Pacers@Wolves GDT

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Also, as of this second, the Wolves are in the 6 spot in the West. It'll be tough to be there at the end of the season with the Lakers, Blazers, Grizzlies, and Nuggets currently below us, but I think I'll be disappointed if we don't get into the real playoffs this year, one way or another. We have the talent to be a top 6 team, we just need to hit some shots! Also, please, please, please get a big body to throw on the court already.

Finchy has got to find a way to get guys set up for more corner 3's. It's just ridiculous how often we're launching 3's from the wings above the break.

The schedule only gets harder from here on out. Being a game over .500 gives us a bit of margin to absorb a stretch of losing which is inevitiably going to happen again. I think if we can stay healthy though, we have a shot to hang around that 7-10 range in the West.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

7-1 in their last eight and 8-3 in their last 11 after losing five in a row. What a response.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Dane Moore:

DLo yelling "Charlotte vibes" from the bench -- as the Wolves start slow.

"Charlotte vibes. What we gonna do about it?"
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Not sure if you can see this on TV but DLo is calling out all of Indiana's plays before they happen
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Feels very clear that the Wolves should be running their late-game offense through D'Angelo Russell (cool development).

He can get his own and is clearly the best attack-and-kick option.

It's nice to see Moore come around on Russell a bit. Also, I love that Charlotte quote. That's leadership. Team came out sloppy and needed a kick in the ass.

[Lipoli390]

I think its time to start thinking of Ant as our best defender. His work in the 3rd was huge in shifting the momentum. He has occasional lapses but he is dominant.

He and Okogie get the game ball tonight. Both these guys came up with huge plays defensively. Okogie made a couple of just incredible blocks.

Until Edwards figures out how to score more efficiently, he's not a #1 type guy - just too many missed shots. But damn, he is really blossoming as an all-around talent and that is super encouraging.

I'd probably give the game ball to the guy with 21/11/8, but I agree that Josh Okogie made some key plays -- namely his block on Justin Holiday's drive with 30-seconds left to play. That was nuts.

He also made some dumb ones, however, due to his sheer aggressiveness. That blocking foul 25 feet away from the basket with two minutes left in the game to put Caris LeVert on the line was boneheaded. But that's what you get with JO. He makes plays both good and bad.

The two blocks by Okogie were great and critical defensive plays. But how about his steal from Duarte was another stellar and critical defensive play by Okogie. The steal itself was huge, but it also led to Duarte getting tossed from the game. If you're an offensive player you'd hate to face Okogie. He made a number of other terrific defensive plays throughout the game and the sum of those plays far exceeded the sum of his bad ones. Having said that, I'd still give DLO the game ball. But Okogie deserves consideration.

Towns made some bone-headed plays and fouled out, but he scored 32 highly efficient points and made some nice defensive plays of his own. Ant's 21 points weren't particularly efficient, but he hit critical buckets, grabbed 9 rebounds, had some really nice passes and played stellar defensive while only turning the ball over once. I also like Prince's defense.

This was a huge win without Vanderbilt, McDaniels and Beverley. Even more impressive to win the game in the 4th with KAT out of the game on fouls. It's looking like a defensive culture has taken root with this team. We're also seeing mental toughness we haven't seen with this team in a long time. Edwards and DLO are both mentally tough players as is Patrick Beverley.

[Lipoli390]

Also, as of this second, the Wolves are in the 6 spot in the West. It'll be tough to be there at the end of the season with the Lakers, Blazers, Grizzlies, and Nuggets currently below us, but I think I'll be disappointed if we don't get into the real playoffs this year, one way or another. We have the talent to be a top 6 team, we just need to hit some shots! Also, please, please, please get a big body to throw on the court already.

Finchy has got to find a way to get guys set up for more corner 3's. It's just ridiculous how often we're launching 3's from the wings above the break.

The schedule only gets harder from here on out. Being a game over .500 gives us a bit of margin to absorb a stretch of losing which is inevitiably going to happen again. I think if we can stay healthy though, we have a shot to hang around that 7-10 range in the West.

The schedule does get tougher, but the Wolves offensive is still underperforming and is bound to improve substantially. Both Beasley and Prince are shooting well below their career averages from the field and from behind the arc. At some point they'll start shooting above their career averages as they progress to their respective averages. Meanwhile, I would expect Towns, Ant and DLO continue performing at least as well as they have recently on the offensive end. If the defense continues to shine, then the Wolves can continue to progress north of the .500 level.

[Porckchop]

It's a testament to the maturity of this team that they got over the losing streak so quickly. Following it up with a Number of solid wins.

[jake_elwood [enjin:6673175]]

Both Beasley and Prince are shooting well below their career averages from the field and from behind the arc. At some point they'll start shooting above their career averages as they progress to their respective averages.

You have more faith than I do. I think they'll shoot decently by the end of the season. However, the Minnesota performance hit is one of the most powerful curses in sports. We've been exorcizing demons this season, but this is bigger than just the Timberwolves.

[kekgeek]

My book on my phone has the wolves -4 people pissed in Vegas lol

I literally just got home from Vegas. Like was wolves -2.5 this morning. The news for Turner must have moved the line

[kekgeek]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are 24-20 (0-1 in 2019-20, 13-11 in 2020-21, 11-8 in 2021-22) in the 44 games that Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell have played together.

Also one of those 20 losses the Wolves were up at halftime big against Orlando and dlo got hurt

[kekgeek]

13 of the Wolves 14 games in Dec against current playoff teams with the 1 team not in the playoffs the Celtics. Going to be a fun challenging month