Game 6: Magic at Timberwolves, 7 pm

[thinktank]

And why do KATs low post moves looks weird and difficult?

He’s super gangly and physically inefficient.

Night and day, the opposite of Jokic, who pretty much just stands there and takes what the D gives him.

[winforlose]

Come on now. You sound like he's not saying the true here.

Not to sound pessimistic after an unly defeat but man, i hope this was a monster wake up call for the delusionals.

THIS TEAM IS NOT THAT GOOD!

This team might not looking good in some games, but I believe that fans suppose to support their teams, and not $h1t on players and organisation after every problem, like Foye does. That is not like grown men act, that is why I start to believe that he has problems.

I believe is too many years of experience, of the same mistakes. It's not like he didn't say to begin that this team wasn't good enough.
Grown men don't live in a fantasy world all the time.

And some people live in a fantasy world to think this team is good enough to do anything with this core. It's not.
It's a team that lives and dies by flashes of good shooting nights, period.

We are getting open 3s because teams are collapsing in the paint and forcing us to shoot outside. We have a team of guys whose career numbers are better than their season numbers and six games in you are saying they suck. When we figure out whatever the hell is going on the lane will open back up. When that happens guys who need to play down low like V8 and JO will improve as well. In the meantime we need to do the little things better like defend without fouling, defensive rebound, and keep our heads in the game. To say we lack shooters based on six games and ignoring everything these guys have ever done outside of six games is just bizarre.

[Merc_Porto]

We are getting open 3s because teams are collapsing in the paint and forcing us to shoot outside. We have a team of guys whose career numbers are better than their season numbers and six games in you are saying they suck.

I wish it was only for 6 games. But no, not at all.
Almost 2 years now tbh. Healthy, not healthy, this is not a great team. Is a bunch of individualities that don't fit each other at all and never will. Is not a matter of figuring out with these guys.

The team needs a massive adjustment around KAT-Edwards.

Yes, we are still going to win a bunch of games, but I seriously doubt that is going to be enough to get to the playoffs.
This is a definition of a treadmill team. So, don't try to pretend this is an overreaction after 6 games.

Not for me, and definitely not for FOYE as well.

[winforlose]

We are getting open 3s because teams are collapsing in the paint and forcing us to shoot outside. We have a team of guys whose career numbers are better than their season numbers and six games in you are saying they suck.

I wish it was only for 6 games. But no, not at all.
Almost 2 years now tbh. Healthy, not healthy, this is not a great team. Is a bunch of individualities that don't fit each other at all and never will. Is not a matter of figuring out with these guys.

The team needs a massive adjustment around KAT-Edwards.

Yes, we are still going to win a bunch of games, but I seriously doubt that is going to be enough to get to the playoffs.
This is a definition of a treadmill team. So, don't try to pretend this is an overreaction after 6 games.

Not for me, and definitely not for FOYE as well.

So to be clear Dlo shooting a career low this season is the new normal? So Beasley shooting a career low is the new normal. Jaden McDaniels struggles including a 20% drop in 3 point shooting is normal? So Karl not shooting enough is normal? I could go on and on. The defense looks better because the guys are more bought in. The shooting not showing up is a function of missing open shots. You can say that we are missing them because we are bad at shooting but I ask you to consider the history of the shooters. Is that really so unreasonable?

[Foye]

Come on now. You sound like he's not saying the true here.

Not to sound pessimistic after an unly defeat but man, i hope this was a monster wake up call for the delusionals.

THIS TEAM IS NOT THAT GOOD!

This team might not looking good in some games, but I believe that fans suppose to support their teams, and not $h1t on players and organisation after every problem, like Foye does. That is not like grown men act, that is why I start to believe that he has problems.

I believe is too many years of experience, of the same mistakes. It's not like he didn't say to begin that this team wasn't good enough.
Grown men don't live in a fantasy world all the time.

And some people live in a fantasy world to think this team is good enough to do anything with this core. It's not.
It's a team that lives and dies by flashes of good shooting nights, period.

100%. This team is going nowhere and it seems that only a handful here are able to admit that.

[Chello1]

This is not an overreaction: this team is not a good team. You will never win with KAT as your best player. ANT is going to take time to develop and there are no guarantees he will be a true superstar. The rest of the team is not good..... Jaden may develop but he looks like he could be a middling player at best who defends but is a liability on offense. People who said they wouldn't trade him for Simmons are delusional. Sorry if I don't get hyped about a win over Milwaukee with two starters out.

[life_saver]

One of the major reasons offense is struggling is because they are unable to knock down wide open shots.

Wolves are currently 3rd worst team in the league when it comes to shooting % on wide open 3's. They are able to generate 19.2 wide open 3 pt attempts per a game but only knocking down 32.2% of them, ranking 3rd worst in the league.

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/shots-closest-defender-10/?Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&CloseDefDistRange=6%2B%20Feet%20-%20Wide%20Open&sort=FG3_PCT&dir=-1

[bluethunder0005]

Lot of players are talking about how much they hate the new basketball and how it's hurting shooting. In general, awful loss last night but it's realistically what teams of the Wolves caliber will do being a fringe playoff team. Capable of beating everyone like the Bucks a few nights ago but also losing to anyone like the Pelicans and Magic. It's disappointing because we always want to see our team beat the less talented teams but let's be real, even if this team played up to it's potential every night, it's no more than a 45ish win team.

[winforlose]

Lot of players are talking about how much they hate the new basketball and how it's hurting shooting. In general, awful loss last night but it's realistically what teams of the Wolves caliber will do being a fringe playoff team. Capable of beating everyone like the Bucks a few nights ago but also losing to anyone like the Pelicans and Magic. It's disappointing because we always want to see our team beat the less talented teams but let's be real, even if this team played up to it's potential every night, it's no more than a 45ish win team.

Please help me understand this take. Last season we ducked because our defense was not up to snuff and because we lost KAT for 22 games early and we couldn’t compensate. This season our defense has improved, and Ant is supposed to be far enough along to help take the burden off of KAT. You have Prince, Beasley, Dlo, MCD, JMAC, and Ant all shooting below their numbers last season and their career numbers. In some cases by more than 20%. We are missing open 3s at an alarming rate. So how does that suggest a long term problem and a fringe playoff team overall? If anything it suggests once we start hitting our shots and fix what is broken we are freight train that will only gain steam.

[bluethunder0005]

Lot of players are talking about how much they hate the new basketball and how it's hurting shooting. In general, awful loss last night but it's realistically what teams of the Wolves caliber will do being a fringe playoff team. Capable of beating everyone like the Bucks a few nights ago but also losing to anyone like the Pelicans and Magic. It's disappointing because we always want to see our team beat the less talented teams but let's be real, even if this team played up to it's potential every night, it's no more than a 45ish win team.

Please help me understand this take. Last season we ducked because our defense was not up to snuff and because we lost KAT for 22 games early and we couldn’t compensate. This season our defense has improved, and Ant is supposed to be far enough along to help take the burden off of KAT. You have Prince, Beasley, Dlo, MCD, JMAC, and Ant all shooting below their numbers last season and their career numbers. In some cases by more than 20%. We are missing open 3s at an alarming rate. So how does that suggest a long term problem and a fringe playoff team overall? If anything it suggests once we start hitting our shots and fix what is broken we are freight train that will only gain steam.

Do you see this team as a top 4 in the West? Anything below that to me is fringe, in that a few games here or there one way or the other could be the difference between 6 seed or having to be the playin. Those guys are likely shooting so poorly because of the new ball, which is bothering everyone. I doubt are players are going to get back to their career norms if they are playing with a ball that isn't conductive to that and if the league switches to something else then other teams will start making their shots and our defense will fall back down, granted not to the level it was last year.

[winforlose]

Lot of players are talking about how much they hate the new basketball and how it's hurting shooting. In general, awful loss last night but it's realistically what teams of the Wolves caliber will do being a fringe playoff team. Capable of beating everyone like the Bucks a few nights ago but also losing to anyone like the Pelicans and Magic. It's disappointing because we always want to see our team beat the less talented teams but let's be real, even if this team played up to it's potential every night, it's no more than a 45ish win team.

Please help me understand this take. Last season we ducked because our defense was not up to snuff and because we lost KAT for 22 games early and we couldn’t compensate. This season our defense has improved, and Ant is supposed to be far enough along to help take the burden off of KAT. You have Prince, Beasley, Dlo, MCD, JMAC, and Ant all shooting below their numbers last season and their career numbers. In some cases by more than 20%. We are missing open 3s at an alarming rate. So how does that suggest a long term problem and a fringe playoff team overall? If anything it suggests once we start hitting our shots and fix what is broken we are freight train that will only gain steam.

Do you see this team as a top 4 in the West? Anything below that to me is fringe, in that a few games here or there one way or the other could be the difference between 6 seed or having to be the playin. Those guys are likely shooting so poorly because of the new ball, which is bothering everyone. I doubt are players are going to get back to their career norms if they are playing with a ball that isn't conductive to that and if the league switches to something else then other teams will start making their shots and our defense will fall back down, granted not to the level it was last year.

If it was the ball then a lot of other shooters around the league would be affected. I think it’s more a function of pace and energy as defense is more exhausting than offense. Either way, our shooters will recover sooner or later even if it means adjusting to the ball. To suggest otherwise is to simply assume the worst case scenario and is just not logical yet. I mean which statement is more likely true. 1, our team is struggling to find its offensive rythym. 2, The new ball has had an effect on every single Timberwolf except KAT and every other player is now permanently diminished to the point of no longer being NBA level talent?

[Minnesotadrake]

Really bad loss last night but I still think we have potential to be an OK team this year. We obviously couldn't hit an outside shot and it seems to be that way when the opponent switches to zone. I would have switched defenders or double team on Wagner or Anthony once they started getting hot. This is going to be an up and down journey and we obviously can play well (Milwaukee) but also can play right into the hands of "worse" teams. We will see if we can pick it again vs LA on Wednesday...

[Krapinsky]

This is not an overreaction: this team is not a good team. You will never win with KAT as your best player. ANT is going to take time to develop and there are no guarantees he will be a true superstar. The rest of the team is not good..... Jaden may develop but he looks like he could be a middling player at best who defends but is a liability on offense. People who said they wouldn't trade him for Simmons are delusional. Sorry if I don't get hyped about a win over Milwaukee with two starters out.

I think KAT is still very good and we don't have any good players around him. Ant has unlimited potential, but I think a strong case can be made that Beverly is our second best player on the roster right now. That's pretty wild considering he was considered to be basically washed up and traded for next to nothing by two different teams.

[Wolf_Cry]

We are getting open 3s because teams are collapsing in the paint and forcing us to shoot outside. We have a team of guys whose career numbers are better than their season numbers and six games in you are saying they suck.

I wish it was only for 6 games. But no, not at all.
Almost 2 years now tbh. Healthy, not healthy, this is not a great team. Is a bunch of individualities that don't fit each other at all and never will. Is not a matter of figuring out with these guys.

The team needs a massive adjustment around KAT-Edwards.

Yes, we are still going to win a bunch of games, but I seriously doubt that is going to be enough to get to the playoffs.
This is a definition of a treadmill team. So, don't try to pretend this is an overreaction after 6 games.

Not for me, and definitely not for FOYE as well.

So to be clear Dlo shooting a career low this season is the new normal? So Beasley shooting a career low is the new normal. Jaden McDaniels struggles including a 20% drop in 3 point shooting is normal? So Karl not shooting enough is normal? I could go on and on. The defense looks better because the guys are more bought in. The shooting not showing up is a function of missing open shots. You can say that we are missing them because we are bad at shooting but I ask you to consider the history of the shooters. Is that really so unreasonable?

Therein lies the problem though. Even if they're all shooting below their career percentage- the fact still remains this team is full of extremely streaky shooters. Beas and DLo in particular will have 1 or 2 games where they go 6/10 from down time, followed by 5-6 games of just putrid shooting. Then the whole thing recycles itself.

If a team wants to compete for a play in (not even play offs) spot, they need consistency. Streaky shooters do have their places in the league and can be valuable....but mainly as a 6th man. It's the spot I envision for either DLo or Beasley as both are perfect for it.

Ultimately, as you said by the law of averages, this team should start shooting better, but the pattern of when still remains a big problem. I don't care if by the end of the season the team is shooting 40% total from 3 point land if that means they have 6-7 games where they shooting 20% and 1 or 2 games where they shoot 50%. Give me consistency.

[winforlose]

I wish it was only for 6 games. But no, not at all.
Almost 2 years now tbh. Healthy, not healthy, this is not a great team. Is a bunch of individualities that don't fit each other at all and never will. Is not a matter of figuring out with these guys.

The team needs a massive adjustment around KAT-Edwards.

Yes, we are still going to win a bunch of games, but I seriously doubt that is going to be enough to get to the playoffs.
This is a definition of a treadmill team. So, don't try to pretend this is an overreaction after 6 games.

Not for me, and definitely not for FOYE as well.

So to be clear Dlo shooting a career low this season is the new normal? So Beasley shooting a career low is the new normal. Jaden McDaniels struggles including a 20% drop in 3 point shooting is normal? So Karl not shooting enough is normal? I could go on and on. The defense looks better because the guys are more bought in. The shooting not showing up is a function of missing open shots. You can say that we are missing them because we are bad at shooting but I ask you to consider the history of the shooters. Is that really so unreasonable?

Therein lies the problem though. Even if they're all shooting below their career percentage- the fact still remains this team is full of extremely streaky shooters. Beas and DLo in particular will have 1 or 2 games where they go 6/10 from down time, followed by 5-6 games of just putrid shooting. Then the whole thing recycles itself.

If a team wants to compete for a play in (not even play offs) spot, they need consistency. Streaky shooters do have their places in the league and can be valuable....but mainly as a 6th man. It's the spot I envision for either DLo or Beasley as both are perfect for it.

Ultimately, as you said by the law of averages, this team should start shooting better, but the pattern of when still remains a big problem. I don't care if by the end of the season the team is shooting 40% total from 3 point land if that means they have 6-7 games where they shooting 20% and 1 or 2 games where they shoot 50%. Give me consistency.

I don’t follow. Beasley wasn’t that streaky before the suspension nor was Dlo at the end of the year. The whole reason that averages for a season work out is because they are averages. Shooting 10-15% below that benchmark is a huge drop off that should correct itself. But even accepting your premise, name one shooter who consistently shoots 50% from 3? We could take less 3s but then we are vulnerable to the shooting night of other teams. Again the consistency you seek is not quite possible in the modern NBA. Moreover, we are built for the long ball. We don’t have a ton of slasher type players and the ones we do want to pull up and jump shoot. Get Ant to attack and then we can see where we are at. Overall, I don’t see Dlo and Beasley having Okogie and Treveon Graham like seasons. I don’t think that is a reasonable prediction. Moreover, I do think we make at least one move for size which should help.

If this game taught me anything it is the importance of MCD staying in the game and especially Pat Beverly being available. Our defense and energy just thrive when our better players are out there.

[fattymcgee]

Unacceptable loss this team is full of gutless pigs who are injury prone.

I am ready to blow this **** up and start over.

Quitting already? You sound like the Timberwolves last night.

[Note30]

This is the last season this **** can continue. If there aren't any definitive changes this season, blow it to shreds, not sure how we can do that tho. We're already so bad that blowing it to shreds means nothing.

[winforlose]

This is the last season this **** can continue. If there aren't any definitive changes this season, blow it to shreds, not sure how we can do that tho. We're already so bad that blowing it to shreds means nothing.

I don’t know what another rebuild will do for us. How many small market teams who aren’t spending 30+ million above the tax are competitive for a title in a given year. Last year the suns got lucky as **** by staying healthy, playing injured teams, and getting a resurgence from CP3 that they will not likely see again. The wolves are unlikely to attract the free agents necessary to build a contender and we don’t scout as well as other teams. Rosas built a shooting team that with proper coaching learned to play defense. Our problem is that all our shooters are slumping at the same time except KAT. We should be feeding KAT for a dozen 3s a night or more in addition to a lot of interior shots, but for whatever reason KAT doesn’t want to. My question is what are the odds none of our shooters snap out of it in the next couple of weeks?

[Klomp]

People like to bash on Russell, but the team had a 5-point lead when he went out for the game. They lost by 18.

Russell +15
McLaughlin -23

That's the difference.

[winforlose]

People like to bash on Russell, but the team had a 5-point lead when he went out for the game. They lost by 18.

Russell +15
McLaughlin -23

That's the difference.

To be fair, they hit a ton of 3s in the fourth and put us away. The plus minus doesn’t tell the story. What does tell the story is JMAC played no better and did nothing significant to help us win.