Post Game Thoughts. Spurs 2.

[coolcono]

Beasely looked great, but he tends to fade away in the fourth quarters. That contract is looking great now.
Okogie brought great defensive intensity. Great to have him back in the lineup.


Meh. Rubio looked alright as point guard, but the offense should be flowing better with him in it.
Edwards. He needs to learn to pass out better when double/triple teamed, but I will give him that it doesn't look like he has a lot of options to pass to.

Dislike. We won and I still disliked Russell. At least he is better than Wiggins and will help keep Kat around.
It seemed like the team stunk whenever Reid was in.
If we didn't rebound so terribly, the game wouldn't have been so close.

Other thoughts- We could really use a savvy veteran PF/SF to play off the bench.
Keep the offensive guards with a defensive guard. IE. Beasely with Culver or Okogie. Edwards with Culver or Okogie.
We must have the most amount of missed near the basket shots in the NBA.

[jscott]

Needed that win. Good to get one without KAT.

[WolfAddict]

So happy we got the win - was very needed - but my gosh the beginning of this game was U.G.L.Y

[Calinks]

Was very nice to see defense save the day. Our offense and defense needs work. I'd love to get a good-sized 4 to help with defense and rebounding.

[UnFadeable21]

Great win for our Minnesota Timberwolves.

Malik Beasley carried the effort & torch early in the game. You gotta give him credit. Dude plays hard every game.

DLo Russell showed leadership & closed out the game. Was cold blooded draining some big time shots late.

Ricky Rubio was that steady hand calling out defense & running the offense. You can always guarantee a Rubio scream “Ehhhhhhhh!” Lol

7 game losing streak is dead. Hope it’s all up from here. Schedule is easing up and we need to climb out of the hole. Memphis on Wednesday and Friday. Let’s go Wolves!!!

[PharmD]

Held a team to 88 points. And that's in both halves combined

[Jedzz]

Held a team to 88 points. And that's in both halves combined

Wed they will give up 88 by half.

[wolves_89]

I really want to see the Wolves utilize both Okogie and Vanderbilt as defensive stoppers going forward. Okogie matches up against the best guard on the opposing team and Vanderbilt against the best forward. I'd seriously consider starting both of them since the starting group has enough offense with Russell, Beasley, and KAT. A second unit of Rubio, Edwards, Culver, Hernangomez, and Reid would be pretty solid as well.

[theGreatRC]

Great win, we didn't implode after going down 9 in the 4th.

Beasley and DLO carried the offensive load and it's good to see since KAT will be back looking for them to score.

Josh being back was extremely underrated. Hope this means Culver going back to the bench and being an impact player on the second unit, his time as a starter has not been good to him.

Ant shot and played like it was a back to back, he looked like this against the Lakers as well.

It's good to get the weight of a losing streak off our backs, the schedule is starting to get a little lighter from here on out, so we have to take care of Memphis x2, ATL x2 & Orlando in our next 5 games and we are back in the hunt.

It's so hard to play Rubio & DLO together because both are better with the ball in their hands, one is a defender and one is a scorer, but it seems the ball is ran through Ricky when they both play, it's an interesting combo that we haven't figured out yet.

Lastly, I <3333 Vanderbilt, like Okogie, he's a non stop motor on a team needing a heart beat

[PharmD]

D'Angelo's defense was unbelievably bad in the first half. I didn't notice his defense in the 2nd half (meaning he wasn't getting eviscerated).

We just won a game without Towns and getting zero points from Ant. Actually now that i think about it I wonder if the reason the 4th quarter looked so good was because Ant didn't play.

[wolves_89]

One thing I'm really looking forward to with a healthy roster is getting Culver, Edwards, and Reid back in roles where they have a better chance to succeed. Having those guys playing against the opposing teams second string is a good matchup for the Wolves, having them competing against starters is asking a little too much at this point.

[Jedzz]

Dlo should lose half a game check for how he started this game.

[Jedzz]

I really want to see the Wolves utilize both Okogie and Vanderbilt as defensive stoppers going forward. Okogie matches up against the best guard on the opposing team and Vanderbilt against the best forward. I'd seriously consider starting both of them since the starting group has enough offense with Russell, Beasley, and KAT. A second unit of Rubio, Edwards, Culver, Hernangomez, and Reid would be pretty solid as well.

This might be interesting if, IF, Edwards/Culver both allow Rubio to Point and lead them. Rubio might lose his hair in the process.

[PharmD]

One thing I'm really looking forward to with a healthy roster is getting Culver, Edwards, and Reid back in roles where they have a better chance to succeed. Having those guys playing against the opposing teams second string is a good matchup for the Wolves, having them competing against starters is asking a little too much at this point.

Reid and Edwards have been playing pure bench roles.

Remember before the Denver game when Ryan met with DLo and said DLo was a "great conversationalist" with "ideas on what changes should be made"? It seems to me that what DLo asked for is, 1) He wants a power forward out there (he told the media this even), thus Juancho has been starting instead of not-playing like he'd earned, and 2) he doesn't want to play with Naz or Ant. He basically hasn't played with those guys since. Ed Davis starts and plays with DLo when KAT is out, gets DNP-CDs when Towns is in.

[wolves_89]

One thing I'm really looking forward to with a healthy roster is getting Culver, Edwards, and Reid back in roles where they have a better chance to succeed. Having those guys playing against the opposing teams second string is a good matchup for the Wolves, having them competing against starters is asking a little too much at this point.

Reid and Edwards have been playing pure bench roles.

Remember before the Denver game when Ryan met with DLo and said DLo was a "great conversationalist" with "ideas on what changes should be made"? It seems to me that what DLo asked for is, 1) He wants a power forward out there (he told the media this even), thus Juancho has been starting instead of not-playing like he'd earned, and 2) he doesn't want to play with Naz or Ant. He basically hasn't played with those guys since. Ed Davis starts and plays with DLo when KAT is out, gets DNP-CDs when Towns is in.

I disagree about them playing pure bench roles. With Towns out Reid has been playing a lot of minutes against starting centers and as one of the first guys off the bench Edwards has been part time against the opposing first string.

[jscott]

The team rebounding turnovers are crazy frustrating. **** talk you guys!!

Once the dudes were facing each other and no one else was around them. Just let the other guy get it. Call it!!

[Jedzz]

Needed that win. Good to get one without KAT.

It is good to get one without him finally. Trade him for a peanut now that we know it's possible. Resting after 6 or more games off already?

[jscott]

Needed that win. Good to get one without KAT.

It is good to get one without him finally. Trade him for a peanut now that we know it's possible. Resting after 6 or more games off already?

This is a stupid take.

[packforfreedom]

Vando is soo good. His shot contests are out of this world and he's disruptive all the time. What a steal!
Everyone but Edwards played solid or good this game. Even Herni at least didn't make any horrific mistakes.

Good win overall but still a long way to go of course. I've never seen a NBA team where so many players have to be redirected so often at the begin of a defensive possession because they are out of position.

[Heimdal]

This game showed why you can't play an all-offense zero-defense 5. Opposing teams get hot and then you see guys having career games on you. See Lonnie Walker IV literally smiling at how easy scoring was in the first quarter.

Vanderbilt and Okogie are crucial. Rubio also played pretty good defense all game long. With these guys on defense you can hide Russell's lack of intensity or Beasley's lapses. With them, even when the opponent scores, the effort it takes wears them out. See Aldridge and Mills: hey had to sweat for every point and they eventually couldn't keep going. The rest of the Spurs weren't even a factor as the game progressed.

Okogie and Vanderbilt should start beside Towns. Def. rating will be sooooo much better with them. Whatever we lose on offense (Russell, Beasley and Towns will still score a lot), we win on defense, opponents not going nuts, rebounding, fastbreaks, etc. Insert Rubio for any of Russell and Beasley, and let Rubio feed Towns.

I'm really worried about Culver. He's becoming a one-trick pony: fakes a 3 nobody is scared of, and attacks the basket where a brick wall is waiting. You could say almost the same thing of Edwards.