Knicks Wolves Anyone?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think this game was on the verge of flying off the rails for Minnesota in that third quarter, but the wise Chris Finch aka "Finchy" went with the D-Lo, Nowell, Ant, Vando, and Naz lineup that went on a 9-0 run and brought the Wolves back in the game while KAT regrouped on the bench. I thought that was a crucial stretch. Not to mention, Kemba Walker banged three straight triples to apply pressure on the visiting team, but Nowell canned several big jumpers/runners to answer. He was huge and provided a much-needed boost yet again showing his worth to this team.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Update: The Wolves are now 20-12 (.625) this year when both Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell suit up. They're 33-24 (.579) in their 57 games together since the trade that brought Russell to Minnesota.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

The above stat also means that Minnesota is 2-10 (.167) this season when at least one of Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell doesn't play... Talk about valuable players. That's quite the swing.

[Lipoli390]

The above stat also means that Minnesota is 2-10 (.167) this season when at least one of Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell doesn't play... Talk about valuable players. That's quite the swing.

Those stats are telling.

[Monster]

Atlanta will be without Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic tomorrow night. That needs to be another win.

Capela is another one of those bigs that often frustrates KAT. Such a good defender. That leaves a huge hole for Atlanta.

Yep, it's typically the group of Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert (when he actually matches up with him), and Jonas Valanciunas that get under his skin. I might even add Mitchell Robinson to this list with how he's played against him the last couple of outings. He's longer than his listed measurements.

I just watched the extended highlights. Robinson looks like he is thicker/stronger than I remember.

[Q-is-here]

I think this game was on the verge of flying off the rails for Minnesota in that third quarter, but the wise Chris Finch aka "Finchy" went with the D-Lo, Nowell, Ant, Vando, and Naz lineup that went on a 9-0 run and brought the Wolves back in the game while KAT regrouped on the bench. I thought that was a crucial stretch. Not to mention, Kemba Walker banged three straight triples to apply pressure on the visiting team, but Nowell canned several big jumpers/runners to answer. He was huge and provided a much-needed boost yet again showing his worth to this team.

Finch did two other things late in the game that seem like obvious moves to us well-worn fans of the team, but aren't always implemented in these last few years with other coaches, much to our frustration.

1. He figured out a way to get KAT the ball in crunch time. How often have we lamented that our best player often gets frozen out in crunch time? Yes, it's harder to get the ball to a big, but it isn't an insurmountable challenge. Finch spread the floor and got the ball to KAT at one of his favorite spots at the middle high-post (aka "the nail"). From here he can either drive, shoot, or pass. And he's much less turnover-prone facing up than posting up.

2. He made liberal offense/defense substitutions in crunch time. That last group on the floor featured PBev, Vando, and McDaniels along with KAT and Edwards. They could switch everything.

[FNG]

Outstanding win to get back to .500! Again we got lucky being 100% healthy with the Knicks missing Rose's scoring and Noel's defense (especially after their only other centers fouled out), but this game became a lot tougher when they announced Kemba was playing...I wasn't expecting that. I give the game ball to Chris Finch, who I think totally outcoached Thibs tonight. Some observations:

1) The sun will always rise in the east, and Thibs' teams will often fade in the 4th quarter. The 3rd quarter was a difficult one for us, but I thought we were going to win entering the 4th quarter. Seeing the Knicks missing three-pointers in the 4th quarter and not looking as effective on defense with their tired legs brought back some frustrating memories...nice to be on the other side of this one!

2) I've pointed it out before...DLo has had a turnaround season on defense, but he needs PatBev out there playing tough defense on their best guard so he can play free safety to be effective. Things got ugly after PatBev got his 5th foul...the Knicks announcers commented on DLo's "matador defense". I thought Finchy won us the game when he noticed how ineffective DLo was on defense, and substituted Pat in for him when we were down 5 with 7 to go. At that moment I said "we got this one".

3) I love how Finchy alternates Vando and Jaden on their best scorer every night. Both were very effective against Randle and forced him into a 6-15 night.

4) Second straight game where our bench has shown up big time. Nowell was obviously fabulous, but we are so much better when Beasley is knocking down shots.

Now it's on to Atlanta, where once again we face a team missing 2 starters. It's the back end of a back to back and Atlanta is favored by 2, but I think a smart gambler might be on the Wolves tonight. Injuries matter and again we're on the right side of that equation, and I like PatBev bothering Trae. Is tonight the night we go over .500 for the first time since 11/29?

[Q-is-here]

Outstanding win to get back to .500! Again we got lucky being 100% healthy with the Knicks missing Rose's scoring and Noel's defense (especially after their only other centers fouled out), but this game became a lot tougher when they announced Kemba was playing...I wasn't expecting that. I give the game ball to Chris Finch, who I think totally outcoached Thibs tonight. Some observations:

1) The sun will always rise in the east, and Thibs' teams will often fade in the 4th quarter. The 3rd quarter was a difficult one for us, but I thought we were going to win entering the 4th quarter. Seeing the Knicks missing three-pointers in the 4th quarter and not looking as effective on defense with their tired legs brought back some frustrating memories...nice to be on the other side of this one!

2) I've pointed it out before...DLo has had a turnaround season on defense, but he needs PatBev out there playing tough defense on their best guard so he can play free safety to be effective. Things got ugly after PatBev got his 5th foul...the Knicks announcers commented on DLo's "matador defense". I thought Finchy won us the game when he noticed how ineffective DLo was on defense, and substituted Pat in for him when we were down 5 with 7 to go. At that moment I said "we got this one".

3) I love how Finchy alternates Vando and Jaden on their best scorer every night. Both were very effective against Randle and forced him into a 6-15 night.

4) Second straight game where our bench has shown up big time. Nowell was obviously fabulous, but we are so much better when Beasley is knocking down shots.

Now it's on to Atlanta, where once again we face a team missing 2 starters. It's the back end of a back to back and Atlanta is favored by 2, but I think a smart gambler might be on the Wolves tonight. Injuries matter and again we're on the right side of that equation, and I like PatBev bothering TraeI like PatBev bothering Trae. Is tonight the night we go over .500 for the first time since 11/29?

Yes, that alone will be worth the price of admission. Trae has only faced PatBev twice and both those games were when he was a rookie. The rules have also changed and Trae can no longer cheat his way into free throws as easily, so I suspect PatBev will push the limit in being physical with Trae to test the officials. Can't wait to see this matchup.

[FNG]

Outstanding win to get back to .500! Again we got lucky being 100% healthy with the Knicks missing Rose's scoring and Noel's defense (especially after their only other centers fouled out), but this game became a lot tougher when they announced Kemba was playing...I wasn't expecting that. I give the game ball to Chris Finch, who I think totally outcoached Thibs tonight. Some observations:

1) The sun will always rise in the east, and Thibs' teams will often fade in the 4th quarter. The 3rd quarter was a difficult one for us, but I thought we were going to win entering the 4th quarter. Seeing the Knicks missing three-pointers in the 4th quarter and not looking as effective on defense with their tired legs brought back some frustrating memories...nice to be on the other side of this one!

2) I've pointed it out before...DLo has had a turnaround season on defense, but he needs PatBev out there playing tough defense on their best guard so he can play free safety to be effective. Things got ugly after PatBev got his 5th foul...the Knicks announcers commented on DLo's "matador defense". I thought Finchy won us the game when he noticed how ineffective DLo was on defense, and substituted Pat in for him when we were down 5 with 7 to go. At that moment I said "we got this one".

3) I love how Finchy alternates Vando and Jaden on their best scorer every night. Both were very effective against Randle and forced him into a 6-15 night.

4) Second straight game where our bench has shown up big time. Nowell was obviously fabulous, but we are so much better when Beasley is knocking down shots.

Now it's on to Atlanta, where once again we face a team missing 2 starters. It's the back end of a back to back and Atlanta is favored by 2, but I think a smart gambler might be on the Wolves tonight. Injuries matter and again we're on the right side of that equation, and I like PatBev bothering TraeI like PatBev bothering Trae. Is tonight the night we go over .500 for the first time since 11/29?

Yes, that alone will be worth the price of admission. Trae has only faced PatBev twice and both those games were when he was a rookie. The rules have also changed and Trae can no longer cheat his way into free throws as easily, so I suspect PatBev will push the limit in being physical with Trae to test the officials. Can't wait to see this matchup.

Yep, it's gonna be a lot of fun to watch. Trae is a great player, but he doesn't often have a guy like Pat up in his grill for 35 minutes!

Last night made me appreciate Beverley even more. It's quite glaring how DLo's defense falls off a cliff when Pat isn't playing next to him. He looked like the DLo of old after PatBev picked up his 5th foul. I'm convinced that keeping Beverley healthy is essential to this team being successful.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Outstanding win to get back to .500! Again we got lucky being 100% healthy with the Knicks missing Rose's scoring and Noel's defense (especially after their only other centers fouled out), but this game became a lot tougher when they announced Kemba was playing...I wasn't expecting that. I give the game ball to Chris Finch, who I think totally outcoached Thibs tonight. Some observations:

1) The sun will always rise in the east, and Thibs' teams will often fade in the 4th quarter. The 3rd quarter was a difficult one for us, but I thought we were going to win entering the 4th quarter. Seeing the Knicks missing three-pointers in the 4th quarter and not looking as effective on defense with their tired legs brought back some frustrating memories...nice to be on the other side of this one!

2) I've pointed it out before...DLo has had a turnaround season on defense, but he needs PatBev out there playing tough defense on their best guard so he can play free safety to be effective. Things got ugly after PatBev got his 5th foul...the Knicks announcers commented on DLo's "matador defense". I thought Finchy won us the game when he noticed how ineffective DLo was on defense, and substituted Pat in for him when we were down 5 with 7 to go. At that moment I said "we got this one".

3) I love how Finchy alternates Vando and Jaden on their best scorer every night. Both were very effective against Randle and forced him into a 6-15 night.

4) Second straight game where our bench has shown up big time. Nowell was obviously fabulous, but we are so much better when Beasley is knocking down shots.

Now it's on to Atlanta, where once again we face a team missing 2 starters. It's the back end of a back to back and Atlanta is favored by 2, but I think a smart gambler might be on the Wolves tonight. Injuries matter and again we're on the right side of that equation, and I like PatBev bothering TraeI like PatBev bothering Trae. Is tonight the night we go over .500 for the first time since 11/29?

Yes, that alone will be worth the price of admission. Trae has only faced PatBev twice and both those games were when he was a rookie. The rules have also changed and Trae can no longer cheat his way into free throws as easily, so I suspect PatBev will push the limit in being physical with Trae to test the officials. Can't wait to see this matchup.

Yep, it's gonna be a lot of fun to watch. Trae is a great player, but he doesn't often have a guy like Pat up in his grill for 35 minutes!

Last night made me appreciate Beverley even more. It's quite glaring how DLo's defense falls off a cliff when Pat isn't playing next to him. He looked like the DLo of old after PatBev picked up his 5th foul. I'm convinced that keeping Beverley healthy is essential to this team being successful.

Patrick Beverley often makes other players better on defense with his energy and aggressiveness on the ball, and that's true for D'Angelo Russell as it allows him to use his strengths on the defensive end off the ball instead of taking on the toughest guard matchup on a nightly basis.

Where we disagree is the notion that Russell's defense was bad last night. On the contrary, I thought he and most of the team defended well. I thought D-Lo and Anthony Edwards specifically had some bad calls go against them that led to Russell only playing 25 minutes with foul trouble.

Out of curiosity, can you recall a handful of plays off the top of your head where D-Lo's defense was bad or "fell off a cliff"? Perhaps I'm not seeing it and your memory can direct me to a few examples.