1/23 Rockets @ Wolves 7PM: The return of Flynn and McHale

[thethey]

I'm honestly starting to think it might be a good idea to just feed Love the first 8 or so out of 10 possessions, regardless of the outcome. This would at least get us to the line a few times.

[Tha Juice]

Jon Krawczynski @APkrawczynski
Adelman asked what he thought of Williams at the 3: "I didn't think much of anybody tonight."

[thethey]

Just realized we were 5 - 12 from three and Love hit all 5 of them...

[Rhandall]

Ridnour plays very well. If Barea is Good for the next match he must play over Rubio. Poor match from RR. I think that he is tired.

[thethey]

I tweeted Rubio before the game asking if there'd be a triple double tonight...oops.

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[lewdog]

I guess the thing that I'm taking away from tonight's outcome is the significance
of Mr. Wes Johnson. Get well soon big guy!

[Klomp]

Rubio and Love are going to die before the season even ends if they keep playing the minutes/rotation that they have been the last few games.

Would you rather play Ridnour/Ellington/Tolliver/Randolph/Pekovic 48 minutes? We had 9 guys tonight! We've yet to play with a full squad this year. Obviously somebody's gotta play.

[Calinks]

I don't like how entitled the players are acting with the refs. Like they are owed something. They are acting like they are the new hot team on the block and they deserve some breaks, like the media attention warrants it or something. Sorry fellas, you got to earn that. You don't just wake up and become the Thunder, the you have to take that kind of respect and whining and a crying like a bunch of pansies aint going to do it.

[Breakdown777]

The major things I took away from this game:

-Love needs goggles/glasses. He gets an eye injury like every other game.

-Love is jaded. He's had a few games where he's received superstar treatment and ticky tack calls, and now he expects that every game. It's hurting our defense. It's hurting his image. It's hurting our team as a whole (the refs will start to play favorites, and your team will not get all the calls they should if you are annoying them all the time).

-Does everyone now see why Wes Johnson isn't so bad?

-I'm liking Luke's game lately. But when his shot is not falling, I still think he's basically useless as a SG other than ball handling ability. I'm glad he's cut down on his "hero ball" antics though.

-I don't think Adelman's criticism of Williams at the 3 was warranted. Scroogey ol' rookie hater responses bug me. In the presser, Adelman kept saying "Derrick Tried". lol. I thought he did alright for himself considering he hasn't gotten much run at SF.

-Most importantly, we really need to get healthy. Winning any game with 3 guards is a really tough mountain to climb.

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One thing I'm worried about when everyone is healthy is the rotations and lineups. I'm really hoping Adelman sees who the ball stoppers are, and that it's preferable to only have a max of 2 of them on the floor at the same time.
Beasley, Randolph, Williams, Ridnour, JJ, and Pek are all black holes. Pek i'm fine with, as he always gets the ball in position. Some of these guys will kill the offensive flow if they play together. My opinion is that the most dangerous combo is Ridnour and Beasley, as this lineup is almost always results in us trying to play one on one. I hope this gets addressed when we are healthy.

[invno1]

Timberwolves are a very young team, They will improve greatly soon in these early game defecits.

[Yes We Kahn]

I don't like how entitled the players are acting with the refs. Like they are owed something. They are acting like they are the new hot team on the block and they deserve some breaks, like the media attention warrants it or something. Sorry fellas, you got to earn that. You don't just wake up and become the Thunder, the you have to take that kind of respect and whining and a crying like a bunch of pansies aint going to do it.

Couldn't agree more. Its annoying to watch.

[Piecake]

I don't like how entitled the players are acting with the refs. Like they are owed something. They are acting like they are the new hot team on the block and they deserve some breaks, like the media attention warrants it or something. Sorry fellas, you got to earn that. You don't just wake up and become the Thunder, the you have to take that kind of respect and whining and a crying like a bunch of pansies aint going to do it.

Couldn't agree more. Its annoying to watch.

Yea, I dont even mind if a player is pissed about a call. I think that is fine, and a pretty normal reaction. The problem is, is when the player constantly whines and bitches at the refs about foul calls. I think Love is by far the worst offender on our team right now

[phonzadellika]

Wolves laid a turd last night. I still have dreams of .500 at the end of the season.

[Dewey]

Rubio and Love are going to die before the season even ends if they keep playing the minutes/rotation that they have been the last few games.

Would you rather play Ridnour/Ellington/Tolliver/Randolph/Pekovic 48 minutes? We had 9 guys tonight! We've yet to play with a full squad this year. Obviously somebody's gotta play.

This will be case if we cant get guys healthy and establish a better rotation ...

[Dewey]

We need to stop these trainwrecks early in the game ...

McHale came in here took care of business ... knows the game and his team is healthy and playing well. On the flip-side, we're not good enough to consistently perform with a short roster - let alone a roster that has it's own issues to start with.

I think it is pretty clear that DW needs time at PF ... he just isn't nimble enough for SF. Wish we could cross DW/WJ/MBeas into one.

[Klomp]

-I don't think Adelman's criticism of Williams at the 3 was warranted. Scroogey ol' rookie hater responses bug me. In the presser, Adelman kept saying "Derrick Tried". lol. I thought he did alright for himself considering he hasn't gotten much run at SF.

Offensively he was okay, but not on defense. Pretty sure after he started the game's first stretch at SF, he moved to PF for the rest of the game

[Krapinsky]

We need to stop these trainwrecks early in the game ...

McHale came in here took care of business ... knows the game and his team is healthy and playing well. On the flip-side, we're not good enough to consistently perform with a short roster - let alone a roster that has it's own issues to start with.

I think it is pretty clear that DW needs time at PF ... he just isn't nimble enough for SF. Wish we could cross DW/WJ/MBeas into one.

That's how I feel too. He doesn't look very nimble for a PF either tho, which is why I really don't like him and Love on the floor together at the 4-5. I don't see a path forward for him to play a big role on this team as long as Love's here. In hindsight, should have traded out of that spot or just took Jonas or Kanter.

[Esohny]

We need to stop these trainwrecks early in the game ...

McHale came in here took care of business ... knows the game and his team is healthy and playing well. On the flip-side, we're not good enough to consistently perform with a short roster - let alone a roster that has it's own issues to start with.

I think it is pretty clear that DW needs time at PF ... he just isn't nimble enough for SF. Wish we could cross DW/WJ/MBeas into one.

That's how I feel too. He doesn't look very nimble for a PF either tho, which is why I really don't like him and Love on the floor together at the 4-5. I don't see a path forward for him to play a big role on this team as long as Love's here. In hindsight, should have traded out of that spot or just took Jonas or Kanter.

I certainly don't disagree with that.

[horaceworthy]

I agree it hasn't all been bubble gum and lollipops for Williams at SF, but I don't think the answer is just playing him at PF. I think he's potentially most useful as a bully-ball SF, but there's still a ways to go from a development standpoint.

I think the focus should be less on which of the forward positions he plays and more on putting him in positions where he can succeed.

For the time being, he's got to knock off taking those jumpers from a step inside the arc and realize they're giving that to him for a reason. He should mostly just be working the baseline and the elbow/high post, depending on the matchup. His jumper doesn't need to be respected at the moment, so having him catch it 20 feet from the basket isn't doing anyone any favors.

I'd also like to see him used more often in screen action and stop getting too cute in transition, but baby steps.

I do like that when he gets a small guy on him he immediately takes him to the paint, not just to call for the ball, but to secure rebounding position.