Game 34: Timberwolves at Hawks, 2 pm (NYE matinee!)

[winforlose]

Jim Pete asking is Jaden a big time scorer or not is crazy to me. He is 2 for 2 from 3 and I believe 3/5 for 8 points at that point. What that tells you is the offense treats him as an afterthought. When you have a player who can give you 20 PPG, but don’t feature them, (no plays run for them, insufficient usage, not demanding they shoot more, ect…,) then what do expect. The coach needs to design an offense that gets the most out of his players, instead we get this.

Jaden can not give you 20 PPG.

He's a guy that can sometimes get you 20 points.

This is a distinction that would have no difference if Jaden was properly featured in the offense. He can give you 20, and is generally a very efficient shooter. Can he have up and down performances, of course. But Jaden is too good to not average 20 PPG, and that begs the question why doesn’t he?

[Calinks]

I'm off the train with this squad. Yes they are talented, yes they have potential to do a lot of damage. Fact is, this team has no heart, they have no vocal leadership with any authority. They have no direction, poise, or the professionalism it takes to be a real contender. They are weak, they complain and whine like babies about calls. They are easily disrupted and thrown off their game.

I wont be surprised if they turn it up, have a good season or playoff run. They are capable of that, that said, they are not a contender and they never will be as long as they are this mentally fragile. This team aint it, these guys don't got the stuff you need to win it all. I'm done carrying that belief and supporting them as if they were a real contender, they are not.

[Klomp]

Jim Pete asking is Jaden a big time scorer or not is crazy to me. He is 2 for 2 from 3 and I believe 3/5 for 8 points at that point. What that tells you is the offense treats him as an afterthought. When you have a player who can give you 20 PPG, but don’t feature them, (no plays run for them, insufficient usage, not demanding they shoot more, ect…,) then what do expect. The coach needs to design an offense that gets the most out of his players, instead we get this.

Jaden can not give you 20 PPG.

He's a guy that can sometimes get you 20 points.

This is a distinction that would have no difference if Jaden was properly featured in the offense. He can give you 20, and is generally a very efficient shooter. Can he have up and down performances, of course. But Jaden is too good to not average 20 PPG, and that begs the question why doesn’t he?

It's the Andrew Wiggins syndrome. Desire. Jaden has had it his whole career, even before fans were calling for an expanded role.

[BlacJacMac]

Jim Pete asking is Jaden a big time scorer or not is crazy to me. He is 2 for 2 from 3 and I believe 3/5 for 8 points at that point. What that tells you is the offense treats him as an afterthought. When you have a player who can give you 20 PPG, but don’t feature them, (no plays run for them, insufficient usage, not demanding they shoot more, ect…,) then what do expect. The coach needs to design an offense that gets the most out of his players, instead we get this.

Jaden can not give you 20 PPG.

He's a guy that can sometimes get you 20 points.

This is a distinction that would have no difference if Jaden was properly featured in the offense. He can give you 20, and is generally a very efficient shooter. Can he have up and down performances, of course. But Jaden is too good to not average 20 PPG, and that begs the question why doesn’t he?

Because he's NOT that good.

Jaden is a guy who feeds off his own play. When he's rolling, he really rolls. But when he isn't, he tends to crash and burn. He's not a volume guy and he doesn't have that scorer mentality.

Its just not reasonable to look at his best games and say he should do that all the time.

[BlacJacMac]

Finch would never do it, but I'd "pull a Popovitch" and start Dilly, Zuzang, Miller, Beringer and...I guess Ant next game.

[Note30]

Jim Pete asking is Jaden a big time scorer or not is crazy to me. He is 2 for 2 from 3 and I believe 3/5 for 8 points at that point. What that tells you is the offense treats him as an afterthought. When you have a player who can give you 20 PPG, but don’t feature them, (no plays run for them, insufficient usage, not demanding they shoot more, ect…,) then what do expect. The coach needs to design an offense that gets the most out of his players, instead we get this.

Jaden can not give you 20 PPG.

He's a guy that can sometimes get you 20 points.

This is a distinction that would have no difference if Jaden was properly featured in the offense. He can give you 20, and is generally a very efficient shooter. Can he have up and down performances, of course. But Jaden is too good to not average 20 PPG, and that begs the question why doesn’t he?

Because that 20 ain't a real 20. Rewatch all of his games, he's got a handful of moves. It's not something he can consistently do against an actual good defense.

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[winforlose]

Read on Twitter

Because he wants to keep his job. Lack of effort has plagued this team ALL YEAR!

[Black star]

I'm off the train with this squad. Yes they are talented, yes they have potential to do a lot of damage. Fact is, this team has no heart, they have no vocal leadership with any authority. They have no direction, poise, or the professionalism it takes to be a real contender. They are weak, they complain and whine like babies about calls. They are easily disrupted and thrown off their game.

I wont be surprised if they turn it up, have a good season or playoff run. They are capable of that, that said, they are not a contender and they never will be as long as they are this mentally fragile. This team aint it, these guys don't got the stuff you need to win it all. I'm done carrying that belief and supporting them as if they were a real contender, they are not.

Finch loves Randle but he is arguably one of the worst players you could pair with Ant. He's capable of being an awesome playmaker but his natural instinct is to iso and spin into double teams. He's capable of being a good defender but his natural instinct is to take plays off and give low effort. He mopes when things don't go his way and checks out.

Those are all things Ant already struggles with. And It would be one thing if we were talking about a young guy but this is a 31 year old veteran. So Ant is trying to hold himself to this high standard (with mixed results btw his defense has not been good) and then he looks over and sees his veteran costar doing whatever he wants on a nightly basis.

And it's not like with Kat where he had known Kat for years so even though Kat was older he felt comfortable putting Kat in check. Randle is the new guy who the coach loves and gets a super long rope compared to everyone else. Randle is who he is and that hurts the team. Especially when their best version was a group that relied on defensive tenacity to carry them through the regular season. I know they went on that run last year but it feels like he's a bad fit with the team culture

[winforlose]

Jaden can not give you 20 PPG.

He's a guy that can sometimes get you 20 points.

This is a distinction that would have no difference if Jaden was properly featured in the offense. He can give you 20, and is generally a very efficient shooter. Can he have up and down performances, of course. But Jaden is too good to not average 20 PPG, and that begs the question why doesn’t he?

Because that 20 ain't a real 20. Rewatch all of his games, he's got a handful of moves. It's not something he can consistently do against an actual good defense.

His midrange percentage is elite not an illusion, his at the rim and free throw shooting is elite, not an illusion. His 3 ball is inconsistent and very possibly an illusion. Jaden does need to improve his shot creation, but that doesn’t mean his efficiency isn’t real. It means he needs help getting his shot.

[shrink]

There's a desire factor for Jaden though. You have to want to go get the ball sometimes.

Jaden has desire - to play defense. I remember a couple years back that he said he would rather stop an opponent from scoring than score himself. Very unusual mindset in the NBA (and to be fair, that mindset have probably led to All Defensive Team efforts for years). The front office and coaching staff have been saying for years that Jaden has the talent to contribute more offensively, and we saw some in the early season, but mainly because Ant missed some games. But Jaden’s DNA is to defend. I doubt he will ever be a #2, or maybe even a #3 scorer.

[shrink]

Randle had … TWO?!? .. assists this game? He had 25 in the previous two games!

[winforlose]

There's a desire factor for Jaden though. You have to want to go get the ball sometimes.

Jaden has desire - to play defense. I remember a couple years back that he said he would rather stop an opponent from scoring than score himself. Very unusual mindset in the NBA (and to be fair, that mindset have probably led to All Defensive Team efforts for years). The front office and coaching staff have been saying for years that Jaden has the talent to contribute more offensively, and we saw some in the early season, but mainly because Ant missed some games. But Jaden’s DNA is to defend. I doubt he will ever be a #2, or maybe even a #3 scorer.

Shrink, think about your statement. When Ant is out Jaden contributes more offensively. What is the difference? When Ant is out there is more ball movement, more available shots, ect… The problem is the offense is designed around Jaden as a 4th or 5th option, with DDV getting higher priority. Also because of the ISO and heavy dribbling by Ant and JR there is much less off ball movement.

[Neeva]

I'm off the train with this squad. Yes they are talented, yes they have potential to do a lot of damage. Fact is, this team has no heart, they have no vocal leadership with any authority. They have no direction, poise, or the professionalism it takes to be a real contender. They are weak, they complain and whine like babies about calls. They are easily disrupted and thrown off their game.

I wont be surprised if they turn it up, have a good season or playoff run. They are capable of that, that said, they are not a contender and they never will be as long as they are this mentally fragile. This team aint it, these guys don't got the stuff you need to win it all. I'm done carrying that belief and supporting them as if they were a real contender, they are not.

They need a better head coach first and foremost and then Connelly needs to make some trades.

[Baseline81]

Afternoon game and tempo teams always give our frontcourt fits, but yeah this has been brutally inexcusable

[HMFFL]

Jaden has desire - to play defense. I remember a couple years back that he said he would rather stop an opponent from scoring than score himself. Very unusual mindset in the NBA (and to be fair, that mindset have probably led to All Defensive Team efforts for years).

I remember him saying that.
It made me follow him more and have an interest in him.
Your frontcourt has interested me for years since Kat.

What Jaden said made me more interested and with Randle & Rudy, I wouldn't mind seeing them win the title.

[Loaf_of_bread]

Jaden can not give you 20 PPG.

He's a guy that can sometimes get you 20 points.

This is a distinction that would have no difference if Jaden was properly featured in the offense. He can give you 20, and is generally a very efficient shooter. Can he have up and down performances, of course. But Jaden is too good to not average 20 PPG, and that begs the question why doesn’t he?

Because he's NOT that good.

Jaden is a guy who feeds off his own play. When he's rolling, he really rolls. But when he isn't, he tends to crash and burn. He's not a volume guy and he doesn't have that scorer mentality.

Its just not reasonable to look at his best games and say he should do that all the time.

Jaden shows up in the playoffs. Let him be mediocre in the meantime..

[BlacJacMac]

Read on Twitter

[winforlose]

Read on Twitter

Finch is either gonna be gone or Ant will. Probably be next season, but this team doesn’t respect, listen to, or follow Chris Finch in any way. I am not convinced if they saw Finch on fire across the street that they would cross to put the fire out.

P.S, if TC has another disastrous trade season (including not making necessary roster balancing move,) he can go too.

[KGdaBom]

Read on Twitter

Finch is either gonna be gone or Ant will. Probably be next season, but this team doesn’t respect, listen to, or follow Chris Finch in any way. I am not convinced if they saw Finch on fire across the street that they would cross to put the fire out.

P.S, if TC has another disastrous trade season (including not making necessary roster balancing move,) he can go too.

The players LOVE Finch. You couldn't be more wrong.