Preseason thread

[shrink]

I only saw the box score, but I was encouraged to see 4 assists from NAW in 10 minutes.

Last year his role was to be a typical 3-and-D wing, and he embraced it (39.1% 3P and stifling defense with a smile). As he mentioned on Media Day, this season he felt he needed to focus on being a play-maker, and I agree - that will get him more minutes with the addition of DiVincenzo. It’s just one game and limited minutes, but it looks like he is focusing on passing the ball to set up teammates.

[shrink]

Also, I should have expected Luka Garza to have nearly a 20-10 game. When he plays against non-rotation players, his skill-level is so superior that none of those guys can stop him. I know he is continuing to work hard to try to acquire an NBA body, and if he finally succeeds at that, it would be a godsend if he can still play some back up center minutes. Nice to see 6 OREBs too.

[_AIJ_]

Jesse Edwards has got to be the worst basketball player ive ever seen. Please cut.

[Dewey]

Conley
Ant
Ragu
McD
Reid

Not a bad 5-out rotation

Swappers and matchups
Randle
Shannon
Gobert
Garza
Dilly
NAW

[karch34]

Some thoughts on first preseason game:
- The guys who are going to be in the top 8 of the rotation looked good
- I'm not sure how much Ingles has left, he is a smart player whose athletic ability is almost gone
- Dillingham and Minott seem like the clear 10-11 in the rotation (may end up 9-10 ahead of Ingles a lot of nights)
- Dozier did little to win a roster spot
- I think Garza and Shannon are ready to play spot rotation minutes, but opportunities are likely to be scarce
- My guess is Shannon, Miller, Nix, and Clark spend time in the G-League
- I'm not sure Jesse Edwards keeps the last two-way spot

I know it’s one preseason game but I agree with all of this. I think the continuity we have and the development of players down the roster is encouraging.

[minimus]

Jesse Edwards has got to be the worst basketball player ive ever seen. Please cut.

I would say he does not fit our style at all...

[winforlose]

Jesse Edwards has got to be the worst basketball player ive ever seen. Please cut.

I would say he does not fit our style at all...

Or any style TBH.

[BlacJacMac]

Some thoughts on first preseason game:
- The guys who are going to be in the top 8 of the rotation looked good
- I'm not sure how much Ingles has left, he is a smart player whose athletic ability is almost gone
- Dillingham and Minott seem like the clear 10-11 in the rotation (may end up 9-10 ahead of Ingles a lot of nights)
- Dozier did little to win a roster spot
- I think Garza and Shannon are ready to play spot rotation minutes, but opportunities are likely to be scarce
- My guess is Shannon, Miller, Nix, and Clark spend time in the G-League
- I'm not sure Jesse Edwards keeps the last two-way spot

I love Joe Ingles and I love having him on the team. But last night he locked every bit the "locker room guy". He has absolutely no foot speed left.

My guess is the coaches would love if Minott snatches his minutes.

Garza physically is a totally different player than he was 2 years ago. Its a "Kevin Love" body transformation. I'm still not convinced he can defend at all, but he looks ready to really give it a try.

I can't tell if Miller has a super laid back style or if he just doesn't love the game. I was thrilled with the draft pick, but I've yet to see anything from him that makes me think he's a player. He seems almost disinterested at times (and that's something we saw a number of times in Iowa last year).

Nix doesn't do anything well enough to stick. Fortunately we don't need him.

I'll be surprised if Clark is still in the NBA in 2-3 years.

[BlacJacMac]

We scored 124 points, shooting 50% from the floor and 40% from 3 and the top 2 ESPN headlines are:

Bronny James makes a slick move for first Lakers points

Bronny's 'disruptive' D touted in preseason debut

Kid had 2 points on 1-6 shooting , 1 assist vs 1 turnover and was a -12 for the game.

Shameful.

[minimus]

Some thoughts on first preseason game:
- The guys who are going to be in the top 8 of the rotation looked good
- I'm not sure how much Ingles has left, he is a smart player whose athletic ability is almost gone
- Dillingham and Minott seem like the clear 10-11 in the rotation (may end up 9-10 ahead of Ingles a lot of nights)
- Dozier did little to win a roster spot
- I think Garza and Shannon are ready to play spot rotation minutes, but opportunities are likely to be scarce
- My guess is Shannon, Miller, Nix, and Clark spend time in the G-League
- I'm not sure Jesse Edwards keeps the last two-way spot

I love Joe Ingles and I love having him on the team. But last night he locked every bit the "locker room guy". He has absolutely no foot speed left.

My guess is the coaches would love if Minott snatches his minutes.

Garza physically is a totally different player than he was 2 years ago. Its a "Kevin Love" body transformation. I'm still not convinced he can defend at all, but he looks ready to really give it a try.

I can't tell if Miller has a super laid back style or if he just doesn't love the game. I was thrilled with the draft pick, but I've yet to see anything from him that makes me think he's a player. He seems almost disinterested at times (and that's something we saw a number of times in Iowa last year).

Nix doesn't do anything well enough to stick. Fortunately we don't need him.

I'll be surprised if Clark is still in the NBA in 2-3 years.

I liked a hard foul he commited and famous stared down look

[thinktank]

Dillingham looked amazing.

People are complaining about his speed? He doesn’t do that, really. He starts quick but then has a bazillion COUNTERS (very Kyrie-like). He just needs an inch and he can always create it. He’s Shifty for a reason. More about counters, rhythm, etc.

[younggunsmn]

I wouldn't put much into one preseason game given the putrid level of competition.
But it was nice to see guys hit shots and the young players play with confidence.

Dilly is going to be every bit the defensive liability Deangelo Russell was, at least to start his career.
There really isnt any way around that fact. He's just too small.

We added so much talent with DDV, Dillingham and Shannon.
If Randle can play well enough to be a wash with what KAT gave us on both ends, we improved tremendously over last year.
IMHO OKC is the only team in the NBA that can compare with the quality depth that we have if TJ and Dilly can meet expectations.

[Slim Tubby]

I'm not sure where shrink has the old Josh Minott in hiding but can a guy donate to cover his storage fees?

His confidence was through the roof and he was arguably the best player on the court last night if I pretend that DDV didn't play.

Dilly had 21/1/4, shot 45% from the field, 50% from 3 and only had 1 TO in 25 minutes. There will be ups and downs but he has the offensive skills to be productive if not highly efficient.

Garza has worked incredibly hard on his physique and his offensive game makes Vanderbilt blush. If only he had quicker feet but I still feel confident he can give us 8-10 effective minutes per night.

TSJ has a tendency to force his play at the rim but the guy can flat out score and his dunk even got the Lakers announcers getting a little giddy.

DDV...just watch the game. Wow. I didn't feel we got enough value for KAT. I changed my mind, even if we ultimately move Randle for picks/talented youth.

I can find positive things to say about Nix and Clark but I just don't see NBA minutes for them.

What a fun game for something so meaningless. Go Wolves!

Sent from my N152DL using RealGM mobile app

[TimberKat]

Dillingham looked amazing.

People are complaining about his speed? He doesn’t do that, really. He starts quick but then has a bazillion COUNTERS (very Kyrie-like). He just needs an inch and he can always create it. He’s Shifty for a reason. More about counters, rhythm, etc.

He played better than I expected. He maybe the Jaylen Nowell that we hoped to have a couple years ago. Still not sure if he could contribute in regular season games this year. Minott looked so much better but not sure if that is good enough.

[andyhop]

Some thoughts on first preseason game:
- The guys who are going to be in the top 8 of the rotation looked good
- I'm not sure how much Ingles has left, he is a smart player whose athletic ability is almost gone
- Dillingham and Minott seem like the clear 10-11 in the rotation (may end up 9-10 ahead of Ingles a lot of nights)
- Dozier did little to win a roster spot
- I think Garza and Shannon are ready to play spot rotation minutes, but opportunities are likely to be scarce
- My guess is Shannon, Miller, Nix, and Clark spend time in the G-League
- I'm not sure Jesse Edwards keeps the last two-way spot

I love Joe Ingles and I love having him on the team. But last night he locked every bit the "locker room guy". He has absolutely no foot speed left.

My guess is the coaches would love if Minott snatches his minutes.

Garza physically is a totally different player than he was 2 years ago. Its a "Kevin Love" body transformation. I'm still not convinced he can defend at all, but he looks ready to really give it a try.

I can't tell if Miller has a super laid back style or if he just doesn't love the game. I was thrilled with the draft pick, but I've yet to see anything from him that makes me think he's a player. He seems almost disinterested at times (and that's something we saw a number of times in Iowa last year).

Nix doesn't do anything well enough to stick. Fortunately we don't need him.

I'll be surprised if Clark is still in the NBA in 2-3 years.

I only caught about a minute of Ingles on the court and thought from a physical standpoint he looked like someone's dad out there, so slow and out of shape.

[TimberKat]

Some thoughts on first preseason game:
- The guys who are going to be in the top 8 of the rotation looked good
- I'm not sure how much Ingles has left, he is a smart player whose athletic ability is almost gone
- Dillingham and Minott seem like the clear 10-11 in the rotation (may end up 9-10 ahead of Ingles a lot of nights)
- Dozier did little to win a roster spot
- I think Garza and Shannon are ready to play spot rotation minutes, but opportunities are likely to be scarce
- My guess is Shannon, Miller, Nix, and Clark spend time in the G-League
- I'm not sure Jesse Edwards keeps the last two-way spot

I love Joe Ingles and I love having him on the team. But last night he locked every bit the "locker room guy". He has absolutely no foot speed left.

My guess is the coaches would love if Minott snatches his minutes.

Garza physically is a totally different player than he was 2 years ago. Its a "Kevin Love" body transformation. I'm still not convinced he can defend at all, but he looks ready to really give it a try.

I can't tell if Miller has a super laid back style or if he just doesn't love the game. I was thrilled with the draft pick, but I've yet to see anything from him that makes me think he's a player. He seems almost disinterested at times (and that's something we saw a number of times in Iowa last year).

Nix doesn't do anything well enough to stick. Fortunately we don't need him.

I'll be surprised if Clark is still in the NBA in 2-3 years.

I only caught about a minute of Ingles on the court and thought from a physical standpoint he looked like someone's dad out there, so slow and out of shape.

It's a warm up game, like in high school. The coach play with Kids. He is just there to teach the kids how to play with Gobert.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

I love the first quarter. After was more against 3rd unit and G league player. Bronny should thanks god for being the kid from LBJ as he is far from being an nba player.

I did really appreciate the connection between Mike and Ragu. Seems they find each others quite easy. Rudy screen are still elite and NAZ and Jaden seems comfortable. Ragu is a fantastic shooter, much better than KAT. And a better defender too. IF Randle is at his normal level.... i will finally admit the TC is a genius. Time will tell.

[winforlose]

I love the first quarter. After was more against 3rd unit and G league player. Bronny should thanks god for being the kid from LBJ as he is far from being an nba player.

I did really appreciate the connection between Mike and Ragu. Seems they find each others quite easy. Rudy screen are still elite and NAZ and Jaden seems comfortable. Ragu is a fantastic shooter, much better than KAT. And a better defender too. IF Randle is at his normal level.... i will finally admit the TC is a genius. Time will tell.

TC overpaid for Rudy and got less than KAT was worth. Not to mention drafting Wendell Moore Jr. If Miller turns into a bust as well then he will have missed on every pick before this season except maybe Minott. Finch is the one who got NAW, but TC does get credit for turning Dlo into Conley and 3 seconds. Also the Morris trade was well done even if Monte wasn’t able to get into playing form. A lot of how TC will be judged will rest on Dilly and TSJ. But so far genius is generous. Probably way too generous.

[KGdaBom]

Dillingham looked amazing.

People are complaining about his speed? He doesn’t do that, really. He starts quick but then has a bazillion COUNTERS (very Kyrie-like). He just needs an inch and he can always create it. He’s Shifty for a reason. More about counters, rhythm, etc.

People completely writing him off after we acquire DDV. I hope those people have to eat their crow raw without salt or pepper.

[shrink]

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Dillingham had a good game, but you can see the defensive issues, and he scored 21 points on 20 shots, while Luka Garza scored 20 on 13, and Josh Minott scored 22 on 11. (DDV was 4-4 with 3 3P in 11 minutes, FWIW).

I agree that he shouldn’t be completely written off. Connelly put a big, if distant, investment in the kid, and I expect that he will want Finch to give him minutes. Connelly believed with Ant that it was important to get young players NBA experience in situations that mattered to help them develop, and Dillingham is closer to an Ant than a Minott or Miller. He also has a skillset that the team needs, as a passer and volume scorer off the bench, and if he is a longterm piece, developing chemistry with Jaden, Naz and especially Ant early is important.

That said, DiVincenzo (and NAW) are going to get minutes. DDV is a scorer, and gives you defense. NAW is focused on passing (4 AST in 10 minutes last game), and gives you defense. For one of the few times in NBA history, we are a contender. Moreover, Finch was being honest when he said that “realistic expectations for Rob are for one good game in three.” I’m happy he’s here, but I think the addition of DDV gives Finch the flexibility to give Dillingham minutes when he helps the team, but he has other options when Rob struggles, as all rookies do on some nights.