Wolves vs Bulls Game Thread 12-18-22

[Folklore]

Best game I've watched since last season.

[WolfAddict]

No third quarter collapse... Now that makes me one happy camper

[life_saver]

Rivers has stepped up well

[Dalvin]

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Fun game! is 150 the franchise record for most points scored? Hope they can keep it up against the Mavs on the next two games and leapfrog them on the standings

[Grubie024]

Observation from highlight-watching: Nate Knight is the closest thing DLo has had in Minnesota to Jarrett Allen.

Keep in mind, he had a similar connection in Los Angeles with Larry Nance Jr.

I've always noticed that DLo and Naz have always had a great two-man game. Naz has a better IQ than Nate.

You sure about that? To be honest, Knight strikes me as more impactful to winning. Both very versatile on offense but Knight is stronger and appears to have better rebounding technique. His defensive rotations looked good today from what I saw.

Curious what people think about Knight vs Reid

[Murphs56]

I love how we played tonight and then I look at the schedule and it's Luka on a back to back lol. At least we are home! Hopefully Naz is ok because we're down to our 4th Center.

[TwolvesFanRome]

ARRRROOOOOOO!!!

We must absolutely continue on this path!!

Ant amazing but Dlo... he is playing like an hero in the last month!

[Guest84]

Hey everyone. Like many of you, I've been a long-time wolves fan (for better or worse) and have followed the board for quite some time. Although this is my first official post. I was at the game last night and wanted to provide some thoughts about what I saw.

Starting with Naz, he looked to be in some real pain after that foul. He tried to go back to the locker room but they called him back. As you know, he didn't come back in and I don't recall seeing him even come back to the bench the rest of the night Idk what they said the diagnosis was on tv, but it didn't look good.

I preface the following by saying, Chi isn't exactly a good "team" right now and they seemed disinterested/disjointed. Even in the pregame warmups that aren't on tv, so take it for what it's worth. The wolves were in control the whole game and I never got the sense that the wolves were in danger, even when Chi made a few shots.

Naz vs Knight:
I personally like both players because they play with that energy and grit you need, just slightly different. They're both pretty decisive when it comes to the flow of the offense, so things don't get stagnant. They both attack the basket with force and their play styles FIT with Ant and D'Lo. I don't think you have to say one or the other and honestly, we NEED players who play with force consistently.

Both of their plays were impactful tonight and energized the crowd/atmosphere each time (dunks/shots/etc).

Take this next part with a grain of salt. Skill-wise/resume, neither of them is Karl or Rudy however, their "play style" is a better fit with Ant and D'Lo. They get in where they fit in and the chemistry is better on the floor cause their moves out of the PnR are sharper/quicker. Whereas with Karl and Rudy, it's a long developing play. Unless Kat takes a secondary role, it's going to disrupt Ant and D'Lo.

While I think Ant should be the feature, by no means am I suggesting D'Lo as the 2nd guy. However, I do think he's better served to play how he has recently with scoring first and then letting his playmaking come after. I'd rather have him play aggressively than be passive with his scoring since it can lead to the poor efficiency/lackadaisical nights we've seen before.

ANT:
Ant was amazing tonight aside from the funky start. This is exactly how he should play, stylistically speaking. One noticeable thing with him is I believe all that over-dribbling and settling for the 3 starts when he becomes fatigued. Watching it in person vs tv, I don't think his conditioning is at its apex. Not poor but it could just be due to his body type. Considering this, there were points where I think Finch should've subbed him out a bit sooner.

I apologize for the long-winded response.

[shrink]

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/269724/Zach-LaVine-Calls-Bulls-Losing-Embarrassing

[Klomp]

Observation from highlight-watching: Nate Knight is the closest thing DLo has had in Minnesota to Jarrett Allen.

Keep in mind, he had a similar connection in Los Angeles with Larry Nance Jr.

I've always noticed that DLo and Naz have always had a great two-man game. Naz has a better IQ than Nate.

Naz doesn't finish actions through traffic quite like this, at least not with the same regularity. That's why it's Nate I'm putting in the conversation with Jarrett and Larry.

Read on Twitter

[minimus]

One question: why Caruso did not look as near as good in defense this game as he was last year? Not fully recovered? His offensive game was always complimentary, but he really shined in defense last year.

[Neeva]

The bulls are a mess I think Lavine and Caruso need a change of scenery.

[Folklore]

Observation from highlight-watching: Nate Knight is the closest thing DLo has had in Minnesota to Jarrett Allen.

Keep in mind, he had a similar connection in Los Angeles with Larry Nance Jr.

I've always noticed that DLo and Naz have always had a great two-man game. Naz has a better IQ than Nate.

Naz doesn't finish actions through traffic quite like this, at least not with the same regularity. That's why it's Nate I'm putting in the conversation with Jarrett and Larry.

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

What am I missing? Naz was playing better than Nate before he got injured. Is it dunking that you're talking about? Naz is better at everything except vert.

[BlacJacMac]

One question: why Caruso did not look as near as good in defense this game as he was last year? Not fully recovered? His offensive game was always complimentary, but he really shined in defense last year.

The entire Bulls team looks totally checked out on defense.

[shrink]

I just heard the 150 the Wolves put up was the second highest eFG% from any team in NBA history!

What’s even weirder - eFG darlings Gobert and Towns didn’t even play!

[A1FromDay1]

Finchy said "we might have to park KAT in the corner more" when he gets back. My wish is coming true!

My thoughts exactly! It's been great not having to watch KAT in the post, let him do damage with his superb 3p shooting.