Game 11: Timberwolves at Lakers, 10:30 pm

[fattymcgee]

Same issue hidden by a blow out.
8 points in the final 7 minutes!
Gotta fix that regardless of score.

How much did 3rd unit play during this period?

It was 100% the second and third unit.

[_AIJ_]

Same issue hidden by a blow out.
8 points in the final 7 minutes!
Gotta fix that regardless of score.

Led by Beasley, what do you expect?

[a8bil]

Its really simple, we lose games if KAT defers to his teammates. We win if he is super aggressive

Pretty much agree … DLo and ANT need to discover winning basketball outside of chucking shot attempts. Let KAT set the stage. The more those two allow that, the better opportunities they will have and efficiency will increase. If they are hot early (Ant at GSW) then KAT and DLo need to play off that. It’s the way is.

As a GSW fan, I would say it differently. KAT cannot win by himself. As good as he is as a shooter, he needs others who can create their own shots and have the confidence to take them. That takes team investment into players to give them a chance to build the confidence to make plays down the stretch, and run plays to give them opportunities, not just late shot clock chucks.

GSW as a team gets pissed if they create a shot for a player -- any player -- and the player doesn't take it. One of GSW's great attributes is recognizing the hot hand in any given night, or even quarter, and feeding it. Min needs to do more of that, but I would focus on the continued development of Ant. He's an alpha that can create a lot of shots for others. I think you guys have a great base...the FO just needs to build on it and not abandon it.

[minimus]

Its really simple, we lose games if KAT defers to his teammates. We win if he is super aggressive

Pretty much agree … DLo and ANT need to discover winning basketball outside of chucking shot attempts. Let KAT set the stage. The more those two allow that, the better opportunities they will have and efficiency will increase. If they are hot early (Ant at GSW) then KAT and DLo need to play off that. It’s the way is.

As a GSW fan, I would say it differently. KAT cannot win by himself. As good as he is as a shooter, he needs others who can create their own shots and have the confidence to take them. That takes team investment into players to give them a chance to build the confidence to make plays down the stretch, and run plays to give them opportunities, not just late shot clock chucks.

GSW as a team gets pissed if they create a shot for a player -- any player -- and the player doesn't take it. One of GSW's great attributes is recognizing the hot hand in any given night, or even quarter, and feeding it. Min needs to do more of that, but I would focus on the continued development of Ant. He's an alpha that can create a lot of shots for others. I think you guys have a great base...the FO just needs to build on it and not abandon it.

Thank you! Really appreciate your words! To be honest many MIN fans have this “low effort, full speed overreaction” commenting style.

P.S. I need to put these words in my signature “build on, not abandon”

[Neeva]

Can somebody check Foye? MIN has just ruined his weekend

No reason to get hyped about a win against Wayne Ellington.

Call me back when the Wolves are 5 games above .50 or have won 5 in a row. Thats the standard what an organization is supposed to build instead of celebrating single wins against LeBron-less Lakers

Nearly every season the wolves pick up a fluke -like blow out win against one of the LA Teams.

[Nick K]

Its really simple, we lose games if KAT defers to his teammates. We win if he is super aggressive

Pretty much agree … DLo and ANT need to discover winning basketball outside of chucking shot attempts. Let KAT set the stage. The more those two allow that, the better opportunities they will have and efficiency will increase. If they are hot early (Ant at GSW) then KAT and DLo need to play off that. It’s the way is.

As a GSW fan, I would say it differently. KAT cannot win by himself. As good as he is as a shooter, he needs others who can create their own shots and have the confidence to take them. That takes team investment into players to give them a chance to build the confidence to make plays down the stretch, and run plays to give them opportunities, not just late shot clock chucks.

GSW as a team gets pissed if they create a shot for a player -- any player -- and the player doesn't take it. One of GSW's great attributes is recognizing the hot hand in any given night, or even quarter, and feeding it. Min needs to do more of that, but I would focus on the continued development of Ant. He's an alpha that can create a lot of shots for others. I think you guys have a great base...the FO just needs to build on it and not abandon it.

I like much of this but if the Wolves pass the ball to anybody not Dlo, Kat or Ant, they just don't make the shot. Big difference.

Dlo can be iffy too.

I like your going to the hot man comment. Solid advice.

[winforlose]

Pretty much agree … DLo and ANT need to discover winning basketball outside of chucking shot attempts. Let KAT set the stage. The more those two allow that, the better opportunities they will have and efficiency will increase. If they are hot early (Ant at GSW) then KAT and DLo need to play off that. It’s the way is.

As a GSW fan, I would say it differently. KAT cannot win by himself. As good as he is as a shooter, he needs others who can create their own shots and have the confidence to take them. That takes team investment into players to give them a chance to build the confidence to make plays down the stretch, and run plays to give them opportunities, not just late shot clock chucks.

GSW as a team gets pissed if they create a shot for a player -- any player -- and the player doesn't take it. One of GSW's great attributes is recognizing the hot hand in any given night, or even quarter, and feeding it. Min needs to do more of that, but I would focus on the continued development of Ant. He's an alpha that can create a lot of shots for others. I think you guys have a great base...the FO just needs to build on it and not abandon it.

I like much of this but if the Wolves pass the ball to anybody not Dlo, Kat or Ant, they just don't make the shot. Big difference.

Dlo can be iffy too.

I like your going to the hot man comment. Solid advice.

I think most if not all of us agree that feeding the hot hand is winning basketball 101. That said, identifying the hot hand can be tricky. Ant often takes a heat check after ever make. Worse still, Ant refuses to acknowledge when he goes cold from outside and continues to shoot. Likewise Dlo will heat check after a couple of makes and is a different kind of stubborn. Unlike Ant who wants to keep shooting the long ball to ignite it, Dlo wants to shoot the long ball because he lacks the same off the dribble penetration and he needs the long ball to contribute at a high level. I agree that the rest of our team also struggles to hit their shots, though I would argue that is more recent struggles than systemic problem. In theory, MCD, Naz, Beasley, and Prince should all be decent or better from distance, but this year is a major down year for all of them. Also you have JO, V8 and to a degree JMAC who depend on getting inside to do most of their damage. The inability of the above named players to hit their 3s allows opposing teams to guard the lane and prevents them from getting involved in a meaningful way on offense. Overall, our issue is less about feeding the hot hand as it is about making the other team guard us properly. To do that we need to make our 3s especially when open.

[shrink]

We’ve seen some truly great players like Jordan and LeBron learn to make the right basketball play. I believe Towns wants to be truly great too, and he wants to make the right play. But as Dane Moore has talked about for over a year, KAT putting up a shot against two defenders is often a better shot than a pass to a wide open Okogie or Culver.

So the question becomes - what truly IS the right play?

To me, making those passes is the right play, both for KAT and the person he passes too. And I agree, this passing has cost us wins. But Towns isn’t responsible for the team that’s put around him, and that team isn’t necessarily the team we will have forever. We need him to be the best player he is, and we need to know what the other players will do when Towns gives them the opportunity.

Yes, it’s frustrating when Towns TS% is so much higher, and DLo, Wiggins or even Ant are getting more FGA’s. And I agree he should shoot a little more. But passing to the open guy is what we want him doing. And it’s definitely the play we want him making is he Edwards is eventually going to be our #1.

[a8bil]

We’ve seen some truly great players like Jordan and LeBron learn to make the right basketball play. I believe Towns wants to be truly great too, and he wants to make the right play. But as Dane Moore has talked about for over a year, KAT putting up a shot against two defenders is often a better shot than a pass to a wide open Okogie or Culver.

So the question becomes - what truly IS the right play?

To me, making those passes is the right play, both for KAT and the person he passes too. And I agree, this passing has cost us wins. But Towns isn’t responsible for the team that’s put around him, and that team isn’t necessarily the team we will have forever. We need him to be the best player he is, and we need to know what the other players will do when Towns gives them the opportunity.

Yes, it’s frustrating when Towns TS% is so much higher, and DLo, Wiggins or even Ant are getting more FGA’s. And I agree he should shoot a little more. But passing to the open guy is what we want him doing. And it’s definitely the play we want him making is he Edwards is eventually going to be our #1.

Good post. Passing up a good shot for a great shot is the GSW mantra. You eventually have to have the players to take those great shots. Wiggins, for example, is really a quality shooter at corner 3s and driving to the hoop. GSW works hard to get Wiggins corner shots or situations where he gets a late close out that he can drive on.
Structuring the offense to get the ball to him in the corner, or where he will have a chance to drive is bound to lead to higher efficiency.

Higher efficiency shooting from other players will eventually get KAT more open shots. To do this, the coach can't just take the attitude of -- let em play. The coach has to create some structure within the flow to get players shots where they will excel, and the players have to buy into it. Min has to raise the efficiency of its players surrounding KAT to build sustained success...but more importantly, they need a consistent defensive effort. You can hide KAT, IMO, but you cant hide KAT and Dlo.

[Foye]

Can somebody check Foye? MIN has just ruined his weekend

That comment went pretty well, huh?

[Merc_Porto]

Can somebody check Foye? MIN has just ruined his weekend

That comment went pretty well, huh?

I'm actually impressed by the audacity of that comment from minimus.

[minimus]

Can somebody check Foye? MIN has just ruined his weekend

That comment went pretty well, huh?

I was high on Saturday, you on Sunday. Seems fair

[Foye]

Can somebody check Foye? MIN has just ruined his weekend

That comment went pretty well, huh?

I was high on Saturday, you on Sunday. Seems fair

I would not be alive anymore if I got high for every Timberwolves loss in the recent past...