Griz at Wolves GDT

[kekgeek]

This team is going to have to be gritty to win games. Tonight this team played with grit they have not played with all year.

Favorite play of the night was Ants alley oop to Gobert. Ant made a winning play with that pass, just for basketball.

I also want you say I really like slow Mo. Dude is a gamer

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

This team is going to have to be gritty to win games. Tonight this team played with grit they have not played with all year.

Favorite play of the night was Ants alley oop to Gobert. Ant made a winning play with that pass, just for basketball.

I also want you say I really like slow Mo. Dude is a gamer

Yep, loved that play too. Spread pick-and-roll set. Jaylen Nowell and Kyle Anderson spotted up in both corners. D'Angelo Russell at the left wing. Ball screen comes from Rudy Gobert with Anthony Edwards handling. The Gobert screen took Dillon Brooks out of the play forcing Steven Adams to step up to contain Edwards off the dribble. Tyus Jones doesn't help one pass away on Gobert diving to the rim. Wide open lob for an easy flush in a big moment. Perfect execution to extend the lead to seven with 2:30 left to play.

And if Jones did help on that play there's an easy swing pass to Russell and another swing to Nowell for a relatively open three. Offense doesn't have to be difficult or complicated, especially when you have high-level talent to work with. It doesn't have to look as clunky as it has for most of this season. But the coaching has to facilitate the players. The coaching has to utilize the talent instead of trying to squeeze them into their "system" -- whatever that system may be.

There's absolutely no reason this team shouldn't be pick-and-roll centric given the personnel. That's been one of my biggest gripes with Chris Finch since he was hired and I'm sure I'm annoying all of you with my repeated complaints. For whatever reason, he's largely been opposed to pick-and-roll sets despite the organization rostering elite options in that action. Credit to him for flipping the switch tonight and hopefully we see a LOT more of it.

[Leado01]

So....I got to see the first half before curling league, and had a feeling at the half that if we continued to play the way we were playing that we could win.

Literally everyone stepped up. I like this win more than the Indiana win because we were the aggressor for almost the entire game.

[Leado01]

Oh yes. And I was wrong about Moore the other day.

[thedoper]

Best defensive game in a long time. Loved it.

[thedoper]

Also Dylan Brooks sucks.

[SagaciousMagnanimous]

We in Minnesota now!

[Monster]

So....I got to see the first half before curling league, and had a feeling at the half that if we continued to play the way we were playing that we could win.

Literally everyone stepped up. I like this win more than the Indiana win because we were the aggressor for almost the entire game.

You are in a curling league?! Awesome.

[FNG]

I'm not sure I've ever told you guys how smart I am about NBA basketball. I've always been pretty sure that I am always correct about everything related to the game, but this game proves it. I think I'm the only guy who knows all of these things:

1) We don't need KAT...we obviously play much better without him, and should consider cutting him right now.

2) Rebounding is an overrated skill. Much better to save your energy and let the other team get 59 rebounds while you collect only 26 (can that box score be correct?????). Rope-a-dope worked for Ali...why not us?

3) Accurate shooting is also an overrated skill. DLo made only 37.5% of his 16 shots, but still was a team-leading +18.

4) Accurate 3-point shooting is also overrated. The Wolves made only 12 of their 39 3-pointers (30.8%), and we still won.

5) Naz Reid's 5 blocks proves what I have been telling you since day one...he is far and away the best rim protector in the NBA.

6) And the jury is in on Jaylen Nowell too. Just as I have been telling you, his 9-19 night proves he has the best eyesight and is the most accurate shooter in the Association.

7) As more evidence of the unimportance of rebounding, the second leading rebounder in the NBA gets only 1 more rebound than Jester in his 26 minutes, but still ends up a +13...second best on the team.

I knew all these things before the game, but it's nice to have a game that proves everything I already knew. The NBA is pretty easy to understand when you have my wisdom.

[Q-is-here]

I'm not sure I've ever told you guys how smart I am about NBA basketball. I've always been pretty sure that I am always correct about everything related to the game, but this game proves it. I think I'm the only guy who knows all of these things:

1) We don't need KAT...we obviously play much better without him, and should consider cutting him right now.

2) Rebounding is an overrated skill. Much better to save your energy and let the other team get 59 rebounds while you collect only 26 (can that box score be correct?????). Rope-a-dope worked for Ali...why not us?

3) Accurate shooting is also an overrated skill. DLo made only 37.5% of his 16 shots, but still was a team-leading +18.

4) Accurate 3-point shooting is also overrated. The Wolves made only 12 of their 39 3-pointers (30.8%), and we still won.

5) Naz Reid's 5 blocks proves what I have been telling you since day one...he is far and away the best rim protector in the NBA.

6) And the jury is in on Jaylen Nowell too. Just as I have been telling you, his 9-19 night proves he has the best eyesight and is the most accurate shooter in the Association.

7) As more evidence of the unimportance of rebounding, the second leading rebounder in the NBA gets only 1 more rebound than Jester in his 26 minutes, but still ends up a +13...second best on the team.

I knew all these things before the game, but it's nice to have a game that proves everything I already knew. The NBA is pretty easy to understand when you have my wisdom.

Good stuff FNG.

Yeah, weird game. I think for anyone watching it, what was so refreshing was that it was a rare game we won this year through heart and effort versus having to rely solely on hoping and praying our shots are going in. The turnover differential was massive, as we had guys flying all over the place getting steals, blocking shots, and forcing travels.

The problem is that heart and effort will win you only so many games and we know that it waxes and wanes with guys like DLO and Ant. We do actually need to start making more shots if we have any designs on being better than a .500-ish team. I'm hopeful that Nowell has regained his form from last season and will continue to be a hot hand off the bench. That will help.