Naz out for the year

[FNG]

By the way, Lip, Finchie publicly agrees with you about Naz's defense...he described Naz's defense Monday as "really, really good". While I appreciate the way he supports his players to the media, I couldn't disagree more with him about his conclusion. You just can't ignore kekgeek's in-game observations about how easy it is to score on us whenever Rudy goes out. I recognize that Rudy is an elite interior defender so we should expect some drop off, but not to the extent that we see. Opponents completely change their offensive philosophy as soon as Rudy sits down as they attack the rim, and more often than not they seem to score at will. How many times have we read kek posting things like "they have scored on 12 out of 14 possessions now". I tried to ignore it, but after awhile I realized kek was right...our defense is not good when Rudy sits down. And the data supports Kek's eye test and refutes Finchie's comment...offense score 4.6 more points per 100 possessions when Naz is out there, and score 6.8 points fewer than Rudy is out there. That just can't be ignored.

I recognize I'm rationalizing here by using available data to limit the hurt I feel about one of my favorite guys on the team going down, but the data tells me we are going to be able to weather this injury.

[FNG]

The most important thing here is how Finchie responds to the loss of Naz to keep us competitive in the playoffs. I'm a little more hopeful here than most.

But an interesting side story is how this may affect what we do with Naz in the offseason. The ESPN announcers were gushing about Naz during the broadcast, and his offensive excellence at such a critical stage of the season has really raised his profile. I think he is going to be paid $20 million+. Whether the Wolves decide to go deep into the lux tax to keep him will depend a lot on how we play in his absence. If we fall apart, I think TC is going to have to convince ownership to keep him. But if we continue to play at the high level we have the past couple weeks despite his absence, I think TC will be inclined to go with a cheaper backup big option. Let's just say the next month could be critical for Luke Garza's future in the NBA. We don't have to worry about Naz...he's going to be paid.

[Wolvesfan21]

Wolves in a ducking weird spot now. Garza pretty much out of NBA games. So they can cut someone and give Garza a contract but if it's one year deal that lose his RFA rights. If they give him a multi year deal that might stop them from resigning Naz next year

I offer Garza a 3 year 12 (something in that cheap 3 year ballpark) and just let Naz go. Garza has shown me enough on offense that I think he could become as good as Naz is right now. Both are terrible defenders but Garza has a little more upside being younger and more raw.

With all the money going to Kat and Rudy a cheaper third/fourth big is more appetizing.

[Carlos Danger]

Wolves in a ducking weird spot now. Garza pretty much out of NBA games. So they can cut someone and give Garza a contract but if it's one year deal that lose his RFA rights. If they give him a multi year deal that might stop them from resigning Naz next year

I offer Garza a 3 year 12 (something in that cheap 3 year ballpark) and just let Naz go. Garza has shown me enough on offense that I think he could become as good as Naz is right now. Both are terrible defenders but Garza has a little more upside being younger and more raw.

With all the money going to Kat and Rudy a cheaper third/fourth big is more appetizing.

I had to double check, but Naz is actually younger than Garza by like 9 months. That said, I sort of agree with your take because I'm not sure they would want to pay Naz what he's worth to bring him back as a third center next year.

[Crazysauce]

Are we able to cut Matt Ryan to make room or is he not? Also Naz is actually younger than Luka. Garza is 24 while Naz is 23. This absolutely sucks. Naz was unstoppable. Hope he can still make it back. It was his left wrist which is his non shooting hand.

[AbeVigodaLive]

This might actually make the Timberwolves more versatile in a way.

They can still play very big at times. But they won't feel obligated to play two bigs as much as they have.

T. Prince and Anderson can slide in and take some of those Reid minutes and give the Wolves a smaller look, too.




[Note: IF... IF... the Wolves make the playoffs, we all know that it's all about matchups at that point. And the versatility might be welcomed. Too bad for Reid though. He was playing well in a contract year. He should have shown enough to get his money though.]

[kekgeek]

Are we able to cut Matt Ryan to make room or is he not? Also Naz is actually younger than Luka. Garza is 24 while Naz is 23. This absolutely sucks. Naz was unstoppable. Hope he can still make it back. It was his left wrist which is his non shooting hand.

We cannot. Matt Ryan similar to Garza are on a 2 way contract. 2 way contract players are not postseason eligible.

[Lipoli390]

By the way, Lip, Finchie publicly agrees with you about Naz's defense...he described Naz's defense Monday as "really, really good". While I appreciate the way he supports his players to the media, I couldn't disagree more with him about his conclusion. You just can't ignore kekgeek's in-game observations about how easy it is to score on us whenever Rudy goes out. I recognize that Rudy is an elite interior defender so we should expect some drop off, but not to the extent that we see. Opponents completely change their offensive philosophy as soon as Rudy sits down as they attack the rim, and more often than not they seem to score at will. How many times have we read kek posting things like "they have scored on 12 out of 14 possessions now". I tried to ignore it, but after awhile I realized kek was right...our defense is not good when Rudy sits down. And the data supports Kek's eye test and refutes Finchie's comment...offense score 4.6 more points per 100 possessions when Naz is out there, and score 6.8 points fewer than Rudy is out there. That just can't be ignored.

I recognize I'm rationalizing here by using available data to limit the hurt I feel about one of my favorite guys on the team going down, but the data tells me we are going to be able to weather this injury.

Our defense is worse when Rudy sits. Yes, that's correct and not surprising given Rudy's defensive prowess. But that doesn't mean Naz is a bad defender.

Finchie supports his players, but he doesn't make stuff up. He certainly didn't need to praise Reid's defense. He offered that praise gratuitously and it must reflect his own observations, which deserve substantial deference given how much he sees (dissecting game film, etc.) and his expertise. I enjoy Kek's posts, but those are the in-game selective observations of particular moments that we all provide in game threads. I'll take Finchie's characterizations over Kek's in-game snipits and that's not a knock on Kek.

Yes, Naz has been a poor defender since he began his relatively short NBA career, but he has been significantly better recently. Naz has definitely been playing pretty well defensively during this recent winning streak - not as well as Rudy - but still solid. He's especially good when paired with Rudy, which allows Naz to guard more on the perimeter as a PF where I think he's much better defensively.

Meanwhile, Naz has been bringing a tremendous offensive game to the floor. The combination of his offense and improved defense has been a winning formula for the Wolves. I don't think it's disputable that the Wolves wouldn't have have won four of the last five games without Naz. And in the end, it's not about defense or offense in isolation. It's about wins and losses - which result from the combination of a lot of things, including both defense and offense. Naz is a really good player who will only get better. The Wolves will miss him a lot down the stretch this season and will miss him a ton if he leaves after this season. He will be hard to replace. Right now, Garza is the closest thing we have to fill the gap. I'm a big Garza fan, but I expect that we'll see a bunch of similar snipits from kek on Garza's lack of defensive prowess when he's on the floor. :)

[60WinTim]

I have limited internet access this weekend. Just saw this and it is a bummer. Getting Prince back will help. And it makes sense to convert Garza so they have an emergency big if needed. It's unclear who gets cut to make room.

Does a disabled player designation get them another roster spot?

[kekgeek]

I have limited internet access this weekend. Just saw this and it is a bummer. Getting Prince back will help. And it makes sense to convert Garza so they have an emergency big if needed. It's unclear who gets cut to make room.

Does a disabled player designation get them another roster spot?

It does not you need multiple long term injuries to get one of those