GDT: Bullish on Thibs 12/13/16

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

It's hard to say Towns is spacing the floor when his defenders are playing so far off him just giving him 3pt looks. That's not real spacing. That's like saying Ricky spaces the floor because he's standing behind the 3pt line. Spacing is determined by how your defender actually guards you and right now everyone is playing off Towns and they're being rewarded for it with his lower shooting percentages. He can do more damage rolling to the elbow and forcing the defense to guard him than chucking up wide open 26 footers at the top of the key. Shooting 3's are great for his development, but if the other team isn't respecting it we aren't getting the real spacing value out of it. Find the spot on the floor they actually jump out to defend you on the catch and roll there every time because that's where the real value is going to kick in getting the defense to rotate and let you shoot, drive or pass.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

It's hard to say Towns is spacing the floor when his defenders are playing so far off him just giving him 3pt looks. That's not real spacing. That's like saying Ricky spaces the floor because he's standing behind the 3pt line. Spacing is determined by how your defender actually guards you and right now everyone is playing off Towns and they're being rewarded for it with his lower shooting percentages. He can do more damage rolling to the elbow and forcing the defense to guard him than chucking up wide open 26 footers at the top of the key. Shooting 3's are great for his development, but if the other team isn't respecting it we aren't getting the real spacing value out of it. Find the spot on the floor they actually jump out to defend you on the catch and roll there every time because that's where the real value is going to kick in getting the defense to rotate and let you shoot, drive or pass.

If defenders are not up on him and he's making them at a good rate, that is actually a good thing. The 3 point shot is one of the most efficient shots in basketball if made at ~ 35% or better. It's waaaaaay better than a long 2 or mid-range 2 that is more easily contested.

Believe it or not, KAT is still one of our more efficient and effective scorers. He definitely has flaws - he needs to move the ball better and take open 3's more in the flow of the offense. He probably should spend more time at the elbows or in the low box. But I have absolutely no issue with him letting it fly if guys are going to totally back off of him. That's a damn good shot.

[AbeVigodaLive]

It's hard to say Towns is spacing the floor when his defenders are playing so far off him just giving him 3pt looks. That's not real spacing. That's like saying Ricky spaces the floor because he's standing behind the 3pt line. Spacing is determined by how your defender actually guards you and right now everyone is playing off Towns and they're being rewarded for it with his lower shooting percentages. He can do more damage rolling to the elbow and forcing the defense to guard him than chucking up wide open 26 footers at the top of the key. Shooting 3's are great for his development, but if the other team isn't respecting it we aren't getting the real spacing value out of it. Find the spot on the floor they actually jump out to defend you on the catch and roll there every time because that's where the real value is going to kick in getting the defense to rotate and let you shoot, drive or pass.

If defenders are not up on him and he's making them at a good rate, that is actually a good thing. The 3 point shot is one of the most efficient shots in basketball if made at ~ 35% or better. It's waaaaaay better than a long 2 or mid-range 2 that is more easily contested.

Believe it or not, KAT is still one of our more efficient and effective scorers. He definitely has flaws - he needs to move the ball better and take open 3's more in the flow of the offense. He probably should spend more time at the elbows or in the low box. But I have absolutely no issue with him letting it fly if guys are going to totally back off of him. That's a damn good shot.

I think he's still trying to know when to take them... or what's generally a good shot.

He's passed up quite a few open 3 point looks for more difficult (e.g., less efficient) plays.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

Last night was my first time seeing the T-wolves somewhere other than the Target center - a friend gave me his courtside tickets for this game - I was behind the hoop on our side of the court. It gave me a completely different perspective of the NBA level game that I have never seen.

For example - Everyone said Zach's defense was great - I can tell you that Wade has some crazy smooth moves that you don't see unless you are his level - it fooled Zach EVERY time. No one else had the smoothness in their game like Wade - it was neat to see.

Another observation from that level - the other team plays way off Rubio like he is an old center - just in general - like they want him to shoot over anyone else on the court.

I made the comment about Zach being the leader of the team - it was an observation of how he handles the rest of the team in subtle ways. I think he gets Wiggins and those two are pretty close.

The place was pretty quite the whole night - I was excited to hear Thibs barking - but he must have lost his voice because he was pretty quite the whole game.

In the very beginning of the game Wiggins went up against Butler and tried to power through him - LOL - he hit a rock and changed his play the rest of the game.


I think the reason why Rubio may be struggling may be due to the way this offense is now setup - we a heavy ball movement team now, that is very different than what we have been since Rubio has been here. Perhaps he is learning like the rest of them - like Zach needs to figure our Gorgi cannot catch balls thrown at his feet, or Towns understanding that double and triple teams are the moments he should pass...

[thedoper]

It's hard to say Towns is spacing the floor when his defenders are playing so far off him just giving him 3pt looks. That's not real spacing. That's like saying Ricky spaces the floor because he's standing behind the 3pt line. Spacing is determined by how your defender actually guards you and right now everyone is playing off Towns and they're being rewarded for it with his lower shooting percentages. He can do more damage rolling to the elbow and forcing the defense to guard him than chucking up wide open 26 footers at the top of the key. Shooting 3's are great for his development, but if the other team isn't respecting it we aren't getting the real spacing value out of it. Find the spot on the floor they actually jump out to defend you on the catch and roll there every time because that's where the real value is going to kick in getting the defense to rotate and let you shoot, drive or pass.

If defenders are not up on him and he's making them at a good rate, that is actually a good thing. The 3 point shot is one of the most efficient shots in basketball if made at ~ 35% or better. It's waaaaaay better than a long 2 or mid-range 2 that is more easily contested.

Believe it or not, KAT is still one of our more efficient and effective scorers. He definitely has flaws - he needs to move the ball better and take open 3's more in the flow of the offense. He probably should spend more time at the elbows or in the low box. But I have absolutely no issue with him letting it fly if guys are going to totally back off of him. That's a damn good shot.

The 3 is efficient at 35% or better. The problem is that KAT has been trending South of 35% for a while since his hot start. He has been taking more and more 3s in the 4th and is shooting 24% on them. I agree that in the flow of the offense let them fly. But that flow should be low block or elbow then leak out to the 3 point line on a swing as 3rd option. Not iso pull up three or pick and pop back to the 3 point line. His efficiency from last year was inside the 3 point line and he has given up on a lot of those shots.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

It's hard to say Towns is spacing the floor when his defenders are playing so far off him just giving him 3pt looks. That's not real spacing. That's like saying Ricky spaces the floor because he's standing behind the 3pt line. Spacing is determined by how your defender actually guards you and right now everyone is playing off Towns and they're being rewarded for it with his lower shooting percentages. He can do more damage rolling to the elbow and forcing the defense to guard him than chucking up wide open 26 footers at the top of the key. Shooting 3's are great for his development, but if the other team isn't respecting it we aren't getting the real spacing value out of it. Find the spot on the floor they actually jump out to defend you on the catch and roll there every time because that's where the real value is going to kick in getting the defense to rotate and let you shoot, drive or pass.

If defenders are not up on him and he's making them at a good rate, that is actually a good thing. The 3 point shot is one of the most efficient shots in basketball if made at ~ 35% or better. It's waaaaaay better than a long 2 or mid-range 2 that is more easily contested.

Believe it or not, KAT is still one of our more efficient and effective scorers. He definitely has flaws - he needs to move the ball better and take open 3's more in the flow of the offense. He probably should spend more time at the elbows or in the low box. But I have absolutely no issue with him letting it fly if guys are going to totally back off of him. That's a damn good shot.

Like you said, it's a good shot when you can hit around 35%. He's hitting 26% in December on 4 attempts per game and he's dropped every month (43 in October, 37 in November down to 26 now). It's hard to say just keep jacking up shots when you are now out of the range where the 3 is more worth than the mid-range 2 and the mid-range 2 would also help reduce his TO's off the dribble because he won't be driving 7 ft into the defense, he'll be driving around the guys who actually step out on him to stop the shot. Good offense is designed around pressuring the defense, making them rotate and moving the ball to the open man. Shooting 26% against no defensive pressure or driving into a backed off defender are two bad plays that shouldn't be happening and that's what he's doing right now. He needs to be in an area on the court where he can be a triple threat, not a zero threat like he is at the top of the key.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Because of the distance of a 3-point shot, there will always be more variability game to game and week to week. So the fact he's cooled off is concerning, but not panic-inducing.

I think we probably agree more than we disagree on this topic. I definitely want him to cut out the step back 3's and the quick 3's that aren't in the flow of the offense. But I do not want him to stop taking good, open 3's as the result of a well run pick and pop or a swing pass or O-board kick out. Those are good shots and I trust his accuracy will stabilize at an acceptable rate at some point.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Last night was my first time seeing the T-wolves somewhere other than the Target center - a friend gave me his courtside tickets for this game - I was behind the hoop on our side of the court. It gave me a completely different perspective of the NBA level game that I have never seen.

For example - Everyone said Zach's defense was great - I can tell you that Wade has some crazy smooth moves that you don't see unless you are his level - it fooled Zach EVERY time. No one else had the smoothness in their game like Wade - it was neat to see.

Another observation from that level - the other team plays way off Rubio like he is an old center - just in general - like they want him to shoot over anyone else on the court.

I made the comment about Zach being the leader of the team - it was an observation of how he handles the rest of the team in subtle ways. I think he gets Wiggins and those two are pretty close.

The place was pretty quite the whole night - I was excited to hear Thibs barking - but he must have lost his voice because he was pretty quite the whole game.

In the very beginning of the game Wiggins went up against Butler and tried to power through him - LOL - he hit a rock and changed his play the rest of the game.


I think the reason why Rubio may be struggling may be due to the way this offense is now setup - we a heavy ball movement team now, that is very different than what we have been since Rubio has been here. Perhaps he is learning like the rest of them - like Zach needs to figure our Gorgi cannot catch balls thrown at his feet, or Towns understanding that double and triple teams are the moments he should pass...

Good observations, thanks for the report.

Yes, Zach's defensive issues tend to be tied to his poor anticipation/reaction skills. He's quick and fast as hell, but can get faked out of his shoes at times. Even though I just watched the last 5 minutes or so, there was one play where Wade faked right and Zach over-reacted in that direction to such a degree that Wade easily had a wide open path into the paint. It was almost comical. On the other hand, I'm seeing less and less of this from Zach as time goes on. He had some great defensive sets after this particular play.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Last night was my first time seeing the T-wolves somewhere other than the Target center - a friend gave me his courtside tickets for this game - I was behind the hoop on our side of the court. It gave me a completely different perspective of the NBA level game that I have never seen.

For example - Everyone said Zach's defense was great - I can tell you that Wade has some crazy smooth moves that you don't see unless you are his level - it fooled Zach EVERY time. No one else had the smoothness in their game like Wade - it was neat to see.

Another observation from that level - the other team plays way off Rubio like he is an old center - just in general - like they want him to shoot over anyone else on the court.

I made the comment about Zach being the leader of the team - it was an observation of how he handles the rest of the team in subtle ways. I think he gets Wiggins and those two are pretty close.

The place was pretty quite the whole night - I was excited to hear Thibs barking - but he must have lost his voice because he was pretty quite the whole game.

In the very beginning of the game Wiggins went up against Butler and tried to power through him - LOL - he hit a rock and changed his play the rest of the game.


I think the reason why Rubio may be struggling may be due to the way this offense is now setup - we a heavy ball movement team now, that is very different than what we have been since Rubio has been here. Perhaps he is learning like the rest of them - like Zach needs to figure our Gorgi cannot catch balls thrown at his feet, or Towns understanding that double and triple teams are the moments he should pass...

What a treat to have courtside seats for a fun game like that one! Yeah, Thibs lost his voice again (hmm...just coincidental that he has been relatively silent during our two best road wins, or not?)...he was interviewed on ESPN at the end of the first quarter, and his voice was indecipherable. I've been to several home games this year, and believe me...if the crowd is quiet (or even if it's not) you will hear Thibs loud and clear if he has any voice.

Praying for laryngitis...

[Duke13]

It had nothing to do with his voice. My source says practices have been much lighter the past week. Surprised you weren't all over this LST, you seem to have the inside track on this!