Game 8: Clippers at Timberwolves, 7 pm

[Clav]

Two game series vs the clips....It wasn't an ideal outcome, but there are some positives, it looks like Beasley is getting back into form and the injury to DLo has exposed some flaws in the offense. Finch can now see some of these issues and can adjust. Personally, encouraging Ant to drive and use Towns more as an outlet, they seem to be a little awkward running plays at times when defenses are blitzing or rotating an extra player into the mix/driving lanes. I think it's fixable -- (helps if other players can hit a shot..)

4 on the road, then 4 at home, and 0 pushover teams. It's time to buckle down and really fight for possessions.

[Nick K]

And yet, for the last 4 games at least, Ant has consistently had a better +/- than Towns has. Sometimes significantly so.

The easy way to examine that is to look at when KAT is off the floor and Ant is on. It usually happens at the end of the 1st or 3rd and beginning of the 2nd and 4th. What that tells you is that their starters like Jackson and PG13 are the ones doing the damage. It also tells you that our bench is outperforming our starters in some cases. Beasley hitting 3s with Ant instead of KAT for example. But when KAT shoots 11 and scores 20, and Ant shoots 22 and scores 17, that tells you a lot more about the individual performance.

Right. It also shows when you start Bev, McD, and Prince or Vando you only have 2 scorers out there. If Kat or Ant go cold your in deep chit.

So far I've been wrong big on McD. I thought he'd make a huge jump. Not so. I'd bench him and let him watch. Maybe it would smarten him up.

We will continue to have big problems until the players not Ant or Kat start playing better. It's a team game. You can't survive brick laying like we do. Our supporting cast is horse bleep. Simple as that. They can't play any worse.

The coach need to start calling more plays. Right now the players make too many decisions themselves which leads to hero ball.

Worse yet, when I hear Ant tell guys who can't shoot a lick to keep throwing them up...they'll go in, drives me nuts. I understand he's trying to be a supportive team mate, but...

[winforlose]

And yet, for the last 4 games at least, Ant has consistently had a better +/- than Towns has. Sometimes significantly so.

The easy way to examine that is to look at when KAT is off the floor and Ant is on. It usually happens at the end of the 1st or 3rd and beginning of the 2nd and 4th. What that tells you is that their starters like Jackson and PG13 are the ones doing the damage. It also tells you that our bench is outperforming our starters in some cases. Beasley hitting 3s with Ant instead of KAT for example. But when KAT shoots 11 and scores 20, and Ant shoots 22 and scores 17, that tells you a lot more about the individual performance.

Right. It also shows when you start Bev, McD, and Prince or Vando you only have 2 scorers out there. If Kat or Ant go cold your in deep chit.

So far I've been wrong big on McD. I thought he'd make a huge jump. Not so. I'd bench him and let him watch. Maybe it would smarten him up.

We will continue to have big problems until the players not Ant or Kat start playing better. It's a team game. You can't survive brick laying like we do. Our supporting cast is horse bleep. Simple as that. They can't play any worse.

The coach need to start calling more plays. Right now the players make too many decisions themselves which leads to hero ball.

Worse yet, when I hear Ant tell guys who can't shoot a lick to keep throwing them up...they'll go in, drives me nuts. I understand he's trying to be a supportive team mate, but...

You are on the right track but didn’t state the key point. When the opposing C guards the weak player like a JO or V8 and the PF guards KAT that opposing C guards the lane instead of the team. The solution is extra off ball screens and movement to free up KAT from distance as well as to exploit gaps in the coverage. Finch’s controlled chaos approach is fine under normal circumstances, but fails to address the specific response his offense is creating from opposing defense.

[Nick K]

I was expecting some reality check tbh, like "we are not that good" healthy, not healthy is not about the coach either, never was, but yet i come here and i have to see someone talking about the refs, other saying that fans need to realize that we need DLO.

Hahahahahahahahah!

I mean, come on.

Quit being a troll. This is a Wolves board. Why are you even here? Try to say something positive for a change. I know you might have to dig deep. Try it!

Plenty of us have said we're playing like chit. You can't possibly watch the games.

[ChiefKeith91]

I think we need to go all in on offense during this road stretch cause we’re gonna get killed on the glass against Adams, AD & Dwight, Zubac.

Dlo- Bev
Beasley- Bolmaro/Nowell
Ant- McDaniels
Vando- Prince
KAT- Reid

Hopefully moving Jaden to the bench gets him to relax and allow him to have a more offensive role. We’d just be asking the 2nd unit to hold the lead or keep it close until starters return.


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[Nick K]

The easy way to examine that is to look at when KAT is off the floor and Ant is on. It usually happens at the end of the 1st or 3rd and beginning of the 2nd and 4th. What that tells you is that their starters like Jackson and PG13 are the ones doing the damage. It also tells you that our bench is outperforming our starters in some cases. Beasley hitting 3s with Ant instead of KAT for example. But when KAT shoots 11 and scores 20, and Ant shoots 22 and scores 17, that tells you a lot more about the individual performance.

Right. It also shows when you start Bev, McD, and Prince or Vando you only have 2 scorers out there. If Kat or Ant go cold your in deep chit.

So far I've been wrong big on McD. I thought he'd make a huge jump. Not so. I'd bench him and let him watch. Maybe it would smarten him up.

We will continue to have big problems until the players not Ant or Kat start playing better. It's a team game. You can't survive brick laying like we do. Our supporting cast is horse bleep. Simple as that. They can't play any worse.

The coach need to start calling more plays. Right now the players make too many decisions themselves which leads to hero ball.

Worse yet, when I hear Ant tell guys who can't shoot a lick to keep throwing them up...they'll go in, drives me nuts. I understand he's trying to be a supportive team mate, but...

You are on the right track but didn’t state the key point. When the opposing C guards the weak player like a JO or V8 and the PF guards KAT that opposing C guards the lane instead of the team. The solution is extra off ball screens and movement to free up KAT from distance as well as to exploit gaps in the coverage. Finch’s controlled chaos approach is fine under normal circumstances, but fails to address the specific response his offense is creating from opposing defense.

Absolutely right. Finch is getting out coached in the 2nd half of games after teams adjust.

Extra ball screens and movement? What's that? In this offense the players make the decisions as the play unfolds. You can do that with a veteran team but this one? That is on Finch.

[Foye]

I was expecting some reality check tbh, like "we are not that good" healthy, not healthy is not about the coach either, never was, but yet i come here and i have to see someone talking about the refs, other saying that fans need to realize that we need DLO.

Hahahahahahahahah!

I mean, come on.

Quit being a troll. This is a Wolves board. Why are you even here? Try to say something positive for a change. I know you might have to dig deep. Try it!

Plenty of us have said we're playing like chit. You can't possibly watch the games.

He is right, though.

No reason to complain about refs when you score 27 in the entire 2nd half and lose by 20.

[TheProdigy]

The lineup I want to see more of is Beverley-Beasley-Ant-Prince-KAT. I know we'll get crushed on the glass but at this point I want Ant to learn how to drive and dish. Give him as much space as possible and let him go to work. Also, his 3 point attempts should only be about 25%-33% of his total shot attempts. Almost half of his shots this season have been 3s. He's settling too much.

[Nick K]

I was expecting some reality check tbh, like "we are not that good" healthy, not healthy is not about the coach either, never was, but yet i come here and i have to see someone talking about the refs, other saying that fans need to realize that we need DLO.

Hahahahahahahahah!

I mean, come on.

Quit being a troll. This is a Wolves board. Why are you even here? Try to say something positive for a change. I know you might have to dig deep. Try it!

Plenty of us have said we're playing like chit. You can't possibly watch the games.

He is right, though.

No reason to complain about refs when you score 27 in the entire 2nd half and lose by 20.

I understand that, but it can be a major factor it determining the games outcome. That's the bottom line.