Game 5 - Nuggets vs Timberwolves

[Magoose]

I think people are way too down in the dumps. With only six competent players in the rotation tonight, Minnesota pushed the #1 seeded team in the Western Conference to the brink.

Running it back wouldn't be a horrible thing. Gives Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns a full off-season to get healthy, the team's young players should all continue to develop, and the team will now have more continuity. The despair over a solid (and undermanned) effort is really bizarre to me. Minnesota probably wins this series with Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels.

I think the reason for that is that we more or less mortgaged our future with an all-in move that was supposed to put us back on the map of basketball relevance.

And regarding the being healthy discussion: Yes Naz Reid and Jaden are important rotational pieces. But take a look at the Clippers or Grizzlies. They missed their star players yet managed to be more than just competitive in their series.
Just imagine if both KAT and Edwards were missing for most of that series. Does anybody really believe we would have even gotten close to win one game? Highly doubt it.

So with all respect the fanbase has every right to be down on this franchise right now since we haven't even paid our dues yet while our first chance to make some noise has already passed.

Sill I would vote to run it back mostly, try to bring back Naz and Naw and look for an improvement for guard rotation from our bench especially on the offensive end. Also with KAT's value being on an all-time low right now trading him would be premature (unless Brooklyn would listen to a Bridges swap which I highly doubt).

Also If I were the front office I would have a chat with Nick Nurse. Still not convinced Finch is the man to figure things out. Of course he's one of the better coaches in Wolves history but there is still a lot room for improvement from my point of view.

[life_saver]

I really wish Gobert skipped the Euro tournament last off-season...wish the team had more time to gel before playoffs. I am open to both options - running it back (hopefully no major injuries next season) or exploring options of trading KAT (if we can get good value). Whatever is the case, we need to find a long term reliable PG option...someone to pair with Ant in the backcourt. NAW is an intriguing piece but I don't think his offense is good/consistent yet to be a starter. He can be a nice piece off the bench though

[Worm Guts]

And regarding the being healthy discussion: Yes Naz Reid and Jaden are important rotational pieces. But take a look at the Clippers or Grizzlies. They missed their star players yet managed to be more than just competitive in their series.
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I am somewhat confused by that statement considering they also lost in 5, although you are right in that they were missing more important players.

[Baseline81]

Silver lining, we'll never have to see Nowell in the Wolves jersey again.

[King Ken]

I really think MIN is extremely close to being really good but they are really average right now. I feel the same way about the Hawks.

[minimus]

Silver lining, we'll never have to see Nowell in the Wolves jersey again.

Instant improvement!

[Magoose]

And regarding the being healthy discussion: Yes Naz Reid and Jaden are important rotational pieces. But take a look at the Clippers or Grizzlies. They missed their star players yet managed to be more than just competitive in their series.
.

I am somewhat confused by that statement considering they also lost in 5, although you are right in that they were missing more important players.

You're right, the Clippers lost. The point I was trying to make is that a lot of people make it sound as if we were missing almost our whole starting five. The truth is that we were just missing arguably our third and seventh most important player yet people take that as the main excuse for our loss/disappointing end of the season. People act as if we were just one healthy Jaden and Naz away from winning it all. Personally, I don't see a lot to substantiate that point of view.

[life_saver]

And regarding the being healthy discussion: Yes Naz Reid and Jaden are important rotational pieces. But take a look at the Clippers or Grizzlies. They missed their star players yet managed to be more than just competitive in their series.
.

I am somewhat confused by that statement considering they also lost in 5, although you are right in that they were missing more important players.

You're right, the Clippers lost. The point I was trying to make is that a lot of people make it sound as if we were missing almost our whole starting five. The truth is that we were just missing arguably our third and seventh most important player yet people take that as the main excuse for our loss/disappointing end of the season. People act as if we were just one healthy Jaden and Naz away from winning it all. Personally, I don't see a lot to substantiate that point of view.

Agree...with Jaden available, maybe we could have taken this series to atleast 6 games but we still have lot of issues. I feel like the bigger issue this year is that the starting core needed lot more time to gel which sadly didn't happen due to injuries

[PharmD]

I think people are way too down in the dumps. With only six competent players in the rotation tonight, Minnesota pushed the #1 seeded team in the Western Conference to the brink.

Running it back wouldn't be a horrible thing. Gives Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns a full off-season to get healthy, the team's young players should all continue to develop, and the team will now have more continuity. The despair over a solid (and undermanned) effort is really bizarre to me. Minnesota probably wins this series with Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels.

I think the reason for that is that we more or less mortgaged our future with an all-in move that was supposed to put us back on the map of basketball relevance.

And regarding the being healthy discussion: Yes Naz Reid and Jaden are important rotational pieces. But take a look at the Clippers or Grizzlies. They missed their star players yet managed to be more than just competitive in their series.
Just imagine if both KAT and Edwards were missing for most of that series. Does anybody really believe we would have even gotten close to win one game? Highly doubt it.

So with all respect the fanbase has every right to be down on this franchise right now since we haven't even paid our dues yet while our first chance to make some noise has already passed.

Sill I would vote to run it back mostly, try to bring back Naz and Naw and look for an improvement for guard rotation from our bench especially on the offensive end. Also with KAT's value being on an all-time low right now trading him would be premature (unless Brooklyn would listen to a Bridges swap which I highly doubt).

Also If I were the front office I would have a chat with Nick Nurse. Still not convinced Finch is the man to figure things out. Of course he's one of the better coaches in Wolves history but there is still a lot room for improvement from my point of view.

The Clippers lost in 5 games just like we did. How were they 'more than just competitive'?

[zero24gravity]

Jazz fan here. Draft pick be damned, I was definitely rooting for the Wolves to make noise in the playoffs. I love Conley & Gobert. Also really like NAW.

The Jazz had the 7th & 14th highest offensive rating in NBA history (Statmuse) the last 2 seasons Gobert was in Utah.
Rudy Gobert was 5th in the league in Offensive WinShares in 2021-22, and was 9th in 2020-21. He was also 1st in True Shooting % in 2021-22 & 2nd in 2020-21. (basketballreference.com)

I bring this up, because Rudy, who's career offensive rating is an impressive 127.4 (Towns is 119.4, Edwards is 105.4), may not be a playmaker, but is still capable of being a big part of a good offense. However, it takes the right coach, system, and players. It doesn't seem like Finch was able to maximize Gobert on offense or defense. I don't know enough about your coach to say if he's the right man for the job, but what I do know is that changes are needed to suite the roster if the team is going to maximize the talent you have. I understand that having talented players like Ant & Kat means that Rudy can't be the entire focus of the teams planning. Still, after mortgaging the franchise's assets on the guy, I would think the plan has to be to do whatever it takes to get the best out of him.

Good luck moving forward.

[Magoose]

I think people are way too down in the dumps. With only six competent players in the rotation tonight, Minnesota pushed the #1 seeded team in the Western Conference to the brink.

Running it back wouldn't be a horrible thing. Gives Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns a full off-season to get healthy, the team's young players should all continue to develop, and the team will now have more continuity. The despair over a solid (and undermanned) effort is really bizarre to me. Minnesota probably wins this series with Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels.

I think the reason for that is that we more or less mortgaged our future with an all-in move that was supposed to put us back on the map of basketball relevance.

And regarding the being healthy discussion: Yes Naz Reid and Jaden are important rotational pieces. But take a look at the Clippers or Grizzlies. They missed their star players yet managed to be more than just competitive in their series.
Just imagine if both KAT and Edwards were missing for most of that series. Does anybody really believe we would have even gotten close to win one game? Highly doubt it.

So with all respect the fanbase has every right to be down on this franchise right now since we haven't even paid our dues yet while our first chance to make some noise has already passed.

Sill I would vote to run it back mostly, try to bring back Naz and Naw and look for an improvement for guard rotation from our bench especially on the offensive end. Also with KAT's value being on an all-time low right now trading him would be premature (unless Brooklyn would listen to a Bridges swap which I highly doubt).

Also If I were the front office I would have a chat with Nick Nurse. Still not convinced Finch is the man to figure things out. Of course he's one of the better coaches in Wolves history but there is still a lot room for improvement from my point of view.

The Clippers lost in 5 games just like we did. How were they 'more than just competitive'?

see my post above. The Clips gave a hell of a fight to the Suns even without their two star players. Imagine the Wolves withouth Ant and Kat/or Rudy in that series.

[Calinks]

The two bigs thing just seems really hard to make it work as we have it. I think we would have been better off trying to get a high value PF that was mobile but could stretch the floor and defend to play next to KAT, and stuck with the high wall scheme. That said, we have already made our moves. I think it will be easier to transition to an a more traditional NBA team if we moves Towns and get a different PF here and let Rudy be the sole 5. The only problem with that, is I think Ant would thrive more in a faster team, like the high wall scheme the Wolves used last season.

It's a tricky spot. I'd see what the value is for Rudy and KAT this summer and see if there are any trades that could make this team flow better for Ant. If not, then I supposed I run it back but I ask Towns to alter his role even more (He has already had to change his game up a lot over the years).

I probably ask KAT to become more a spacer, work on his three, work on getting to the corners, spotting up, and taking high-volume outside shots. Maybe work on that step back too. I'd like him to get back to being good in the post but maybe he can't if he is focusing on being more perimeter-oriented.

If we run it back and we are still middling after the first 30 or so games, I look to make a deal at the deadline. Trade value can change dramatically every few weeks. If it comes down to a nightmare scenario and we are just flat-out bad at he deadline I'd probably be willing to sell low just to move on.

[Klomp]

I think the reason for that is that we more or less mortgaged our future with an all-in move that was supposed to put us back on the map of basketball relevance.

We are in the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in 20 years. Low bar, but we are back on the map of basketball relevance.

[urinesane]

I think for the most part the Wolves need to run it back (resign Naz and NAW, but let Nowell go). Probably make a decision on JMac (his contract isn't guaranteed next season if they want to move on before 6/30/23).

Give Finch and the coaching staff (and the FO) enough time to review the season (and luckily they got a sample size of KAT/Gobert they can actually analyze) and let them build a new system that maximizes their talents.

Get a FULL offseason of rest/development for the roster (no Euroball for Rudy) and a FULL training camp this year (that really hurt coming into the season) along with a normal practice schedule.

Having Conley, Ant, McDaniels, KAT, Gobert able to actually get practice time together will be huge. I think if they work in the offseason (and give players assignments on what to work on in order to help the chemistry) we will see a MUCH better team in the fall.

Much of this season was trying to figure it out on the fly and yes there were issues with consistency, but I really do think a major factor in that was simply a lack of familiarity with the players (and the fact that coming in with a full offseason/training camp with Conley vs DLO will be huge).

This team is much better than they looked this season, including the coaching staff. The knee jerk reaction to burn it all down and start over is simply frustration/emotional reaction. The best thing they can do is keep continuity with their core and see what they can do with what they've built before knocking down pillars and rebuilding (I guarantee if they do that they will be worse off next season than they were this season).