worldK wrote:Its been a while since we have multiple strong wing defenders.
We have 2 strong and potentially elite defenders now with culver and okogie.
Rubio is a disruptive defender
Edwards has all the tools to be an elite defender himself.
Malik can certainly improve as he plays hard on both ends.
Dlo strangely can play very good d when it counts.
Then Rondae can match up with the lebron and kawhi of the league.
Perimeter d may actually be a strength this season.
It's a weird team of almost extreme one-way players. For example, I think this lineup could be a top 5 NBA defense:
C - Ed Davis
PF - RHJ
SF - Okogie
SG - Culver
PG - Rubio
So you have a point that just the fact we can even field a legit 5-man lineup that can lock a team down is impressive compared to the last number of years. But that same team would probably be even worse offensively.
So how Ryan mixes his shooters/scorers with defenders will be interesting.
Wow. It really is a tale of two rosters - one roster of exclusively defensive players and another roster of exclusively offensive guys. That would be a really good defensive lineup you listed. Take that lineup and do three things. First, replace Davis with KAT. Second, turn Okogie into the 38% 3-point shooter on 4 attempts he was in college. And third, turn Culver into a 34% three-point shooter and 75% free-throw shooter. Suddenly, that lineup you posted is pretty good.
Or you could develop a reasonable team defense using your good offensive players... Something the Wolves had no opportunity to do after the team was restructured last season (and no KAT on the floor).
worldK wrote:Its been a while since we have multiple strong wing defenders.
We have 2 strong and potentially elite defenders now with culver and okogie.
Rubio is a disruptive defender
Edwards has all the tools to be an elite defender himself.
Malik can certainly improve as he plays hard on both ends.
Dlo strangely can play very good d when it counts.
Then Rondae can match up with the lebron and kawhi of the league.
Perimeter d may actually be a strength this season.
It's a weird team of almost extreme one-way players. For example, I think this lineup could be a top 5 NBA defense:
C - Ed Davis
PF - RHJ
SF - Okogie
SG - Culver
PG - Rubio
So you have a point that just the fact we can even field a legit 5-man lineup that can lock a team down is impressive compared to the last number of years. But that same team would probably be even worse offensively.
So how Ryan mixes his shooters/scorers with defenders will be interesting.
1 thing saunders has shown so far is that he is ready to make wholesale offense/defense substitution in end of games situations. I remember him have okogie hound kyrie in the last possesion of last seasons opener and also have vonleh sub in for KAT in these situations. Some coaches just go with the players that are currently in the game and leave it to them. Ryan has shown that he is going to put the best defenders out there in these situations.
That lineup of yours q is literally THE death luneup where we lockdown the opponents but lockdown ourselves as well. Best chance for a basket is iso culver and one of the guys hit a miracle 3.
I laughed out loud at this. Yes, this lineup hitting conventional 3's is the equivalent of someone making a full-court heave at the end of a half. I'm talking about the kind where you literally have to throw the ball like a football, rifling it at the distant target with all of one's might.
worldK wrote:Its been a while since we have multiple strong wing defenders.
We have 2 strong and potentially elite defenders now with culver and okogie.
Rubio is a disruptive defender
Edwards has all the tools to be an elite defender himself.
Malik can certainly improve as he plays hard on both ends.
Dlo strangely can play very good d when it counts.
Then Rondae can match up with the lebron and kawhi of the league.
Perimeter d may actually be a strength this season.
It's a weird team of almost extreme one-way players. For example, I think this lineup could be a top 5 NBA defense:
C - Ed Davis
PF - RHJ
SF - Okogie
SG - Culver
PG - Rubio
So you have a point that just the fact we can even field a legit 5-man lineup that can lock a team down is impressive compared to the last number of years. But that same team would probably be even worse offensively.
So how Ryan mixes his shooters/scorers with defenders will be interesting.
1 thing saunders has shown so far is that he is ready to make wholesale offense/defense substitution in end of games situations. I remember him have okogie hound kyrie in the last possesion of last seasons opener and also have vonleh sub in for KAT in these situations. Some coaches just go with the players that are currently in the game and leave it to them. Ryan has shown that he is going to put the best defenders out there in these situations.
That lineup of yours q is literally THE death luneup where we lockdown the opponents but lockdown ourselves as well. Best chance for a basket is iso culver and one of the guys hit a miracle 3.
I laughed out loud at this. Yes, this lineup hitting conventional 3's is the equivalent of someone making a full-court heave at the end of a half. I'm talking about the kind where you literally have to throw the ball like a football, rifling it at the distant target with all of one's might.
This team is extremely versatile. I trust none of them to prove it, but KAT, DLo, Okogie, Culver, Rubio, Juancho, Edwards, Beasley, Davis, Reid, and Layman is an incredible mix on both sides.
