minimus wrote:• Donte tried to drive to the basket — two turnovers, both times he got stripped while trying to bring the ball over. But he had a good first quarter with two steals, an open three, and a mid-range shot. The he lost he ball twice when he tried to bring the ball over the court, could not inbound and telegraphed pass to Reid. That was sad, so our coaching staff should reduce his role to first quarter role.
• Reid had an awful stretch on defense, either fouling or allowing easy shots at the rim. He later had a decent run, contesting shots without fouling. But then had a bonehead moment, throwing a reckless pass in transition and getting a three splashed in his face.
• Randle and Reid looked good only when Clark and TJ locked up the perimeter. Also, I think by design, big wings like Avdija and Grant will be able to score a lot against our second unit.
• Clark was unbelievable on defense and awful on offense — missed an open layup and travelled. But he earned the team so many possessions via offensive and defensive boards, charges, and steals. He’s already a functional part of this team.
• Gobert was solid. Honestly, this might be his new standard: 10 pts, 6 reb, 1 blk in 30 min, with a few great defensive possessions and a few fumbled passes. Gobert’s screens still work for Ant. That one moment when McDaniels guarded point of attack and Gobert dropped back — it reminded me exactly why MIN had the best defense two seasons ago.
• Randle was efficient on offense, but a step slow on defense and provided no rim protection. Finch needs to get more out of him in DHO and split sets, using Randle as a slasher/passer.
• I didn’t like our effort or defensive scheme when we allowed semi-open threes to role players.
• Ant is unbelievable.
• Conley looks old — you can’t play him big minutes against playoff-caliber opponents.
• I liked Jaden freelancing on offense. The ball comes to him when the first two options are covered or doubled, and honestly, Jaden can add some juice to the offense. Didn’t love his defense though — too reactionary. Also had two turnovers from inaccurate passes. Can we please get Joe Ingles to teach Jaden how to pass? Jaden with Ingles-level passing is basically Pippen.
Overall, without like 10 ridiculous turnovers (DDV, Jaden, Reid, Ant, Conley), MIN would’ve won by 20+. TC needs to find a new Chauncey Billups — not necessarily a traditional PG, but someone who can give us consistent 25–30 quality minutes at the position.
Teams are really starting to target Naz hard. Its an extension from what we saw in the playoffs, especially vs Kuminga. The word is out on his defense. You can just out-athlete him for free points. And re: Conley and Donte...that's a really bad trend for game 1. All the people that were feeling like the PG rotation is in shambles look completely correct. Bones might unironically be the best option of the 3 as far as handling ball pressure. And I don't know that that's a feather in his cap as much as it's a red flag on current roster construction. If Portland is also gonna be yet another team that's gonna terrorize you when bringing the ball up court, that's starting to be a theme. There's a good number of teams now that can pressure you 94 feet. I don't know how far you can realistically get with a bunch of guards that can't be relied on to bring the ball up court and get rid of it without getting ripped. Overall I'd say guys really embodied all of their strengths and weaknesses to a T for the most part, for better and for worse.
