Play-In Game: MIN @LAL

[DaHef]

The lakers 1st in FT disparity but 19th in getting to the paint, we all know what's happening with that. If the Wolves keep it close it will be 5 on 8. The whole world outside of l.a. will be rooting for you. Good luck.

[Klomp]

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[Klomp]

And accountability is why he got called the B word.
We don't know exactly what was all said, but it started with Rudy not coming back to the ball to catch an inbounds pass which led to a steal and and-1. When Finch was asked at halftime he said "missed assignments".

Something to factor into the equation is that Rudy Gobert was dealing with back spasms. Someone who knows better than anyone what that's like is Kyle Anderson. He's dealt with them multiple times this season. For whatever reason, Kyle didn't think Rudy was giving 100%. That's where I think the words were coming from. I don't think it's a deep-seeded issue with the roster cohesion. I think these two are both competitors. Rosters don't have to be 15 deep with BFFs.

[TimberKat]

The lakers 1st in FT disparity but 19th in getting to the paint, we all know what's happening with that. If the Wolves keep it close it will be 5 on 8. The whole world outside of l.a. will be rooting for you. Good luck.

But the people that really counts are not on your side. I am sure Adam Silver had call and told Connelly that if we suspend Gobert, he will ensure we don't get embarrassed in the NBA lottery by Jazz getting a top 4 pick

Seriously, I don't believe in any Refs conspiracy, however, I wouldn't rule out they do get pressure indirectly officiate LA, NY or BOS games. Especially home games.

[life_saver]

By far the most important factor in this game is KAT staying out of foul trouble...If Lakers aren't stupid, they'd start the game relentlessly attacking the paint and try getting KAT into foul trouble. We are already thin in frontcourt due to Naz injury, Gobert suspension. If KAT also gets into foul trouble, will be hard to see us winning today

[Klomp]

The bench will be hurt by the absences more than the starting lineup will be imo. Replacing Jaden with Taurean and Rudy with Kyle, it's not really a massive drop to me. But it will force Finch to stretch an already thin bench a lot more than ideal. We'll see a lot more smaller lineups, probably a lot of three-guard lineups and some two-PG lineups and probably even some four-guard lineups. I don't expect to see a ton of Knight unless we have massive foul trouble ahead of him. Kyle will be Karl's main backup. Jordan and NAW will be the first reserves, with Jaylen, Austin, Wendell, Nathan and Josh all in line for possible playing time.

The interesting thing is how to balance between going all-out to win this game while also remembering the possibility of a game Friday with a quick turnaround to a Game 1 on Sunday.

[Guest84]

Finch is going to have to stagger Ant and Kat's minutes. Barring foul trouble, one should be on the floor at all times tonight. But the wolves are playing with house money tonight cause nobody is even expecting them to be competitive. It would be so sweet to get a win against LA.

Good experience for Ant and the team to go up against an LBJ lead team in a playoff-type scenario though. This could be huge for development to see an all-time great firsthand in a pressure-packed moment.

[Klomp]

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[Klomp]

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[shrink]

I was just listening to a MIN pod where they were shocked that Gobert threw a punch at Anderson, because they hadn’t seen or even heard of any bad blood between the two. In fact, they went on to say the only minor bad blood anyone had with Gobert was Russell, and obviously, he’s gone.

I think there are many people, here and around the world, who are trying to make Gobert seem like a longterm behavior problem. I don’t think they are intentionally lying, but I think they believe unsubstantiated drama because it fits other reasons they don’t like Gobert. None of us posters are in the locker room

EDIT: this was a Lock’d On podcast with Ben Beeckon.

I always thought much of that too. Not true.

I was listening to Jon Krawsznsky? yesterday afternoon and he said Utah had multiple problems with Rudy and players hating him. Around the league he is disliked for his poor offensive skills. He just doesn't get the respect I thought he did.

How the Wolves management didn't know this is beyond me. And trying to make him an offensive star with all the P&R BS and hands of stone is beyond me too. Of course a lot of things Wolves wise is beyond me.

So I went to listen to this podcast because I felt that when it comes to knowing the locker room, the rankings would be shrink < Ben Beecken and Marnie Geller < Jon Krawcinski .. and Michael Grady was a guest on the show. I’ve only had time to listen to the first twenty minutes, but they had monologues from Jon and Michael that I think everyone should hear.

I definitely did not have the same takeaway that you did. Grady was surprised by all of this, and put a lot of the blame on Anderson, and his particularly direct way of talking to people. Jon agreed, and went into further detail about the events leading up to the incident. He said that Gobert was suffering back spasms before the game, and Anderson goaded him into playing. When Rudy’s body wouldn’t let him do the things he wanted, and help the team, Jon said this probably already made him upset. Then, when Kyle called him a bitch, the same Kyle who had missed 12 games with back spasms and should know how debilitating it was, Gobert lost it. Jon went on to say that a one game suspension was perfectly appropriate, but after talking to dozens of people after the incident, all the players would have been just fine with Gobert playing with the team against the Lakers.

I did hear the part about other players not giving Rudy respect (not “hate”), because he’s awkward on offense. He said that Rudy can score 18, and people will rag on him for missing three shots and not having 24. We see that from some posters on this board. Jon contrasted that with Naz, who players love for having a polished offensive game including a crossover. Still, at this point in Naz’ career, you stack the two next to each other and Gobert is the far more effective player.

I urge people to listen to this episode of the Jon Krawcinski podcast - it was very enlightening, and I’ve only heard a third of it!

[TimberKat]

@shrink that is a very good summary. It makes sense and I hope the incident bring the team closer together. At least, the players cares.

I have very, very low expectations for tonight's game. Just don't get hurt and get ready for NOP take 2. It won't be as easy as the last one. Then we take DEN to 7 games and call it a success.

[urinesane]

This is probably crazy and I think the Jaden injury hurts soooooo badly.... but I think suspending Gobert for this game was the smartest possible move. Not only for team accountability, but for their chances to beat the Lakers.

Rudy hasn't fared well against AD this year and if he is having trouble with back spasms it's much smarter to have him out this game (and make it tougher for the Lakers to game plan against the scrappy underdog) and try and get him as close to 100% if they need him Friday.

If they can somehow beat the Lakers tonight, even better. Rudy can rest up even more and go into the playoffs in a better place to contribute.

Again, the Jaden injury hurts the most out of Sunday's game, but I think minus Gobert, the Wolves have a better shot tonight than if he'd been allowed to play (mainly because his back, but also because AD just seems to have his number).

[Klomp]

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[TimberKat]

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I can't wait to say we punched out tickets to the playoffs.

[younggunsmn]

And accountability is why he got called the B word.
We don't know exactly what was all said, but it started with Rudy not coming back to the ball to catch an inbounds pass which led to a steal and and-1. When Finch was asked at halftime he said "missed assignments".

Something to factor into the equation is that Rudy Gobert was dealing with back spasms. Someone who knows better than anyone what that's like is Kyle Anderson. He's dealt with them multiple times this season. For whatever reason, Kyle didn't think Rudy was giving 100%. That's where I think the words were coming from. I don't think it's a deep-seeded issue with the roster cohesion. I think these two are both competitors. Rosters don't have to be 15 deep with BFFs.

How do you know Slo-Mo wasn't dealing with back spasms at that exact moment too?
He looks like he's been playing though a bad back all year.
When you call out someone about a mistake and the first thing out of their mouth is an excuse, that is the spark that ignites the flame that makes you lay into someone.

Properly handling criticism is an immensely important job skill.
It's even more important in the intensely competitive and highly physical world of pro sports.
Some people fall apart and get down on themselves, others argue and look for excuses, others point fingers.
All bad ways to deal with it.
It takes a secure person to take in what the other person is saying, set aside their emotions, accept blame, and try to make the adjustment requested. That's not just sports, that's life, it's work, it's marriage, it's parenting.
It's not an easy thing to do. It can take years and experience for many people.
Being all "In your feelings" is never in your best interest.
If you are not internally course-correcting you are not growing.
Ant's ability to handle criticism and move on to the next play mentally is a big key to his success.

I haven't seen a whole lot of adjustment from Gobert this year.
I've seen the rest of the team trying to twist themselves into knots to adjust to him.

In this situation, Finch was the authority figure though, not Anderson.
He was the one being disrespected, which is being glossed over in this.
He's the one responsible for pointing fingers and holding people accountable.
He also has a boss to answer to who made a major investment in Gobert and needs him to succeed.

When you have an employee not pulling their weight and not being held accountable, especially when it comes to effort and behavior, it can poison a work environment, spread, and cause a lot of resentment and negativity from even your best employees.
It leads to exactly the kind of thing we saw in that timeout.
I've been in the workforce for 25+ years and have seen this happen at many different levels.
If your employees are more pissed at each other than they are at you, you are doing something wrong.

For Gobert's effect on our offense, I'll use an analogy.

Imagine you've got a new guy in the office. Really talented at something else but he can't use a computer to save his life.
Everyone in the office is constantly needing to help him with it, no amount of training is going to make him better.

He has only one program he can figure out reliably. His role affects everyone else's so everyone in the office has to use that program for their work while he is in the office, even though there are many talented people in the office who are adept at much more sophisticated software.
This guy is paid the most in the office and was headhunted at great expense so the company has made a significant investment in him.
Can you see how resentment can fester in this situation among his coworkers?
It was right there out in the open with D-Lo.
Jon K alluded to it in his podcast, there is disrespect around the league for Gobert's hands and offensive ability.

The only way to fix the problem is to reduce that employee's role significantly so he doesn't need to use the computer.
Unfortunately this isn't 100 years ago and we can't only play him on one end of the floor.

[TimberKat]

Imagine you've got a new guy in the office. Really talented at something else but he can't use a computer to save his life.
Everyone in the office is constantly needing to help him with it, no amount of training is going to make him better.

He has only one program he can figure out reliably. His role affects everyone else's so everyone in the office has to use that program for their work while he is in the office, even though there are many talented people in the office who are adept at much more sophisticated software.
This guy is paid the most in the office and was headhunted at great expense so the company has made a significant investment in him.
Can you see how resentment can fester in this situation among his coworkers?

Have you ever worked for a manager in the office?

For Gobert's adjustments - didn't you not see him run out to cover a 3pt shooter, Euro step layups, turn around jump shot, back to the basket post up?

[shrink]

Nah

[younggunsmn]

Pat Bev chimes in:

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[younggunsmn]

Imagine you've got a new guy in the office. Really talented at something else but he can't use a computer to save his life.
Everyone in the office is constantly needing to help him with it, no amount of training is going to make him better.

He has only one program he can figure out reliably. His role affects everyone else's so everyone in the office has to use that program for their work while he is in the office, even though there are many talented people in the office who are adept at much more sophisticated software.
This guy is paid the most in the office and was headhunted at great expense so the company has made a significant investment in him.
Can you see how resentment can fester in this situation among his coworkers?

Have you ever worked for a manager in the office?

For Gobert's adjustments - didn't you not see him run out to cover a 3pt shooter, Euro step layups, turn around jump shot, back to the basket post up?

He cannot do any of those things, in fact he often looks embarrassing just trying them.

"Teamwork" means knowing your own strengths and weaknesses and those of your teammates and not going outside of your own capabilities. Some of the most frustrating moments this year have been Gobert trying to do things he has no business trying.
I suspect if you ask Jazz fans they will say the same thing over the years.

I would have loved to see a lot more Gobert high wall this year like in the Mavs game.

[younggunsmn]

Twins you are not helping the mojo tonight.
We need a walk off to cleanse the local sports aura.