Training Camp/Preseason 2016

[vagelis]

If Dunn shoots like Rubio, he'll be much worse than Rubio. Rubio is great at pretty much everything else.

If he shoots like Rubio it will be a disaster it is true.
But I do not agree that Rubio is better in a lot of aspects of the game.
Dunn can drive better, he is stronger, faster and better defender than Rubio.
Rubio is more experienced.

Anyway, let's hope that he does not shoot like Rubio.

Better defender than Rubio?. After these 3 games?. Some people will never change...

Rubio is a good defender. He has the will to defend.
Dunn has the will and he is a better athlete.
It is not about the three games it is about the features of the players. The better athlete has the tools to play better defense. At least individual defense.

[NewWolvesOrder]

I wonder if Dunn's shoulder surgeries could contribute to his inconsistent shooting motions that lead to his bad shooting results.

[Worm Guts]

If he shoots like Rubio it will be a disaster it is true.
But I do not agree that Rubio is better in a lot of aspects of the game.
Dunn can drive better, he is stronger, faster and better defender than Rubio.
Rubio is more experienced.

Anyway, let's hope that he does not shoot like Rubio.

Better defender than Rubio?. After these 3 games?. Some people will never change...

Rubio is a good defender. He has the will to defend.
Dunn has the will and he is a better athlete.
It is not about the three games it is about the features of the players. The better athlete has the tools to play better defense. At least individual defense.

It's not just about will and physical ability, it's also about intelligence.

[MinotauroBigNog]

If he shoots like Rubio it will be a disaster it is true.
But I do not agree that Rubio is better in a lot of aspects of the game.
Dunn can drive better, he is stronger, faster and better defender than Rubio.
Rubio is more experienced.

Anyway, let's hope that he does not shoot like Rubio.

Better defender than Rubio?. After these 3 games?. Some people will never change...

Rubio is a good defender. He has the will to defend.
Dunn has the will and he is a better athlete.
It is not about the three games it is about the features of the players. The better athlete has the tools to play better defense. At least individual defense.

Having the physical tools to be a better defender doesn't automatically make you a better defender, so I guess you think lavine is one of the best defenders in the league

[vagelis]

If Dunn shoots like Rubio, he'll be much worse than Rubio. Rubio is great at pretty much everything else.

If he shoots like Rubio it will be a disaster it is true.
But I do not agree that Rubio is better in a lot of aspects of the game.
Dunn can drive better, he is stronger, faster and better defender than Rubio.
Rubio is more experienced.

Anyway, let's hope that he does not shoot like Rubio.

He's not a better defender than Rubio. Some of those other attributes don't mean much if they are not leading to scoring.

These attributes can lead to score with drives.
There is not only shooting that leads to scoring.
But if he will cannot score neither with drives, then I agree with you.

Let's see. It is to early to judge Kris Dunn.
I agree he struggled in the first games.
But I think he has the tools to play a lot of better.
I admit I am worried about his shooting ability but in the other aspects of the game he was fine.
Let's give him some time. Until then some Timberwolves fans can continue to be happy about the underperforming of Kris Dunn

[Takingbaconback]

lol Dunn hasn't even shot 30 times. Maybe you should actually be concerned with somebody who has been in the league for 5 years.

Is there a limit to the number of players a fan can be concerned with? Just because someone is concerned with Dunn's shooting doesn't mean they're not concerned with someone else's shooting.

I wouldn't say that but these people aren't concerned with rubios shooting. You've seen what they say, it doesn't really matter because he's so good at everything else. Like shooting and scoring is a bonus for Rubio

Well there is no way in hell Dunn is going to be less effective scorer than Rubio so I expect even more desperate attempts to down Dunn as he gets more comfortable in the league

[Klomp]

I wouldn't say that but these people aren't concerned with rubios shooting. You've seen what they say, it doesn't really matter because he's so good at everything else. Like shooting and scoring is a bonus for Rubio

Or it could be that they're concerned about the shooting, but at the same time it doesn't take away from everything else he brings to the table.

[vagelis]

Better defender than Rubio?. After these 3 games?. Some people will never change...

Rubio is a good defender. He has the will to defend.
Dunn has the will and he is a better athlete.
It is not about the three games it is about the features of the players. The better athlete has the tools to play better defense. At least individual defense.

Having the physical tools to be a better defender doesn't automatically make you a better defender, so I guess you think lavine is one of the best defenders in the league

Lavine is not strong enough.
And keep in mind that in order to attack you need to have quick steps forwards and direction change ability.
In order to defend you need to have quick steps backwards and to the side.
Some players have both, some have only the tools to play offense or defense.
Dunn has the tools to play offense and defense
Quick steps forwards, backwards and to the side. He is also strong enough.
Lavine is quicker than Dunn but he is not strong and he has not strong foots to move quick backwards.

[NewWolvesOrder]

I don't know, Zach's ability to shuffle his feet seems top notch to me.

[Takingbaconback]

I wouldn't say that but these people aren't concerned with rubios shooting. You've seen what they say, it doesn't really matter because he's so good at everything else. Like shooting and scoring is a bonus for Rubio

Or it could be that they're concerned about the shooting, but at the same time it doesn't take away from everything else he brings to the table.

That would have been great back in the day, but in today's NBA, you start with the shooting and scoring. That's by far the most important skill. Especially when you are talking about a player who has the ball in his hands more than any other player on this team by a mile.

[Takingbaconback]

Also starting to wonder if I need to give up on Wiggins improving his rebounding like I have Rubio improving his shooting. 8 rebounds through 3 games. Last night he was tied for most minutes played on either side, but 13 players had more rebounds than him.

Read on Twitter

You called it

[Crazy-Canuck]

I dont think his rebounding will improve until he gets bigger.

He takes a physical beating on both ends of the floor.

Hed also get 1 or 2 more rebs per game if he ever took any of the freebees away from his teammates.

But yeah, he definitely needs to get better at fighting for those contested boards.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Also starting to wonder if I need to give up on Wiggins improving his rebounding like I have Rubio improving his shooting. 8 rebounds through 3 games. Last night he was tied for most minutes played on either side, but 13 players had more rebounds than him.

Probably....I mean, he's already the old age of 21. He should've been averaging a double-double in the league five years ago. Now, it's probably too late. It's all downhill from here...

There's plenty of room between double double and any trending in an upward trajectory whatsoever. He actually got worse in both offense and defensive rebounding from his rookie to sophomore season.

Also starting to wonder if I need to give up on Wiggins improving his rebounding like I have Rubio improving his shooting. 8 rebounds through 3 games. Last night he was tied for most minutes played on either side, but 13 players had more rebounds than him.

Read on Twitter

You called it

At least he knows. First step towards change is awareness.

[NewWolvesOrder]

At least he knows. First step towards change is awareness.

You think Smitch didn't bring to his attention the fact that his rebounding numbers could be better?

[Devilzsidewalk]

At least he knows. First step towards change is awareness.

You think Smitch didn't bring to his attention the fact that his rebounding numbers could be better?

probably mentioned it in passing

[Klomp]

That would have been great back in the day, but in today's NBA, you start with the shooting and scoring. That's by far the most important skill. Especially when you are talking about a player who has the ball in his hands more than any other player on this team by a mile.

A 67-win team finished 25th in 3-pointers made last year while the team with the 9th-most 3-pointers made finished with 10 wins.

[Takingbaconback]

That would have been great back in the day, but in today's NBA, you start with the shooting and scoring. That's by far the most important skill. Especially when you are talking about a player who has the ball in his hands more than any other player on this team by a mile.

A 67-win team finished 25th in 3-pointers made last year while the team with the 9th-most 3-pointers made finished with 10 wins.

It's not about 3 pointers. It has to do with shooting and scoring.

It's just common sense that if your primary ball handler can't score, it makes it much easier for the defense vs somebody who is a threat that needs to be guarded with all out effort at all times. That's something you can't see in the box score but it's very very obvious when you watch or play basketball games.

[Tirion]

Nemanja blamed himself because he's always been very self-critical in his interviews, it's the way he behaved in Europe too. I'm sure he just took the stoic approach of not critiquing what he couldn't change - the coach, the system and the teammates, and instead critiquing what he could change - himself.

Nemanja blamed himself because he felt he was at fault. There is no need to grasp at other meanings or explanations. He identified what he did wrong, he took full responsibility and changed his training/diet. Kudos to him.

And he didn't skip the Olympics because of the desire to improve his conditioning, he skipped the Olympics because he was injured, don't know why you're making stuff up.

The word around that time was that it was a minor sprain and if he really wanted to give it a go, he could've. You can check this thread: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1160572&start=1160

And I don't see how the conditioning and body impacted almost any of the good things he's been doing in the preseason games, he has always been capable of playing 25 minutes in full pace, and basically everything he did well in the preseason games looked like it had nothing to do with conditioning and muscles, and everything to do with better utilization of his skills and the better lineups he was in. And yes, his improved body might be a small part of the reason why he's gonna do better this season, but not more than that.

Conditioning and physical fitness are a huge part of making it in the NBA. A lot of European players had the skills to compete in this league, but could handle the physicality and grind of 82 season games. Bjelica said the same thing on Media Day, talking about how in Europe they play maybe once or twice a week and here they play every other day and and how it's a huge difference, he wasn't ready for last season.

[NewWolvesOrder]

That would have been great back in the day, but in today's NBA, you start with the shooting and scoring. That's by far the most important skill. Especially when you are talking about a player who has the ball in his hands more than any other player on this team by a mile.

A 67-win team finished 25th in 3-pointers made last year while the team with the 9th-most 3-pointers made finished with 10 wins.

Spurs record has a lot to do with their #1 rated defense. Same thing with Warriors that were #5 and #1 in the last 2 seasons.
But hey, it's all about offense! The guy plays pickup ball everyday, he knows everything.

[jumpmanjay]

How did you apply for that team pass?

The middle section on this page: http://www.nba.com/leaguepass

Allows you to pick a team for $120.

Nothing about a team pass is showing up for me. Can you still get a team league pass subscription for the whole season?

Strange, maybe they aren't allowing international subscriptions yet?

What I purchased was a team league pass for the whole season.