didn't really make sense.

Overall it is just one game and our team this season has been very good at responding to adversity/losses. If we come out and look flat again next game it is time to worry, but hopefully this game was enough to knock of the stiffness from not playing a meaningful game in a while and we will lock in the rest of the series.

VCfor3 wrote:Ja isn't the problem. He played great the first half and was the reason we were in the game. He generated a ton of great looks that guys just missed on. The second half he started trying to do too much at one point because his teammates had been missing all game. So he started driving into the paint and trying to do it himself when the entire Minny defense collapsed on him instead of kicking it out to players on the wing.

Read on Twitter

Adams killed us this game. His most important job is to rebound and he had 3. Melton also disappeared in yet another playoff game. JJJ was good on defense, but foul trouble limited him (those offensive fouls were killer) and he continued to not shoot very well. Brooks was really good. Bane was pretty meh by his standards. Tyus was ok but the success of his runs were really just Minny turning the ball over like 6 times in a row. Clarke played really really well but is a cleanup guy and doesn't generate shots. Anderson was solid and should be used more to help defend KAT. Ziaire was so so. Others thought he was good, and I think he outplayed Melton, but ideally you have better players you can lean on instead of him if we shorten the rotation. Still these minutes are huge for his development. Wonder if Konchar will end up being called upon next game.

I thought Jenkins didn't really have the guys prepared and didn't adjust like he needed to in order for us to have a chance to pull this game out. His postgame comments also don't inspire a lot of confidence that he'll learn from his mistakes and make real lineup changes. He is a great coach, but lineups are his biggest weakness IMO. He has done some funky stuff that didn't really make sense.

Overall it is just one game and our team this season has been very good at responding to adversity/losses. If we come out and look flat again next game it is time to worry, but hopefully this game was enough to knock of the stiffness from not playing a meaningful game in a while and we will lock in the rest of the series.

This first game was the one I thought we were most likely to lose. That's the problem when we have not played a meaningful games in weeks and the TWolves have been fighting for their lives. The start of the game was just odd, every rebound went away from our guys and the bounces just did come our way. But that slow start is not why we lost. Shooting and a secondary player maker is going to hold us back. Bane has to step up next game or we are going to be in real trouble. Adams should be able to play a little better but ultimately we might be a better team with him getting less minutes in this series.

I still got us in 6 but don't feel near as confident with letting that game slip away.

jman3134 wrote:Satire?

No. I'm trying to educate. I made this post because I happen to respect what the Grizzlies have accomplished in so short of a time.

VCfor3 wrote:Ja isn't the problem. He played great the first half and was the reason we were in the game. He generated a ton of great looks that guys just missed on. The second half he started trying to do too much at one point because his teammates had been missing all game. So he started driving into the paint and trying to do it himself when the entire Minny defense collapsed on him instead of kicking it out to players on the wing.

Read on Twitter

Adams killed us this game. His most important job is to rebound and he had 3. Melton also disappeared in yet another playoff game. JJJ was good on defense, but foul trouble limited him (those offensive fouls were killer) and he continued to not shoot very well. Brooks was really good. Bane was pretty meh by his standards. Tyus was ok but the success of his runs were really just Minny turning the ball over like 6 times in a row. Clarke played really really well but is a cleanup guy and doesn't generate shots. Anderson was solid and should be used more to help defend KAT. Ziaire was so so. Others thought he was good, and I think he outplayed Melton, but ideally you have better players you can lean on instead of him if we shorten the rotation. Still these minutes are huge for his development. Wonder if Konchar will end up being called upon next game.

I thought Jenkins didn't really have the guys prepared and didn't adjust like he needed to in order for us to have a chance to pull this game out. His postgame comments also don't inspire a lot of confidence that he'll learn from his mistakes and make real lineup changes. He is a great coach, but lineups are his biggest weakness IMO. He has done some funky stuff that didn't really make sense.

Overall it is just one game and our team this season has been very good at responding to adversity/losses. If we come out and look flat again next game it is time to worry, but hopefully this game was enough to knock of the stiffness from not playing a meaningful game in a while and we will lock in the rest of the series.

Yes he is. In the modern NBA, the 3 point shot is king. A great 3pt shooter is characterized by a player who makes at least 80% of his FTs and has at least 10 3pt attempts/100 possessions. Ja's career numbers in these areas are lacking (5.3 3ptA/100POS 75.4 FT%).
It's common sense. 3>2. You want your best 3pt shooter taking the most shots. That seldom happens when Ja starts.

Ziaire was a brilliant pick. Always liked him since is days at Stanford. 3pt/100 is 8.6 and his 78.2 FT% isn't bad. Remember, he's essentially playing in his sophomore college season.

I say this as a Celtics fan. You all should send Dumb Danny 'thank you' cards for giving your team the 30th overall pick in the 2021 draft. DD had 3 first rounders in the draft and said that he only wanted 2 rookies on the roster. So, it became important to keep Semi Ojaleye rather than a worthless rookie like, say, a Desmond Bane. In the 2019 draft, I wanted a certain guard from Michigan. DD takes Romeo Langford. Jordan Poole has turned out to be the best player to emerge from that draft.

Memphis can go from smart to brilliant if they can a good return for Ja. They'll regret giving him a long term max deal. Slashing PGs don't win titles in the modern NBA.

GL and peace.

That is an awful take. Offensive efficiency is king, and Ja's slashing ability opens up the game for our shooters because defenses have to converge down on him. The reason we played so well without him is that Tyus is starter quality good and our bench is extremely deep. So you give guys like Kyle Anderson and Clarke a chance to get some starter's minutes and they will produce for you. Ja Morant is the heart and soul of this team and we will never trade him.

Cuban Pete wrote:

VCfor3 wrote:Ja isn't the problem. He played great the first half and was the reason we were in the game. He generated a ton of great looks that guys just missed on. The second half he started trying to do too much at one point because his teammates had been missing all game. So he started driving into the paint and trying to do it himself when the entire Minny defense collapsed on him instead of kicking it out to players on the wing.

Read on Twitter

Adams killed us this game. His most important job is to rebound and he had 3. Melton also disappeared in yet another playoff game. JJJ was good on defense, but foul trouble limited him (those offensive fouls were killer) and he continued to not shoot very well. Brooks was really good. Bane was pretty meh by his standards. Tyus was ok but the success of his runs were really just Minny turning the ball over like 6 times in a row. Clarke played really really well but is a cleanup guy and doesn't generate shots. Anderson was solid and should be used more to help defend KAT. Ziaire was so so. Others thought he was good, and I think he outplayed Melton, but ideally you have better players you can lean on instead of him if we shorten the rotation. Still these minutes are huge for his development. Wonder if Konchar will end up being called upon next game.

I thought Jenkins didn't really have the guys prepared and didn't adjust like he needed to in order for us to have a chance to pull this game out. His postgame comments also don't inspire a lot of confidence that he'll learn from his mistakes and make real lineup changes. He is a great coach, but lineups are his biggest weakness IMO. He has done some funky stuff that didn't really make sense.

Overall it is just one game and our team this season has been very good at responding to adversity/losses. If we come out and look flat again next game it is time to worry, but hopefully this game was enough to knock of the stiffness from not playing a meaningful game in a while and we will lock in the rest of the series.

Yes he is. In the modern NBA, the 3 point shot is king. A great 3pt shooter is characterized by a player who makes at least 80% of his FTs and has at least 10 3pt attempts/100 possessions. Ja's career numbers in these areas are lacking (5.3 3ptA/100POS 75.4 FT%).
It's common sense. 3>2. You want your best 3pt shooter taking the most shots. That seldom happens when Ja starts.

Ziaire was a brilliant pick. Always liked him since is days at Stanford. 3pt/100 is 8.6 and his 78.2 FT% isn't bad. Remember, he's essentially playing in his sophomore college season.

I say this as a Celtics fan. You all should send Dumb Danny 'thank you' cards for giving your team the 30th overall pick in the 2021 draft. DD had 3 first rounders in the draft and said that he only wanted 2 rookies on the roster. So, it became important to keep Semi Ojaleye rather than a worthless rookie like, say, a Desmond Bane. In the 2019 draft, I wanted a certain guard from Michigan. DD takes Romeo Langford. Jordan Poole has turned out to be the best player to emerge from that draft.

Memphis can go from smart to brilliant if they can a good return for Ja. They'll regret giving him a long term max deal. Slashing PGs don't win titles in the modern NBA.

GL and peace.

You definitely need 3pt shooting and JJJ not hitting anything hurts since you ideally want to surround Ja with four guys who can really space the floor and hit open looks, but there are two high percentage shots in the league and Ja leads the league in one. Shots at the rim and 3pt shots are what you want and Ja led the league in points in the paint. He shot 70.6% from within 3ft of the rim. In order to match that efficiency from deep a player would have to shoot 47%. He has crazy gravity with his drives but last game guys just weren't hitting the looks he created. Bane is our best 3pt shooter and took 8 threes, 3 more than anyone else. Bane is also the only player with a better FT% than Ja last game. Others tied him, but Bane went 2-2 and was perfect from the line. Ja's drives also lead to drawing fouls which are high percentage shots usually. Ja can be the number one guy on offense for a championship level team, but he has to have a true 2nd star which we don't quite have yet. The hope is JJJ and Bane figure things out enough that it can work, but they aren't there yet. Giannis and others are easier to build a contender around, but Ja can be that guy.

As a Timberwolves fan but also a fan of basketball, you need to hope Taylor Jenkins is able to adjust in this series and rotate Clarke/SlowMo on Towns.

I like Adams in certain matchups but he isn't the answer to Towns--larger wings are the answer.

Colbinii wrote:As a Timberwolves fan but also a fan of basketball, you need to hope Taylor Jenkins is able to adjust in this series and rotate Clarke/SlowMo on Towns.

I like Adams in certain matchups but he isn't the answer to Towns--larger wings are the answer.

Completely agree. It'll be interesting to see how Jenkins does. Really he hasn't been tested much up to this point and historically line ups are an issue with him, but hopefully he can make adjustments starting with decreasing Adams' minutes especially if he isn't rebounding well and getting lit up on defense.

Let's see how tough our Grizzlies are. We need this one to split at home to open. Otherwise, we are in big trouble.

Woof. Slow start and 2 fouls on Adams.

jman3134 wrote:Woof. Slow start and 2 fouls on Adams.

These refs are horrible tonight. At least Jenkins is force to put Clarke in early.

And now Kyle. We need to force the switch on KAT every single possession.