Game Report - Wolves Home Opener

[Lipoli390]

The Wolves would have lost tonight to any of the 16-20 playoff-caliber teams in the League. Fortunately, they played a lottery-bound team that also happens to be the second-youngest team in League history. Yet, they still almost lost and ended up with an ugly win. I'll take the win no matter how ugly, but this team has a lot of work to do to make this season pay off in a way that justifies the moves they made this past summer.

The good news is that Gobert's play tonight was as advertised. He makes the team around him better. His stat line of 23 points and 16 rebounds was certainly impressive, but he was even more impressive than the stat line suggests. He only had one block, but he changed and deterred a number of shots inside defensively and he also bailed the team out a number of times at the rim offensively. He's an interesting player to watch on the offensive end. Except for his screening, his skills on that end are really pretty bad. Yet, he scored 23 points tonight simply based on his tremendous length, IQ and effort. I really love the way he competes and how smart he plays. And I love his demeanor on the court and the bench. It's all business with Rudy and he's always talking to his teammates. He just looks the part of a leader.

Other good news includes the play of Jaden McDaniels. Some of us have suggested he has Scottie Pippen-like upside. Tonight he showed some Scottie Pippen with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. He got to the line 10 times and hit all but one of those free throws. He had great energy tonight that may have not been as obvious on TV. He was really quick reacting on the defensive end. If you're naming the Wolves defensive player of the game, I think I might give McDaniels the slight edge over Gobert. Very encouraging to see the way McDaniels played tonight.

I have to include Taurean Prince and Jalen Nowell in the good news about tonight's game. Prince played only 12 minutes, but those 12 minutes were as critical to the Wolves win as Gobert's 34. Prince hit 3 of 4 three point attempts and 4 of 5 shots from the field. He also drew two charges in the paint. His 12 minutes on the floor were more impactful as any 12-minute stint I've seen before. Jalen Nowell was also terrific tonight with 13 efficient points in 18 minutes along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and zero turnovers. I wish Ant could finish at the rim as well as Nowell does.

Speaking of Ant, his shooting was terrible again tonight. His misses at the rim were really frustrating. As a scorer, Edwards again looked like he's regressed. On the other hand, he had 8 rebounds and 7 assists, including some really nice passes. So it wasn't all bad for Ant. But his poor shooting, some defensive lapses and sticky fingers caused Finch to give him the hook in the 4th. I liked Finch holding him accountable.

KAT was terrible tonight in almost every way except his playmaking. His 2-10 shooting was pathetic, but he did hit 6 of 6 free throws. And again, I liked what I saw from him as a passer tonight. We should cut him some slack. He really is behind the other players because of his illness. It wasn't just the illness sapping his strength; it was also missing valuable practice time and preseason minutes. It also looked like he's struggling more than Gobert in adjusting to his role on the team. Hopefully with time KAT will round into form and click well with Rudy. Towns did make a couple really nice passes to Gobert.

Overall main positives were Rudy, McDaniels and the bench. Also, you could see some of the potential in the DLO/Gobert combo as well as potential in the KAT/Gobert combo. Overall negatives were poor 3-point shooting, poor spacing and getting out-hustled to loose balls. Getting out hustled to loose balls might be a function of the team's lack of quickness, but I'm not sure. Bottom line is this team has to do a much better job on the defensive boards than they did tonight. We have Rudy now dominating the boards around the basket, but we don't have Vando and Beverley getting after long rebounds and loose balls. Edwards contributed 8 rebounds, but we didn't get enough rebounding from others.

We should beat Utah on Friday. But I'll be looking for overall improvement in several areas:

1. Better movement, spacing and shooting on the offensive end overall
2. Better shooting, especially better finishing, by Ant
3. Better job of defensive rebounding and getting after loose balls
4. Better job of stopping dribble penetration before it gets to Gobert and better job closing out on shooters

[kekgeek]

The Wolves would have lost tonight to any of the 16-20 playoff-caliber teams in the League. Fortunately, they played a lottery-bound team that also happens to be the second-youngest team in League history. Yet, they still almost lost and ended up with an ugly win. I'll take the win no matter how ugly, but this team has a lot of work to do to make this season pay off in a way that justifies the moves they made this past summer.

The good news is that Gobert's play tonight was as advertised. He makes the team around him better. His stat line of 23 points and 16 rebounds was certainly impressive, but he was even more impressive than the stat line suggests. He only had one block, but he changed and deterred a number of shots inside defensively and he also bailed the team out a number of times at the rim offensively. He's an interesting player to watch on the offensive end. Except for his screening, his skills on that end are really pretty bad. Yet, he scored 23 points tonight simply based on his tremendous length, IQ and effort. I really love the way he competes and how smart he plays. And I love his demeanor on the court and the bench. It's all business with Rudy and he's always talking to his teammates. He just looks the part of a leader.

Other good news includes the play of Jaden McDaniels. Some of us have suggested he has Scottie Pippen-like upside. Tonight he showed some Scottie Pippen with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. He got to the line 10 times and hit all but one of those free throws. He had great energy tonight that may have not been as obvious on TV. He was really quick reacting on the defensive end. If you're naming the Wolves defensive player of the game, I think I might give McDaniels the slight edge over Gobert. Very encouraging to see the way McDaniels played tonight.

I have to include Taurean Prince and Jalen Nowell in the good news about tonight's game. Prince played only 12 minutes, but those 12 minutes were as critical to the Wolves win as Gobert's 34. Prince hit 3 of 4 three point attempts and 4 of 5 shots from the field. He also drew two charges in the paint. His 12 minutes on the floor were more impactful as any 12-minute stint I've seen before. Jalen Nowell was also terrific tonight with 13 efficient points in 18 minutes along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and zero turnovers. I wish Ant could finish at the rim as well as Nowell does.

Speaking of Ant, his shooting was terrible again tonight. His misses at the rim were really frustrating. As a scorer, Edwards again looked like he's regressed. On the other hand, he had 8 rebounds and 7 assists, including some really nice passes. So it wasn't all bad for Ant. But his poor shooting, some defensive lapses and sticky fingers caused Finch to give him the hook in the 4th. I liked Finch holding him accountable.

KAT was terrible tonight in almost every way except his playmaking. His 2-10 shooting was pathetic, but he did hit 6 of 6 free throws. And again, I liked what I saw from him as a passer tonight. We should cut him some slack. He really is behind the other players because of his illness. It was just the illness sapping his strength; it was also missing valuable practice time and preseason minutes. It also looked like he's struggling more than Gobert in adjusting to his role on the team. Hopefully with time KAT will round into form and click well with Rudy. Towns did make a couple really nice passes to Gobert.

Overall main positives were Rudy, McDaniels and bench. Also, you could see some of the potential in the DLO/Gobert combo as well as the potential in the KAT/Gobert combo. Overall bad were poor 3-point shooting, poor spacing and getting out-hustled to loose balls. That may be a function of the team's lack of quickness, but I'm not sure. Bottom line is this team has to do a much better job on the defensive boards than they did tonight. We have Rudy now dominating the boards right around the basket, but we don't have Vando and Beverley getting after long rebounds and loose balls. Edwards contributed 8 rebounds, but we didn't get enough rebounding from others.

We should beat Utah on Friday. But I'll be looking for overall improvement in several areas:

1. Better movement, spacing and shooting on the offensive end overall
2. Better shooting, especially better finishing, by Ant
3. Better job of defensive rebounding and getting after loose balls
4. Better job of stopping dribble penetration before it gets to Gobert and better job closing out on shooters

Very solid write up lip. Did the wolves play great? No. But did they find a way to win even though they struggled? Yep.

I also want to give credit to Dlo. 20 pts for what is supposed to be your 4th best player was solid. Consistent games like Dlo gave you tonight and they are going to win a lot of games.

[Lipoli390]

Very solid write up lip. Did the wolves play great? No. But did they find a way to win even though they struggled? Yep.

I also want to give credit to Dlo. 20 pts for what is supposed to be your 4th best player was solid. Consistent games like Dlo gave you tonight and they are going to win a lot of games.

[FNG]

Very solid write up lip. Did the wolves play great? No. But did they find a way to win even though they struggled? Yep.

I also want to give credit to Dlo. 20 pts for what is supposed to be your 4th best player was solid. Consistent games like Dlo gave you tonight and they are going to win a lot of games.

Yes, DLO was a net positive tonight. I didn't like his 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. And I'd like to see more than 2 assists from our starting PG. But with Edwards and KAT struggling with their shots, DLO stepped in nicely and picked up with slack with 20 points on 43.7% shooting from the field. Not bad. I really liked his defense tonight. He's not gifted on that end, but I loved his effort and I thought he was a net positive defensively for the Wolves tonight.

[FNG]

I'll follow with a more positive post. With KAT and Ant shooting poorly and DLo doubling up his assists with turnovers (both events should not happen often) we have to be pleased with a 7-point win. There were a lot of positives:

Gobert: As Lip said, his block total doesn't tell the story. He alters many more shots, and it's fun to see opponents drive toward the basket and then circle back when they see the Tower lurking. We won't always get this Rudy on offense (it was clear that his new teammates were trying to get him involved), but he is a true game changer on defense.

Depth: There is nobody in the rotation that I don't like or grimace when they come in. Naz didn't play tonight, but he has been impressive pre-season, and Forbes will have some games where his shooting helps us. But I love what Slo Mo, Prince and Nowell gave us off the bench. Remember when our second team used to consistently give up leads? I'm convinced we're going to see the opposite this season...these guys can play!

Jaden: He's my honey's favorite player, so we were both happy to see him give us exactly what we wanted to see in the opener (with the exception of the missed threes). Terrific defense, more aggressive on offense, and 5-7 on two-point shots (he needs to teach Ant how to finish around the rim) and 9-10 from the line. Defense matters, and it's no surprise that Jaden and Rudy were our +/- leaders...they were both difference makers tonight.

I probably believe more in this team after last night than before despite struggling against a poor team. With 3 out of our 5 starters playing beneath the standard I have for them, this was a good win. I saw nothing last night that made me think we can't win 50+ games.

[Sundog]

I took the supportive comments re: Dlo last night as relative to the brutal play of pretty much everyone but Gobert and Jaden. He was a bright-ish spot but only because every one else was so bad. The soft part of the schedule isn't going to be so soft if they don't get it together and quickly.

[FNG]

I took the supportive comments re: Dlo last night as relative to the brutal play of pretty much everyone but Gobert and Jaden. He was a bright-ish spot but only because every one else was so bad. The soft part of the schedule isn't going to be so soft if they don't get it together and quickly.

I think that's fair, Sundog, and especially if you are attributing the brutal play to our starters...our bench was really good I thought. And in all fairness despite his lack of ball movement, DLo did shoot better than he did last year. In my most perfect scenario, he becomes more of a facilitator but then makes his open looks. I'm convinced DLo can be a much more efficient scorer if he tweaks his game a little.

And yeah, we're lucky the schedulers gave us such a soft first 10 games as we learn how to play with Rudy at both ends of the court. I'm hoping this team us really gelling by the time the schedule toughens up.

[Coolbreeze44]

Very solid write up lip. Did the wolves play great? No. But did they find a way to win even though they struggled? Yep.

I also want to give credit to Dlo. 20 pts for what is supposed to be your 4th best player was solid. Consistent games like Dlo gave you tonight and they are going to win a lot of games.

Yes, DLO was a net positive tonight. I didn't like his 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. And I'd like to see more than 2 assists from our starting PG. But with Edwards and KAT struggling with their shots, DLO stepped in nicely and picked up with slack with 20 points on 43.7% shooting from the field. Not bad. I really liked his defense tonight. He's not gifted on that end, but I loved his effort and I thought he was a net positive defensively for the Wolves tonight.

[FNG]

Very solid write up lip. Did the wolves play great? No. But did they find a way to win even though they struggled? Yep.

I also want to give credit to Dlo. 20 pts for what is supposed to be your 4th best player was solid. Consistent games like Dlo gave you tonight and they are going to win a lot of games.

Yes, DLO was a net positive tonight. I didn't like his 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. And I'd like to see more than 2 assists from our starting PG. But with Edwards and KAT struggling with their shots, DLO stepped in nicely and picked up with slack with 20 points on 43.7% shooting from the field. Not bad. I really liked his defense tonight. He's not gifted on that end, but I loved his effort and I thought he was a net positive defensively for the Wolves tonight.

I thought DLO was a turnstile on defense. He simply couldn't keep anyone in front of him.

[Q-is-here]

If Jaden isn't going to be able to make 3's, then doing the other things he did last night is what will keep him in the starting lineup. He was terrific in the mid-range and making timely cuts to the rim.

Thank God Prince appears to be dialed in shooting the ball. We can't have another start to a season where literally everyone on the roster is struggling from beyond the arc. He helped save the night last night by hitting those open 3s.