Moderators: Domejandro, Worm Guts, Calinks
Murphs56 wrote:Not sure what the strategy should be with Ant in the short term. He was moving pretty gingerly out there. Need to make sure this heals and isn't a problem all season.
KGdaBom wrote:winforlose wrote:Calinks wrote:At this point, I think Rudy needs to start getting into the conversation for MVP talk.
I feel like this is why they made DPOY. Defense just will never by itself matter enough no matter how vital it is to winning. But I 100% agree there is no player in the league who is less replaceable 20 games in then Rudy.
Rudy was +31 tonight. We won by 8. That means we lost by 23 when he wasn't on the court.
KGdaBom wrote:Calinks wrote:KGdaBom wrote:We are the elite team. We are what our record says we are. We know who our opponents are and we don't let them off the hook.
Elite so far and in the regular season. Playoffs are a different beast and again, I am really concerned about the offense. I just don't see this team winning a title with our current inability to score when needed enough. If we can get a top 8ish offense I will feel a lot better.
The playoffs aren't here yet. All we can do is win the games in front of us. I don't have a clue who you think the Elite teams are, but they are all losing more games than we are. We have beat most of the teams that are considered elite. If you want to crown their ass go ahead and crown their ass. They were who we thought they were and we didn't let them off the hook.
shrink wrote:We better not take the Grizzlies too lightly. They have won 3-of-last-4, including a win in DAL.
gandlogo wrote:Mike Conely is a pro's pro. Even in a night when his shot wasn't falling (but 40% from three is nice), he impacts the game so much. I have clearly underappreciated him.
Good KAT/bad KAT - hasn't had one of those games is a while. They have to find him more shots, and he needs to shoot more pass less and cut down the turnovers. The kid can shoot. Let him shoot and save his energy for defense.
Ant - wow. That rusty in just a week?
Kyle has turned into a poor man's Ben Simmons. Does a ton of positive things but his offense is completely broken.
Hoping Brown sticks in the rotation.
Getting Jaden back will be as important on offense as it will be on defense.
It's a win, but once again an ugly win against an absolute dumpster of a team. The Wolves refusal and/or inability to put away bad teams is troubling. 12.5 point home favorites and they let SA hang around the entire night. Barely beating teams they should beat - but have lost to in the past in similar circumstances - is not a sign of a great team. It just means the Wolves are better than past Wolves teams - not the highest bar. Asserting your will from the start so your opponent knows they are better off getting on the bus at halftime and going home is what great teams do. At this point they have maybe four or five good wins - wins against good teams that were at full strength (Nugs, Knicks, OKC, and Warriors (who have looked terrible since)). I think the OKC win might be their best win because they showed passion and intensity instead of sleepwalking through another game - while missing Jaden.
Memphis for the third time - with half of its roster still missing - ought to be a layup. We'll see. To me the Wolves' losses are more concerning than the wins are impressive. Suns and Kings - potential playoff foes - handled the Wolves with ease. And the Suns were missing Beal. NOP are healthy and coming - unlike when the Wolves played them. As a freshly minted college grad - while waiting to start law school - I went to a half dozen inaugural season games in the Dump (including sitting in row 31 of 32 in the upper deck one game). Given the amount of talent this team has, if it played with as much consistent energy and intensity as that first team I would be far more excited about their playoff chances. They go from completely dominating to unwatchable way too much still. I get that some fans are so desperate for a winner that everything is rainbows and unicorns, while the dents in their uvulas all read "Property of Rudy Gobert." I remain firmly in the "prove me wrong/show me" camp. I like where the Wolves are, but they have a long ways to go. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed, baby.
gandlogo wrote:Mike Conely is a pro's pro. Even in a night when his shot wasn't falling (but 40% from three is nice), he impacts the game so much. I have clearly underappreciated him.
Good KAT/bad KAT - hasn't had one of those games is a while. They have to find him more shots, and he needs to shoot more pass less and cut down the turnovers. The kid can shoot. Let him shoot and save his energy for defense.
Ant - wow. That rusty in just a week?
Kyle has turned into a poor man's Ben Simmons. Does a ton of positive things but his offense is completely broken.
Hoping Brown sticks in the rotation.
Getting Jaden back will be as important on offense as it will be on defense.
It's a win, but once again an ugly win against an absolute dumpster of a team. The Wolves refusal and/or inability to put away bad teams is troubling. 12.5 point home favorites and they let SA hang around the entire night. Barely beating teams they should beat - but have lost to in the past in similar circumstances - is not a sign of a great team. It just means the Wolves are better than past Wolves teams - not the highest bar. Asserting your will from the start so your opponent knows they are better off getting on the bus at halftime and going home is what great teams do. At this point they have maybe four or five good wins - wins against good teams that were at full strength (Nugs, Knicks, OKC, and Warriors (who have looked terrible since)). I think the OKC win might be their best win because they showed passion and intensity instead of sleepwalking through another game - while missing Jaden.
Memphis for the third time - with half of its roster still missing - ought to be a layup. We'll see. To me the Wolves' losses are more concerning than the wins are impressive. Suns and Kings - potential playoff foes - handled the Wolves with ease. And the Suns were missing Beal. NOP are healthy and coming - unlike when the Wolves played them. As a freshly minted college grad - while waiting to start law school - I went to a half dozen inaugural season games in the Dump (including sitting in row 31 of 32 in the upper deck one game). Given the amount of talent this team has, if it played with as much consistent energy and intensity as that first team I would be far more excited about their playoff chances. They go from completely dominating to unwatchable way too much still. I get that some fans are so desperate for a winner that everything is rainbows and unicorns, while the dents in their uvulas all read "Property of Rudy Gobert." I remain firmly in the "prove me wrong/show me" camp. I like where the Wolves are, but they have a long ways to go. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed, baby.
winforlose wrote:gandlogo wrote:Mike Conely is a pro's pro. Even in a night when his shot wasn't falling (but 40% from three is nice), he impacts the game so much. I have clearly underappreciated him.
Good KAT/bad KAT - hasn't had one of those games is a while. They have to find him more shots, and he needs to shoot more pass less and cut down the turnovers. The kid can shoot. Let him shoot and save his energy for defense.
Ant - wow. That rusty in just a week?
Kyle has turned into a poor man's Ben Simmons. Does a ton of positive things but his offense is completely broken.
Hoping Brown sticks in the rotation.
Getting Jaden back will be as important on offense as it will be on defense.
It's a win, but once again an ugly win against an absolute dumpster of a team. The Wolves refusal and/or inability to put away bad teams is troubling. 12.5 point home favorites and they let SA hang around the entire night. Barely beating teams they should beat - but have lost to in the past in similar circumstances - is not a sign of a great team. It just means the Wolves are better than past Wolves teams - not the highest bar. Asserting your will from the start so your opponent knows they are better off getting on the bus at halftime and going home is what great teams do. At this point they have maybe four or five good wins - wins against good teams that were at full strength (Nugs, Knicks, OKC, and Warriors (who have looked terrible since)). I think the OKC win might be their best win because they showed passion and intensity instead of sleepwalking through another game - while missing Jaden.
Memphis for the third time - with half of its roster still missing - ought to be a layup. We'll see. To me the Wolves' losses are more concerning than the wins are impressive. Suns and Kings - potential playoff foes - handled the Wolves with ease. And the Suns were missing Beal. NOP are healthy and coming - unlike when the Wolves played them. As a freshly minted college grad - while waiting to start law school - I went to a half dozen inaugural season games in the Dump (including sitting in row 31 of 32 in the upper deck one game). Given the amount of talent this team has, if it played with as much consistent energy and intensity as that first team I would be far more excited about their playoff chances. They go from completely dominating to unwatchable way too much still. I get that some fans are so desperate for a winner that everything is rainbows and unicorns, while the dents in their uvulas all read "Property of Rudy Gobert." I remain firmly in the "prove me wrong/show me" camp. I like where the Wolves are, but they have a long ways to go. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed, baby.
We have only played Memphis once, so second time. Our whole team shot poorly last night. Naz is not normally 1-7 from 3, or TBJ 2-8, or NAW 1-6, or the team 12-40 from deep. We don’t normally shoot only 41.6 from the field overall. You have to understand that every team has “those nights.” The thing we are all celebrating is that on “those nights” we are finding ways to grind it out. We are also down our backup PG, and best ball defender in Jaden. Ant was moving gingerly, and clearly not 100%. For a team missing a starter, playing without (or last night with an injured,) star guard, and without our only true backup PG, winning is good enough for now. As we get later into the year we can talk about the volume of good wins vs bad wins. For now let’s just keep winning and building a cushion for home court advantage.
gandlogo wrote:winforlose wrote:gandlogo wrote:Mike Conely is a pro's pro. Even in a night when his shot wasn't falling (but 40% from three is nice), he impacts the game so much. I have clearly underappreciated him.
Good KAT/bad KAT - hasn't had one of those games is a while. They have to find him more shots, and he needs to shoot more pass less and cut down the turnovers. The kid can shoot. Let him shoot and save his energy for defense.
Ant - wow. That rusty in just a week?
Kyle has turned into a poor man's Ben Simmons. Does a ton of positive things but his offense is completely broken.
Hoping Brown sticks in the rotation.
Getting Jaden back will be as important on offense as it will be on defense.
It's a win, but once again an ugly win against an absolute dumpster of a team. The Wolves refusal and/or inability to put away bad teams is troubling. 12.5 point home favorites and they let SA hang around the entire night. Barely beating teams they should beat - but have lost to in the past in similar circumstances - is not a sign of a great team. It just means the Wolves are better than past Wolves teams - not the highest bar. Asserting your will from the start so your opponent knows they are better off getting on the bus at halftime and going home is what great teams do. At this point they have maybe four or five good wins - wins against good teams that were at full strength (Nugs, Knicks, OKC, and Warriors (who have looked terrible since)). I think the OKC win might be their best win because they showed passion and intensity instead of sleepwalking through another game - while missing Jaden.
Memphis for the third time - with half of its roster still missing - ought to be a layup. We'll see. To me the Wolves' losses are more concerning than the wins are impressive. Suns and Kings - potential playoff foes - handled the Wolves with ease. And the Suns were missing Beal. NOP are healthy and coming - unlike when the Wolves played them. As a freshly minted college grad - while waiting to start law school - I went to a half dozen inaugural season games in the Dump (including sitting in row 31 of 32 in the upper deck one game). Given the amount of talent this team has, if it played with as much consistent energy and intensity as that first team I would be far more excited about their playoff chances. They go from completely dominating to unwatchable way too much still. I get that some fans are so desperate for a winner that everything is rainbows and unicorns, while the dents in their uvulas all read "Property of Rudy Gobert." I remain firmly in the "prove me wrong/show me" camp. I like where the Wolves are, but they have a long ways to go. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed, baby.
We have only played Memphis once, so second time. Our whole team shot poorly last night. Naz is not normally 1-7 from 3, or TBJ 2-8, or NAW 1-6, or the team 12-40 from deep. We don’t normally shoot only 41.6 from the field overall. You have to understand that every team has “those nights.” The thing we are all celebrating is that on “those nights” we are finding ways to grind it out. We are also down our backup PG, and best ball defender in Jaden. Ant was moving gingerly, and clearly not 100%. For a team missing a starter, playing without (or last night with an injured,) star guard, and without our only true backup PG, winning is good enough for now. As we get later into the year we can talk about the volume of good wins vs bad wins. For now let’s just keep winning and building a cushion for home court advantage.
Other than my mistake of confusing two wins against the NOP JV for two wins against the Memphis JV, I disagree with pretty much everything you said. I have extremely high expectations for the squad and will judge them against those standards. Winning alone is not good enough. I'm guessing Vikings fans from last year would understand that. I will never be a cheerleader or homer, so I have no problem saying while the emperor is not naked, his new clothes are not all that people are saying they are - yet. They still lack consistent energy, effort, and focus, all of which are needed to overcome off shooting nights when they are not matched up against the Sisters of the Poor or the School for the Blind.
winforlose wrote:gandlogo wrote:winforlose wrote:
We have only played Memphis once, so second time. Our whole team shot poorly last night. Naz is not normally 1-7 from 3, or TBJ 2-8, or NAW 1-6, or the team 12-40 from deep. We don’t normally shoot only 41.6 from the field overall. You have to understand that every team has “those nights.” The thing we are all celebrating is that on “those nights” we are finding ways to grind it out. We are also down our backup PG, and best ball defender in Jaden. Ant was moving gingerly, and clearly not 100%. For a team missing a starter, playing without (or last night with an injured,) star guard, and without our only true backup PG, winning is good enough for now. As we get later into the year we can talk about the volume of good wins vs bad wins. For now let’s just keep winning and building a cushion for home court advantage.
Other than my mistake of confusing two wins against the NOP JV for two wins against the Memphis JV, I disagree with pretty much everything you said. I have extremely high expectations for the squad and will judge them against those standards. Winning alone is not good enough. I'm guessing Vikings fans from last year would understand that. I will never be a cheerleader or homer, so I have no problem saying while the emperor is not naked, his new clothes are not all that people are saying they are - yet. They still lack consistent energy, effort, and focus, all of which are needed to overcome off shooting nights when they are not matched up against the Sisters of the Poor or the School for the Blind.
Let’s do it this way. Did you like our shot selection? Did you feel our ball movement was good enough to get open shots? Did you like our boxing out, did we do enough on the glass? Did you like our defense, did we do enough to force them to take shots we wanted them to take?
You cannot with a straight face tell me a 30% shooting night from deep and 41.6% night from the field is indicative of this team. You cannot tell me a year ago KAT, Ant, Naz, and Mike can have a bad game and we still win (no matter who we play.) This game is across the board a statistical outlier. When is the last time we gave up 56 points in the paint? Having a bad game is not an excuse, it is a reality. The difference is good teams win their bad games. In prior years we did not, this year we do!
BlacJacMac wrote:Good teams lose to bad teams all the time. The 73 win Warriors lost to...us.
What good teams don't do is lose to bad teams at the frequency we did last year.
Playing poorly and still beating bad teams is a sign of a very good team.
TimberKat wrote:gandlogo wrote:Mike Conely is a pro's pro. Even in a night when his shot wasn't falling (but 40% from three is nice), he impacts the game so much. I have clearly underappreciated him.
Good KAT/bad KAT - hasn't had one of those games is a while. They have to find him more shots, and he needs to shoot more pass less and cut down the turnovers. The kid can shoot. Let him shoot and save his energy for defense.
Ant - wow. That rusty in just a week?
Kyle has turned into a poor man's Ben Simmons. Does a ton of positive things but his offense is completely broken.
Hoping Brown sticks in the rotation.
Getting Jaden back will be as important on offense as it will be on defense.
It's a win, but once again an ugly win against an absolute dumpster of a team. The Wolves refusal and/or inability to put away bad teams is troubling. 12.5 point home favorites and they let SA hang around the entire night. Barely beating teams they should beat - but have lost to in the past in similar circumstances - is not a sign of a great team. It just means the Wolves are better than past Wolves teams - not the highest bar. Asserting your will from the start so your opponent knows they are better off getting on the bus at halftime and going home is what great teams do. At this point they have maybe four or five good wins - wins against good teams that were at full strength (Nugs, Knicks, OKC, and Warriors (who have looked terrible since)). I think the OKC win might be their best win because they showed passion and intensity instead of sleepwalking through another game - while missing Jaden.
Memphis for the third time - with half of its roster still missing - ought to be a layup. We'll see. To me the Wolves' losses are more concerning than the wins are impressive. Suns and Kings - potential playoff foes - handled the Wolves with ease. And the Suns were missing Beal. NOP are healthy and coming - unlike when the Wolves played them. As a freshly minted college grad - while waiting to start law school - I went to a half dozen inaugural season games in the Dump (including sitting in row 31 of 32 in the upper deck one game). Given the amount of talent this team has, if it played with as much consistent energy and intensity as that first team I would be far more excited about their playoff chances. They go from completely dominating to unwatchable way too much still. I get that some fans are so desperate for a winner that everything is rainbows and unicorns, while the dents in their uvulas all read "Property of Rudy Gobert." I remain firmly in the "prove me wrong/show me" camp. I like where the Wolves are, but they have a long ways to go. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed, baby.
Nice write up but they are much better than you give the credit for. The Wolves are 15-2 since Nov 1st. They been without JMcD, KA is not 100%, and Ant out a couple of games. The best part is they haven't played their best game yet but still have the best record in NBA. Every team had a few bad losses by now, granted SAC at home was big. I could see them still playing better with the current roster. Connelly needs to find that one trade to put us over the top - The backup PG / Bench shooter.
gandlogo wrote:winforlose wrote:gandlogo wrote:
Other than my mistake of confusing two wins against the NOP JV for two wins against the Memphis JV, I disagree with pretty much everything you said. I have extremely high expectations for the squad and will judge them against those standards. Winning alone is not good enough. I'm guessing Vikings fans from last year would understand that. I will never be a cheerleader or homer, so I have no problem saying while the emperor is not naked, his new clothes are not all that people are saying they are - yet. They still lack consistent energy, effort, and focus, all of which are needed to overcome off shooting nights when they are not matched up against the Sisters of the Poor or the School for the Blind.
Let’s do it this way. Did you like our shot selection? Did you feel our ball movement was good enough to get open shots? Did you like our boxing out, did we do enough on the glass? Did you like our defense, did we do enough to force them to take shots we wanted them to take?
You cannot with a straight face tell me a 30% shooting night from deep and 41.6% night from the field is indicative of this team. You cannot tell me a year ago KAT, Ant, Naz, and Mike can have a bad game and we still win (no matter who we play.) This game is across the board a statistical outlier. When is the last time we gave up 56 points in the paint? Having a bad game is not an excuse, it is a reality. The difference is good teams win their bad games. In prior years we did not, this year we do!
This is exactly why I typically don't respond to responses to my posts. I am extremely confident that what I write is what I believe (mistake of fact previously noted). I don't have 10,000 posts for a reason. If you put Wemby on the Wolves he wouldn't start - that's how deep the Wolves are (when healthy) and how bad the Spurs are. The talent disparity is astounding. Other than a win and coming out of the game with no new injuries, the Wolves accomplished little last night. The Wolves beat a terrible team, that's it. And they have had a lot of those games this year. You may disagree - that's fine. I'm guessing that we're both adults, holding no personal animus, wanting good things for the Wolves. But your beliefs are not going to change mine no matter how many ways you want to try.
_AIJ_ wrote:TBJ is manna from heaven
winforlose wrote:gandlogo wrote:Mike Conely is a pro's pro. Even in a night when his shot wasn't falling (but 40% from three is nice), he impacts the game so much. I have clearly underappreciated him.
Good KAT/bad KAT - hasn't had one of those games is a while. They have to find him more shots, and he needs to shoot more pass less and cut down the turnovers. The kid can shoot. Let him shoot and save his energy for defense.
Ant - wow. That rusty in just a week?
Kyle has turned into a poor man's Ben Simmons. Does a ton of positive things but his offense is completely broken.
Hoping Brown sticks in the rotation.
Getting Jaden back will be as important on offense as it will be on defense.
It's a win, but once again an ugly win against an absolute dumpster of a team. The Wolves refusal and/or inability to put away bad teams is troubling. 12.5 point home favorites and they let SA hang around the entire night. Barely beating teams they should beat - but have lost to in the past in similar circumstances - is not a sign of a great team. It just means the Wolves are better than past Wolves teams - not the highest bar. Asserting your will from the start so your opponent knows they are better off getting on the bus at halftime and going home is what great teams do. At this point they have maybe four or five good wins - wins against good teams that were at full strength (Nugs, Knicks, OKC, and Warriors (who have looked terrible since)). I think the OKC win might be their best win because they showed passion and intensity instead of sleepwalking through another game - while missing Jaden.
Memphis for the third time - with half of its roster still missing - ought to be a layup. We'll see. To me the Wolves' losses are more concerning than the wins are impressive. Suns and Kings - potential playoff foes - handled the Wolves with ease. And the Suns were missing Beal. NOP are healthy and coming - unlike when the Wolves played them. As a freshly minted college grad - while waiting to start law school - I went to a half dozen inaugural season games in the Dump (including sitting in row 31 of 32 in the upper deck one game). Given the amount of talent this team has, if it played with as much consistent energy and intensity as that first team I would be far more excited about their playoff chances. They go from completely dominating to unwatchable way too much still. I get that some fans are so desperate for a winner that everything is rainbows and unicorns, while the dents in their uvulas all read "Property of Rudy Gobert." I remain firmly in the "prove me wrong/show me" camp. I like where the Wolves are, but they have a long ways to go. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed, baby.
We have only played Memphis once, so second time. Our whole team shot poorly last night. Naz is not normally 1-7 from 3, or TBJ 2-8, or NAW 1-6, or the team 12-40 from deep. We don’t normally shoot only 41.6 from the field overall. You have to understand that every team has “those nights.” The thing we are all celebrating is that on “those nights” we are finding ways to grind it out. We are also down our backup PG, and best ball defender in Jaden. Ant was moving gingerly, and clearly not 100%. For a team missing a starter, playing without (or last night with an injured,) star guard, and without our only true backup PG, winning is good enough for now. As we get later into the year we can talk about the volume of good wins vs bad wins. For now let’s just keep winning and building a cushion for home court advantage.
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