I'm back with a fun stat of the night.

[AbeVigodaLive]

42 - fast break points for the opposition the past two nights.

6 - fast break points for the Wolves.

I'm sure it's been discussed, but it's fair to be alarmed about this team because of the defense. How would anybody have known that a defense led by two guys handed the world without really earning it would continue to suck defensively. Think about it... Wiggins got $150M despite not playing defense. Is it a shock if he doesn't play much more after he has that money in his pocket?

I like what Teague can do scoring the ball. But damn... I really miss the excitement of guys running with lanes with Rubio with the ball. The look-ahead passes just aren't there. Is it all Teague? Or are the others not running hard?

The game has changed a lot since Thibs "keep the ball on one side of the court" defense was fashionable and effective. I'm worried.

That being said... even with all the angst... the Wolves are on pace for the 2nd best record in 13 seasons. YEAH!!!



[Edit: Oh, I almost forgot. I still hate watching Shabazz Muhammad play basketball. He's well on his way to joining Rashad McCants on my all-time hate list. The only thing on his side is that he seems quiet and avoids knucklehead situations. But his on-court stuff... YUCK.]

[Monster]

You nailed it Abe the teansistion D has been horrible.

It's hard to run when you let the team score and don't rebound. The Wolves got out rebounded by double digits again tonight. When the Wolves were playing good defense early in the game (Towns was actually pretty good) the ball was getting up the floor.

[Coolbreeze44]

42 - fast break points for the opposition the past two nights.

6 - fast break points for the Wolves.

I'm sure it's been discussed, but it's fair to be alarmed about this team because of the defense. How would anybody have known that a defense led by two guys handed the world without really earning it would continue to suck defensively. Think about it... Wiggins got $150M despite not playing defense. Is it a shock if he doesn't play much more after he has that money in his pocket?

I like what Teague can do scoring the ball. But damn... I really miss the excitement of guys running with lanes with Rubio with the ball. The look-ahead passes just aren't there. Is it all Teague? Or are the others not running hard?

The game has changed a lot since Thibs "keep the ball on one side of the court" defense was fashionable and effective. I'm worried.

That being said... even with all the angst... the Wolves are on pace for the 2nd best record in 13 seasons. YEAH!!!



[Edit: Oh, I almost forgot. I still hate watching Shabazz Muhammad play basketball. He's well on his way to joining Rashad McCants on my all-time hate list. The only thing on his side is that he seems quiet and avoids knucklehead situations. But his on-court stuff... YUCK.]

Hey Abe, welcome back. I think the most pertinent part of your post is the #6. That is Thibs sucking the life out of a team that should be running at every opportunity. Six fast break points in two nights? How is that even possible?

[AbeVigodaLive]

42 - fast break points for the opposition the past two nights.

6 - fast break points for the Wolves.

I'm sure it's been discussed, but it's fair to be alarmed about this team because of the defense. How would anybody have known that a defense led by two guys handed the world without really earning it would continue to suck defensively. Think about it... Wiggins got $150M despite not playing defense. Is it a shock if he doesn't play much more after he has that money in his pocket?

I like what Teague can do scoring the ball. But damn... I really miss the excitement of guys running with lanes with Rubio with the ball. The look-ahead passes just aren't there. Is it all Teague? Or are the others not running hard?

The game has changed a lot since Thibs "keep the ball on one side of the court" defense was fashionable and effective. I'm worried.

That being said... even with all the angst... the Wolves are on pace for the 2nd best record in 13 seasons. YEAH!!!



[Edit: Oh, I almost forgot. I still hate watching Shabazz Muhammad play basketball. He's well on his way to joining Rashad McCants on my all-time hate list. The only thing on his side is that he seems quiet and avoids knucklehead situations. But his on-court stuff... YUCK.]

Hey Abe, welcome back. I think the most pertinent part of your post is the #6. That is Thibs sucking the life out of a team that should be running at every opportunity. Six fast break points in two nights? How is that even possible?

My thoughts on the coaching hasn't changed much. While I have voiced my concerns about Thibs yelling and overbearing-ness previously, players win/lose games in the NBA more than coaches do. And the effort they've put in the past two nights is downright embarrassing whether they have an annoying over-the-hill, too-demanding coach or not.

[Coolbreeze44]

42 - fast break points for the opposition the past two nights.

6 - fast break points for the Wolves.

I'm sure it's been discussed, but it's fair to be alarmed about this team because of the defense. How would anybody have known that a defense led by two guys handed the world without really earning it would continue to suck defensively. Think about it... Wiggins got $150M despite not playing defense. Is it a shock if he doesn't play much more after he has that money in his pocket?

I like what Teague can do scoring the ball. But damn... I really miss the excitement of guys running with lanes with Rubio with the ball. The look-ahead passes just aren't there. Is it all Teague? Or are the others not running hard?

The game has changed a lot since Thibs "keep the ball on one side of the court" defense was fashionable and effective. I'm worried.

That being said... even with all the angst... the Wolves are on pace for the 2nd best record in 13 seasons. YEAH!!!



[Edit: Oh, I almost forgot. I still hate watching Shabazz Muhammad play basketball. He's well on his way to joining Rashad McCants on my all-time hate list. The only thing on his side is that he seems quiet and avoids knucklehead situations. But his on-court stuff... YUCK.]

Hey Abe, welcome back. I think the most pertinent part of your post is the #6. That is Thibs sucking the life out of a team that should be running at every opportunity. Six fast break points in two nights? How is that even possible?

My thoughts on the coaching hasn't changed much. While I have voiced my concerns about Thibs yelling and overbearing-ness previously, players win/lose games in the NBA more than coaches do. And the effort they've put in the past two nights is downright embarrassing whether they have an annoying over-the-hill, too-demanding coach or not.

I can't give Thibs a pass at this point. Our failure appears to be a collective effort that is an indictment on every facet of the organization.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

When you let the other team shoot well and you don't rebound the ball you don't get transition opportunities.

The transition D at this point is a joke. Nobody is ever back and half the team is standing around on offense anyway so there is no reason they shouldn't be getting back.

They don't do anything Thibs preaches so you have to wonder what's going on behind the scenes in practice, etc. The whole team looks lost. I don't think Thibs outlives a .500 season. You can't dump the players anymore because he brought most of them in at this point. And you can't let him continue if this team is going to continue to be fundamentally terrible at the basics of the game while almost everyone else (a lot with much less talent) gets it.

[AbeVigodaLive]

42 - fast break points for the opposition the past two nights.

6 - fast break points for the Wolves.

I'm sure it's been discussed, but it's fair to be alarmed about this team because of the defense. How would anybody have known that a defense led by two guys handed the world without really earning it would continue to suck defensively. Think about it... Wiggins got $150M despite not playing defense. Is it a shock if he doesn't play much more after he has that money in his pocket?

I like what Teague can do scoring the ball. But damn... I really miss the excitement of guys running with lanes with Rubio with the ball. The look-ahead passes just aren't there. Is it all Teague? Or are the others not running hard?

The game has changed a lot since Thibs "keep the ball on one side of the court" defense was fashionable and effective. I'm worried.

That being said... even with all the angst... the Wolves are on pace for the 2nd best record in 13 seasons. YEAH!!!



[Edit: Oh, I almost forgot. I still hate watching Shabazz Muhammad play basketball. He's well on his way to joining Rashad McCants on my all-time hate list. The only thing on his side is that he seems quiet and avoids knucklehead situations. But his on-court stuff... YUCK.]

Hey Abe, welcome back. I think the most pertinent part of your post is the #6. That is Thibs sucking the life out of a team that should be running at every opportunity. Six fast break points in two nights? How is that even possible?

My thoughts on the coaching hasn't changed much. While I have voiced my concerns about Thibs yelling and overbearing-ness previously, players win/lose games in the NBA more than coaches do. And the effort they've put in the past two nights is downright embarrassing whether they have an annoying over-the-hill, too-demanding coach or not.

I can't give Thibs a pass at this point. Our failure appears to be a collective effort that is an indictment on every facet of the organization.

I'm not suggesting we give Thibs a pass. Just bringing balance to whose to blame.

Per usual, it's a collective effort as you mention.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Wow, that is an indictment of the team culture, especially the transition defense. It's one thing for teams to go nuts on us from 3, it's another thing to allow that huge of a disparity in transition.

Apparently the camp in SoCal and the China trip did nothing for team unity. These guys are already giving up on each other.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I didn't see last night's game, but I was there for the Pacers' debacle. And it was shocking to me to see how poorly we got back on defense and how many easy layups we gave up...the worst I have ever seen from a Wolves team. As much as I like Bazz, a lot of this is on him...substituting him for Butler in the starting lineup totally changes both our half court and transition defense. I will also offer that Teague does not appear as adept as Rubio at getting back. Whatever it is, it needs to stop...Tuesday night was painful to watch, and I don't know if last night was any better.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I didn't see last night's game, but I was there for the Pacers' debacle. And it was shocking to me to see how poorly we got back on defense and how many easy layups we gave up...the worst I have ever seen from a Wolves team. As much as I like Bazz, a lot of this is on him...substituting him for Butler in the starting lineup totally changes both our half court and transition defense. I will also offer that Teague does not appear as adept as Rubio at getting back. Whatever it is, it needs to stop...Tuesday night was painful to watch, and I don't know if last night was any better.

Last night was worse in some ways.

After being outscored 18 - 6 in transition vs. the Pacers... it was 24 - 0 last night.

Stan Van Gundy:
"we're not usually scoring a lot of fast-break points..."
"Counting the playoffs, I've coached something like 900 games in this league, so I can't remember all of them... I might have seen a disparity like that before, but it is certainly rare."