Wolves vs wounded Lakers GDT

[Jester1534]

Season over still?

[BloopOracle]

Season over still?

If the Wolves win tomorrow the season is still alive, if they aren't expect top 5 draft pick

[Coolbreeze44]

Thanks for staying up guys - on to the next one.

[kekgeek]

Only a game out of the playoffs.

This is the Kat we need all season

[Leado01]

Still had spacing issues. Still need to figure out how to get all the engines running.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The Lakers looked pretty bad. Love seeing this collection of over-the-hill vagabonds struggle. May be some day the Lakers front office will actually have to do work to build a real team rather than just signing a bunch of washed up vets at a discount and hoping Lebron can magically turn them into a contender.

[FNG]

Nothing better than waking up on a Saturday morning and watching the replay of the Wolves blowing out the Lakers! With the exception of an off night from Ant and the continued futility of Wide Load Beasley, literally everyone was near perfect tonight. Even down 5 at half time, it felt like we were going to win this game. I just didn't expect a 40-12 third quarter! Sure the Lakers are beat up, but you can't take anything away from this win. Too many game balls to go around, so I'll just mention a few things:

Our max players: Both DLo and KAT were extraordinary all night. 51 points on 36 shots and a combined +55 is what we need out of these guys. Really fun to watch!

Finch: Vando is not going to start every night and shouldn't. But it was exactly the right call tonight, and not because of how well Vando played (an incredible +3 in 18 minutes). Vando started because Finch knew he needed to match Jaden against Carmelo, and the strategy worked like a charm. With LeBron out, Davis nursing a sore thumb, and Russ looking like a shadow of himself this season, Carmelo was the guy finch was most concerned about tonight. Carmelo has been brilliant all season and was rewarded with a standing ovation when he subbed into the game in the first quarter. But Finch matched him with Jaden, and Jaden responded by holding Carmelo to his worst game of the year.

Naz: It's tough to watch him defensively against bigs like Howard and Davis, but his clever footwork on offense continues to impress me. 12 points in 19 minutes despite missing all three of his threes. DLo and Naz really work well together, so I like Finch's strategy of subbing DLo out early and than bringing him back to work with the second team. It worked really well tonight.

Wins are going to be few and far between this season, but let's take a moment to enjoy this one. Kicking the Laker's butt is a pleasure to watch!

[FNG]

The Lakers looked pretty bad. Love seeing this collection of over-the-hill vagabonds struggle. May be some day the Lakers front office will actually have to do work to build a real team rather than just signing a bunch of washed up vets at a discount and hoping Lebron can magically turn them into a contender.

Yeah, they were awful. But if they get everyone back healthy, I think they are still going to be a force. LeBron, Russ and Davis is a true Big Three, and how many teams can bring guys like Carmelo, Howard and a very promising Austin Reaves off the bench? I still think that age and injuries will hold them back, but if they somehow stay healthy, they could be a factor in the playoffs. I'll be cheering against them though.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The Lakers looked pretty bad. Love seeing this collection of over-the-hill vagabonds struggle. May be some day the Lakers front office will actually have to do work to build a real team rather than just signing a bunch of washed up vets at a discount and hoping Lebron can magically turn them into a contender.

Yeah, they were awful. But if they get everyone back healthy, I think they are still going to be a force. LeBron, Russ and Davis is a true Big Three, and how many teams can bring guys like Carmelo, Howard and a very promising Austin Reaves off the bench? I still think that age and injuries will hold them back, but if they somehow stay healthy, they could be a factor in the playoffs. I'll be cheering against them though.

That's not a big three. It's more like a big two with a third guy that tries to play the way he always has and is deteriorating. Russ's game just doesn't age well and we saw how last night he just can't quite get to the hoop as easily anymore and teams just try to bait him to shoot....and he can't do that well either. By the way, have you noticed how well Washington is playing? They don't seem to miss him much! And LeBron and AD can be injury-prone, so this team is built on a very shaky foundation. Good!

[FNG]

The Lakers looked pretty bad. Love seeing this collection of over-the-hill vagabonds struggle. May be some day the Lakers front office will actually have to do work to build a real team rather than just signing a bunch of washed up vets at a discount and hoping Lebron can magically turn them into a contender.

Yeah, they were awful. But if they get everyone back healthy, I think they are still going to be a force. LeBron, Russ and Davis is a true Big Three, and how many teams can bring guys like Carmelo, Howard and a very promising Austin Reaves off the bench? I still think that age and injuries will hold them back, but if they somehow stay healthy, they could be a factor in the playoffs. I'll be cheering against them though.

That's not a big three. It's more like a big two with a third guy that tries to play the way he always has and is deteriorating. Russ's game just doesn't age well and we saw how last night he just can't quite get to the hoop as easily anymore and teams just try to bait him to shoot....and he can't do that well either. By the way, have you noticed how well Washington is playing? They don't seem to miss him much! And LeBron and AD can be injury-prone, so this team is built on a very shaky foundation. Good!

Fair point about Russ, Q. That's why I teed up the GDT by saying the Wolves could win this one if the ball was in Russ's hands a lot. But the Lakers offense totally changes when LeBron is playing as he takes the ball out of Westbrook's hands, and they had won 4 in a row before he got hurt with all three playing. Russ can't be the man, and with LBJ out and Davis hurting, he feels like he has to be. If Russ can be comfortable being the third wheel, I think they will be very good when (if) everyone is healthy, especially with a rejuvenated Anthony looking like 6th man of the year (except when Jaden is guarding him). I have tickets for the 12/17 game at Target Center. Hopefully LeBron will be healthy, but with the generous way the Scheduling Gods have been treating our Wolves this year (12 consecutive games with our opponent missing a key starter, if not their best player), I suspect he will be out!