Wolves vs mavs part 2

[FNG]

This is a bad loss. You can't lose when your 2 max players are playing and your opponents top 3 players are out.

No reason to panic, but this is a bad loss

I don't even think this was a bad loss. Meaningless game. It reminded me of the NFL replacement players games years ago. Yes, Dallas was missing three of their best four players (they still had Brunson), but the Wolves were missing their two grittiest players. When you shoot as poorly as we do, Vando's offensive rebounding is invaluable. As I said in the last game thread, offensive rebounds not only give a team a second chance, but often lead to a wide open look because the defense isn't matched up.

In a forgettable game, I still want to point out how much better KAT is this year putting the ball on the floor. He's already the best shooting big in the association, so adding getting to the basket with ease to his repertoire makes him ridiculously effective offensively. That said, when he tries too much to make the spectacular pass, turnovers happen...his 5 TO's didn't help tonight.

And another improvement I have noticed is DLo's pocket passing...I think he has become one of the best in the league at this. But I wonder what his shooting percentage is this season when he takes a shot early in the clock with the Wolves not having made even one pass. Maybe 20%?

KAT needs to shoot more and pass less.

DLo needs to pass more and shoot less.

[thedoper]

Glad I missed this one. This team still feels like a house of cards. Would love us to pick up another vet to steady the ship. Beverly has been great but we need one more professional on this team who can lead on the floor at times, ie not Prince.

[FNG]

You picked a good one to miss, Doper. Highlights?

-KAT's improvement on driving to the basket...with his elite outside shooting, he's approaching unstoppable status.

-nice all around game from Jaden at both ends of the court. he needs to hit the open corner three though.

But then there is this in-game tweet from Robson which suggests something I have noticed about DLo:

DLo's defensive value diminishes in a major way without PatBev and/or Vando out there. He needs others to be on-ball champs so that he can caulk the seams and communicate what he sees to others.

Those of us who have noticed the 180 degree turnaround in Russell's defense this year have offered conjecture on the reasons for it. Light bulb finally came on? More effort in a contract year? Actually I think Robson has nailed it. Nobody has benefited more from the addition of PatBev than DLo. Having an elite on-ball defender like that next to him makes it easier for him to use his length and defensive awareness (something we haven't seen from him before this season) to make nice off-ball plays. And he is doing it. Our defense when DLo is next to PatBev has been terrific. But last night DLo on defense looked like...well, DLo.

Hurry back Pat...and Vando.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yup, this is the second game over the past few weeks where DLO literally shot us out of the game. 1-11 from three is just so bad. He just can't afford to have these kind of nights. 2-9 or 1-5 happens some nights. But 1-11!? That is a killer. And his defense was pretty crappy too. He really walks a tightrope between being super effective and.....really ineffective.

[FNG]

Yup, this is the second game over the past few weeks where DLO literally shot us out of the game. 1-11 from three is just so bad. He just can't afford to have these kind of nights. 2-9 or 1-5 happens some nights. But 1-11!? That is a killer. And his defense was pretty crappy too. He really walks a tightrope between being super effective and.....really ineffective.

Q, I don't know if you had the local feed last night, but Jim P. talked about how much better Russell shoots in wins than losses. To date he shoots a respectable 42.4% in wins (38.6% on threes) but a dreadful 33.2% (25% on threes) in losses. We tend to lose games when DLo either shoots poorly or is out hurt.

Still, DLo remains our best on/off player this season, and I think the reason for his turnaround is his off-ball defense when he is next to PatBev. We need Beverly back and healthy if we want to be in the playoff race.

[Jester1534]

Yup, this is the second game over the past few weeks where DLO literally shot us out of the game. 1-11 from three is just so bad. He just can't afford to have these kind of nights. 2-9 or 1-5 happens some nights. But 1-11!? That is a killer. And his defense was pretty crappy too. He really walks a tightrope between being super effective and.....really ineffective.

Q, I don't know if you had the local feed last night, but Jim P. talked about how much better Russell shoots in wins than losses. To date he shoots a respectable 42.4% in wins (38.6% on threes) but a dreadful 33.2% (25% on threes) in losses. We tend to lose games when DLo either shoots poorly or is out hurt.

Still, DLo remains our best on/off player this season, and I think the reason for his turnaround is his off-ball defense when he is next to PatBev. We need Beverly back and healthy if we want to be in the playoff race.

FNG I love your post but this just a long winded way of saying hey if he puts in the basket more we win when he doesn't we lose lol. No Shit!

[FNG]

Yup, this is the second game over the past few weeks where DLO literally shot us out of the game. 1-11 from three is just so bad. He just can't afford to have these kind of nights. 2-9 or 1-5 happens some nights. But 1-11!? That is a killer. And his defense was pretty crappy too. He really walks a tightrope between being super effective and.....really ineffective.

Q, I don't know if you had the local feed last night, but Jim P. talked about how much better Russell shoots in wins than losses. To date he shoots a respectable 42.4% in wins (38.6% on threes) but a dreadful 33.2% (25% on threes) in losses. We tend to lose games when DLo either shoots poorly or is out hurt.

Still, DLo remains our best on/off player this season, and I think the reason for his turnaround is his off-ball defense when he is next to PatBev. We need Beverly back and healthy if we want to be in the playoff race.

FNG I love your post but this just a long winded way of saying hey if he puts in the basket more we win when he doesn't we lose lol. No Shit!

Jester, gotta admit I chuckled when I read your post...does kind of make sense that when you make shots you win, and when you don't you don't!

But then I looked a little deeper into the numbers (especially after Michael Rand stole my...um, Jim Pete's...idea and wrote an article for today's Strib commenting on DLo's extreme splits). Most of the NBA stars I looked at performed a little worse in losses than wins...emphasis on "a little"...almost none as extreme as DLo's. KAT for instance shoots quite a bit worse overall in losses (although a still respectable 46% compared to 57%), but his 3-point percentages are almost identical, while DLo shoots 13% worse on threes in losses than wins. Other stars also might shoot a little worse but don't fall off the face of the earth in losses:

Durant: 53% (37% on threes) in wins, 51% ( a better 41% on threes) in losses

Trae Young: 50% (38% on threes) in wins, 43% (the same 38% on threes) in losses

Jokic: 62% (40%) in wins, 54% (35%) in losses

LeBron: 52% (37%) in wins, 50% (32%) in losses

The only star I could find whose numbers dropped off a cliff in losses (in fact even worse than DLo's) was Steph Curry, but with a sample size of only 5 losses, that one isn't as meaningful as the other examples. The numbers are quite revealing...most NBA stars still shoot quite well even when their team loses. The correlation between DLo's poor shooting and Wolves' losses is difficult to ignore.

I said at the start of the season that DLo was the key to this season...if he could improve his game substantially, we had a chance to challenge for a play-in. With the season approaching the halfway mark, I think DLo indeed has substantially improved his game. But I'm going to refine my comment to say what I now think is the prescription for the Wolves qualifying for the play-in:

1) DLo needs to show he can play defense when PatBev is out, since history tells us Pat will miss a lot of games.

2) DLo needs to be more consistent with his shooting. If he shoots 33% (25% on threes) in over half of our games, I think we have little chance of approaching .500.

By the way, I'm much more confident about #2 than #1.