GDT: Wolves vs. Nets

[AbeVigodaLive]

Cool are you Jim P??

He just made the mcdaniels and Pippen comp

I heard that. Eat that shit Abe!

Ouch.

[AbeVigodaLive]

The 32-year-plight of the Timberwolves:

Should we be happy that the Wolves had a moral victory loss tonight?
Or should we be even more disgusted in the F/Sa performances after watching tonight?

______

- Rough night for the bench.

- As noted by Peterson and others... Towns needs to stop passing up shots for comparable shots from Culver... or... the Wolves need to put somebody else out there other than Culver and Okogie to take those shots. But he was fun to watch tonight.

- 13 free throws for Harden. 2 free throws for Towns. But with Edwards... there's some hope. He took 7.

- Rubio was very Rubio... some bad, some decent... a lot of meh. When was the last time he scored after the 1st quarter? McLaughlin was worse. Beasley must have spent more time on becoming a better improved person instead of a better basketball player on his hiatus?

- I'm late to the McDaniels hype train. But I know the conductor... he might still let me on in time. I like him at the 3.

- Harden and Irving are good.

[FNG]

There was some hope here that the return of Beasley would translate into better shooting for the Wolves. But he has taken 29 shots and made only 7 of them...less than 25%. I might give him a pass if he were returning from an injury, but he's returning from a suspension where he has been regularly practicing with the team and shooting in the gym...he shouldn't need any transition time to knock down wide-open looks. Beasley is a huge negative on the court in every element of the game except shooting (terrible defense again last night and 4 TOs), so if he's not making shots, he's a disaster. Some of us think his game fits best as a shooter off the bench and hope that he moves to 6th man upon DLO's return. Performances like his last two just might Finch come to the same conclusion.

All in all it was quite impressive to hand with a Nets team almost at full strength while shooting 39% and turning the ball over 15 times. Some uncharacteristic rim protection was nice to see (10 blocked shots, 4 by McDaniels). KAT was terrific and took care of the ball better than he has done recently.

[AbeVigodaLive]

There was some hope here that the return of Beasley would translate into better shooting for the Wolves. But he has taken 29 shots and made only 7 of them...less than 25%. I might give him a pass if he were returning from an injury, but he's returning from a suspension where he has been regularly practicing with the team and shooting in the gym...he shouldn't need any transition time to knock down wide-open looks. Beasley is a huge negative on the court in every element of the game except shooting (terrible defense again last night and 4 TOs), so if he's not making shots, he's a disaster. Some of us think his game fits best as a shooter off the bench and hope that he moves to 6th man upon DLO's return. Performances like his last two just might Finch come to the same conclusion.

All in all it was quite impressive to hand with a Nets team almost at full strength while shooting 39% and turning the ball over 15 times. Some uncharacteristic rim protection was nice to see (10 blocked shots, 4 by McDaniels). KAT was terrific and took care of the ball better than he has done recently.

How loaded is Brooklyn?

They were just described as "almost at full strength" despite playing without a top 5 player in the NBA. Not many other teams in NBA history have had anything close to that.

[FNG]

Finch is a creative coach, but I don't envy him having two starters he has to hide on defense against a potent offense like the Nets. Hiding Ant on Brown was the right move, but I'm not sure why Finch thought Beasley on Irving was a good idea. Rubio did a good job on Harris, one of the best three-point threats in the league, but I think I would have taken my chances with Beas on Harris and put Ricky on Irving. I'm sympathetic though because I don't know how you can match up well with the Nets with two defensive sieves starting. Finch is going to have to be coach of the year material when DLO comes back, trying to design defensive schemes that hide three starters!

[FNG]

There was some hope here that the return of Beasley would translate into better shooting for the Wolves. But he has taken 29 shots and made only 7 of them...less than 25%. I might give him a pass if he were returning from an injury, but he's returning from a suspension where he has been regularly practicing with the team and shooting in the gym...he shouldn't need any transition time to knock down wide-open looks. Beasley is a huge negative on the court in every element of the game except shooting (terrible defense again last night and 4 TOs), so if he's not making shots, he's a disaster. Some of us think his game fits best as a shooter off the bench and hope that he moves to 6th man upon DLO's return. Performances like his last two just might Finch come to the same conclusion.

All in all it was quite impressive to hand with a Nets team almost at full strength while shooting 39% and turning the ball over 15 times. Some uncharacteristic rim protection was nice to see (10 blocked shots, 4 by McDaniels). KAT was terrific and took care of the ball better than he has done recently.

How loaded is Brooklyn?

They were just described as "almost at full strength" despite playing without a top 5 player in the NBA. Not many other teams in NBA history have had anything close to that.

Ha, so true. I was contrasting the Nets team on the floor last night with Irving back, to the team that played even with the Pistons the previous game with only Harden on the floor of their Big Three. I would have taken my chances against that lineup, but I was surprised last night wasn't a blowout...even with KD out.

[Coolbreeze44]

Suppose OKC had kept Harden, Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka together all these years. How many championships would they have won so far? The series with the Heat would have been epic.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Suppose OKC had kept Harden, Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka together all these years. How many championships would they have won so far? The series with the Heat would have been epic.

Miami beat that team 4-1 in the NBA Finals. Granted, Oklahoma City's core was still in their early 20's, but sometimes I think people forget how dominant that Heat team was in its short existence. As a basketball fan, I would have loved to have seen a rivalry blossom there. Not to mention, San Antonio was still a force at the time.

[Coolbreeze44]

Suppose OKC had kept Harden, Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka together all these years. How many championships would they have won so far? The series with the Heat would have been epic.

Miami beat that team 4-1 in the NBA Finals. Granted, Oklahoma City's core was still in their early 20's, but sometimes I think people forget how dominant that Heat team was in its short existence. As a basketball fan, I would have loved to have seen a rivalry blossom there. Not to mention, San Antonio was still a force at the time.

Yeah, I'm suggesting they would have played multiple times. And I have to believe OKC would have won some. Maybe Lebron never goes back to Cleveland due to the rivalry. And then eventually the Warriors would have made for compelling Western Conference finals. Imagine that, two great teams that would have come to together organically.

[thedoper]

If OKC stayed together I'm not sure Golden State would have ever won a championship.