Wolves v Bulls

[Wolvesfan21]

We'll need better defense if we ever want to win a playoff series, but it was still pretty fun to watch. Though I prefer to watch good defense myself. I get more frustrated when guys are just getting good looks after good looks against us.

[FNG]

Well, that was fun! But NBA all-star games usually are! Davemang...I agree with you that Stacy King is a blast to listen to, but his comments about the Bulls defense were accurate. But even if the other teams plays Zach Lavine defense, you still have to make your open shots...and that's what we did tonight. What an offensive explosion!

Nothing unusual in the box score...just a typical Wolves night:

- As usual, we were locked in beyond the arc...52.3% with sharpshooters Rivers, Jaden, Naz, Russell and Forbes all over 66%.

- Jaden McDaniels continued his rebounding dominance, leading the Wolves with 9.

- Kyle Anderson continues to hurt this team night in and night out with his poor basketball IQ- no surprise that he was once again a team worst -17 with only 2 points scored. We need more from SloMo.

-Nate Knight continued his excellence on the court with a typical Knight for him...16 points on 75% shooting.

- Steph DeRozen has been killing opponents beyond the arc his entire career. No surprise at all he made 2 of his 4 3-point attempts.

Ho hum, I'm pretty sure all of us could have predicted all of the five bullet points above...nothing unusual at all tonight.

All kidding aside, despite the Bizarro nature of tonight's game, we're back to .500 and now 5-4 without Towns. It's been some fun basketball to watch. We're banged up, but playing hard. Dallas next, and they have 2 players out and 4 questionable tonight (including Luka). Dallas is favored by 3 1/2, but we certainly have a pretty good chance to go over .500 with a win.

[Q-is-here]

Just watched the replay with the bulls crew - Stacy king was a joy to listen to. He was so salty about the Bulls D, losing his mind when knight got all those dunks rolling to the hoop and then had a great nugget when Garza drove from above the free throw line for a layup: "Garza runs the 40 in about two weeks, you can't let him drive all the way to the hoop!" I don't see any way for them to really compete in the East any time soon.

For the wolves, the ball was flying around, especially in the second half. We killed the zone the bulls were trying to play and had a great 3rd quarter, two things the wolves have struggled with for awhile.

I loved Ant competing after his turnover with 2 seconds left in the third to get the steal and buzzer beater. He seems to have accountability for his turnovers, hopefully over time that extends to his decision making and shot selection.

DLO was fantastic. Knight is starting to show that his offensive impact at the NBA level is for real.

Defense as a whole was not great, but not for a lack of trying. Seemed like we were getting back in transition and recovering fairly well scrambling with the high wall, but with only 1 Jaden McDaniels, it's hard to keep that up over a full 48.

Edit: LaVine also quietly got his 10k career point. His athletic ability and shot are a thing of beauty, but he still seems like he hasn't really gotten any more basketball iq (Vuc was visibly pissed at him for getting lost as the low man on so many possessions)

Good stuff Dave.

I love how after that fantastic Ant steal and buzzer beater, he turned to the crowd and started high-fiving and shaking hands with folks. He is going to sell a TON of tickets when we get this version of Ant on most nights - both the productive basketball player AND showman. Don't forget that huge windmill dunk he had too!

[Q-is-here]

Well, that was fun! But NBA all-star games usually are! Davemang...I agree with you that Stacy King is a blast to listen to, but his comments about the Bulls defense were accurate. But even if the other teams plays Zach Lavine defense, you still have to make your open shots...and that's what we did tonight. What an offensive explosion!

Nothing unusual in the box score...just a typical Wolves night:

- As usual, we were locked in beyond the arc...52.3% with sharpshooters Rivers, Jaden, Naz, Russell and Forbes all over 66%.

- Jaden McDaniels continued his rebounding dominance, leading the Wolves with 9.

- Kyle Anderson continues to hurt this team night in and night out with his poor basketball IQ- no surprise that he was once again a team worst -17 with only 2 points scored. We need more from SloMo.

-Nate Knight continued his excellence on the court with a typical Knight for him...16 points on 75% shooting.

- Steph DeRozen has been killing opponents beyond the arc his entire career. No surprise at all he made 2 of his 4 3-point attempts.

Ho hum, I'm pretty sure all of us could have predicted all of the five bullet points above...nothing unusual at all tonight.

All kidding aside, despite the Bizarro nature of tonight's game, we're back to .500 and now 5-4 without Towns. It's been some fun basketball to watch. We're banged up, but playing hard. Dallas next, and they have 2 players out and 4 questionable tonight (including Luka). Dallas is favored by 3 1/2, but we certainly have a pretty good chance to go over .500 with a win.

Heh, yeah, quite an unorthodoxed performance from our boys.

I think tonight was an example of a somewhat mentally checked out group of regulars going up against a team that is energized by having to fill in the gaps due to injuries. Naz Reid, Nate Knight, Luka Garza....these guys don't play a ton of minutes, so all are especially motivated to play hard and make an impact. Then you have Ant who seems to be energized by having more ball handling responsibility.

[Lipoli390]

Well, that was fun! But NBA all-star games usually are! Davemang...I agree with you that Stacy King is a blast to listen to, but his comments about the Bulls defense were accurate. But even if the other teams plays Zach Lavine defense, you still have to make your open shots...and that's what we did tonight. What an offensive explosion!

Nothing unusual in the box score...just a typical Wolves night:

- As usual, we were locked in beyond the arc...52.3% with sharpshooters Rivers, Jaden, Naz, Russell and Forbes all over 66%.

- Jaden McDaniels continued his rebounding dominance, leading the Wolves with 9.

- Kyle Anderson continues to hurt this team night in and night out with his poor basketball IQ- no surprise that he was once again a team worst -17 with only 2 points scored. We need more from SloMo.

-Nate Knight continued his excellence on the court with a typical Knight for him...16 points on 75% shooting.

- Steph DeRozen has been killing opponents beyond the arc his entire career. No surprise at all he made 2 of his 4 3-point attempts.

Ho hum, I'm pretty sure all of us could have predicted all of the five bullet points above...nothing unusual at all tonight.

All kidding aside, despite the Bizarro nature of tonight's game, we're back to .500 and now 5-4 without Towns. It's been some fun basketball to watch. We're banged up, but playing hard. Dallas next, and they have 2 players out and 4 questionable tonight (including Luka). Dallas is favored by 3 1/2, but we certainly have a pretty good chance to go over .500 with a win.

We're 15-15; 5-4 without KAT; and 3-1 without Gobert. If we can't trade them, let's buy them out. :)

[FNG]

Well, that was fun! But NBA all-star games usually are! Davemang...I agree with you that Stacy King is a blast to listen to, but his comments about the Bulls defense were accurate. But even if the other teams plays Zach Lavine defense, you still have to make your open shots...and that's what we did tonight. What an offensive explosion!

Nothing unusual in the box score...just a typical Wolves night:

- As usual, we were locked in beyond the arc...52.3% with sharpshooters Rivers, Jaden, Naz, Russell and Forbes all over 66%.

- Jaden McDaniels continued his rebounding dominance, leading the Wolves with 9.

- Kyle Anderson continues to hurt this team night in and night out with his poor basketball IQ- no surprise that he was once again a team worst -17 with only 2 points scored. We need more from SloMo.

-Nate Knight continued his excellence on the court with a typical Knight for him...16 points on 75% shooting.

- Steph DeRozen has been killing opponents beyond the arc his entire career. No surprise at all he made 2 of his 4 3-point attempts.

Ho hum, I'm pretty sure all of us could have predicted all of the five bullet points above...nothing unusual at all tonight.

All kidding aside, despite the Bizarro nature of tonight's game, we're back to .500 and now 5-4 without Towns. It's been some fun basketball to watch. We're banged up, but playing hard. Dallas next, and they have 2 players out and 4 questionable tonight (including Luka). Dallas is favored by 3 1/2, but we certainly have a pretty good chance to go over .500 with a win.

We're 15-15; 5-4 without KAT; and 3-1 without Gobert. If we can't trade them, let's buy them out. :)

Ha, and we played our best defense of the year in the two games DLo was out, going 1-1 with the only loss at the Clippers who don't lose very often with both Leonard and George playing. Who needs max players? Cut 'em all!

[KiwiMatt]

A fun game to watch no doubt. But that Bulls team is terrible on the defensive side of the ball. For all the good things he does offensively Zach Lavine's defense, or lack of, makes him a net minus player. I see them blowing it up at the trade deadline.

Now back to the Wolves. DLO and Edwards are a legit starting backcourt when they are playing with freedom, but under control. I believe the key to this team taking the next step is Edwards development as a ball handler and play maker.

The pick n roll is starting to work well with DLO and our bigs. Hopefully KAT and Gobert can figure it out when they're back. And how good was it to see us hitting the three ball!

[Q-is-here]

A fun game to watch no doubt. But that Bulls team is terrible on the defensive side of the ball. For all the good things he does offensively Zach Lavine's defense, or lack of, makes him a net minus player. I see them blowing it up at the trade deadline.

Now back to the Wolves. DLO and Edwards are a legit starting backcourt when they are playing with freedom, but under control. I believe the key to this team taking the next step is Edwards development as a ball handler and play maker.

The pick n roll is starting to work well with DLO and our bigs. Hopefully KAT and Gobert can figure it out when they're back. And how good was it to see us hitting the three ball!

Rivers hitting that corner 3 consistently makes him 10X more useful to this team. It's such a big deal when a solid defender can make that shot. And I realize Rivers isn't a "stopper", but he's the best we have when it comes to our guards. I have a feeling we'll still need him even as the rest of the roster gets healthy.

[Lipoli390]

A fun game to watch no doubt. But that Bulls team is terrible on the defensive side of the ball. For all the good things he does offensively Zach Lavine's defense, or lack of, makes him a net minus player. I see them blowing it up at the trade deadline.

Now back to the Wolves. DLO and Edwards are a legit starting backcourt when they are playing with freedom, but under control. I believe the key to this team taking the next step is Edwards development as a ball handler and play maker.

The pick n roll is starting to work well with DLO and our bigs. Hopefully KAT and Gobert can figure it out when they're back. And how good was it to see us hitting the three ball!

Rivers hitting that corner 3 consistently makes him 10X more useful to this team. It's such a big deal when a solid defender can make that shot. And I realize Rivers isn't a "stopper", but he's the best we have when it comes to our guards. I have a feeling we'll still need him even as the rest of the roster gets healthy.

I agree, Q. Let's hope he keeps hitting that shot. If so, then I totally agree we'll need him even as the rest of the roster gets healthy. He gives us some of what we got from Beverley last season, although he won't play as much as Pat did. I had my doubts about him and was even calling for Moore to replace him in the rotation. I certainly got that wrong. :)

[Lipoli390]

A fun game to watch no doubt. But that Bulls team is terrible on the defensive side of the ball. For all the good things he does offensively Zach Lavine's defense, or lack of, makes him a net minus player. I see them blowing it up at the trade deadline.

Now back to the Wolves. DLO and Edwards are a legit starting backcourt when they are playing with freedom, but under control. I believe the key to this team taking the next step is Edwards development as a ball handler and play maker.

The pick n roll is starting to work well with DLO and our bigs. Hopefully KAT and Gobert can figure it out when they're back. And how good was it to see us hitting the three ball!

Yes, a fun game. And I agree the Bulls are pretty bad. But two encouraging things. First, they didn't just beat the Bulls the pretty much crushed them by 20+ points. Second, last night's win cam on the heels of betting a decent OKC team pretty much at full strength on the road. Moreover, what's particularly encouraging is the way the Wolves have played this past two games. It's the ball movement (and movement without the ball) on the offensive end. It's the flying around on defense similar to what we saw last season. And it's the overall energy and joy that's obviously in their play. Getting Gobert and KAT back will certainly upgrade the team's talent on the floor. The question is whether adding them back will negate some or all of the positives we've seen these past two games. That question will eventually be answered one way or the other.