KG4Ever wrote:JMac is easily best point guard on this team.
Agreed. This team is such a joke.
Statistically it's a fact as well. Better net rating this season. Better VORP. So the eyes are not lying.
It's not that he's great, it's that DLO and Rubio have been atrocious. DLO had a few bright spots where he shows flashes of brilliance, but he's like Wiggins and only shows up once in a blue moon.
I wonder if the rest of the roster is not doing them any favors either. Having a bunch of 19-22 year olds playing and arguably the most raw team in the league, especially without KAT. I don't give them a pass, I'm just taking the other side and trying to make a fair judgement. They both absolutely need to play better, but I'm doubting either can at this point.
Well, let's see what he does in a full-time starting role (if that ever happens) before leaning too heavily into those net rating and VORP numbers. He playing mostly against other backups. I will say that he seems like a well rounded point guard that has the right PG mentality to move the ball while also being able to score if he has to. The question is how far can he uplevel his game? Not sure he's a 32 MPG type starter.
Main issues tonight was the Wolves have no plan offensively...
Ok. I've been thinking about this. There was much discussion after the New Orleans win about Rubio/Saunders running more plays. So apparently, the preferred Rosas/Saunders system doesn't really run plays. I assume that means it's a more read-and-react set that relies on the players to make smart plays. Fair enough.
BUT THE TIMBERWOLVES ARE EMBARRASSINGLY SHORT OF PLAYERS WHO KNOW HOW TO PLAY NBA BASKETBALL AND THEY KEEP DRAFTING MORE OF THEM!!!!!!
Whew. Apologies. That got away from me a bit there. But, I'm calm now. Shirley, you see the disconnect, right?
________
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves also leaked that they were incredibly impressed with Anthony Edwards ditching mid-range shots during his pre-draft workout. The leaked information led us to believe that it was a positive and that finding players to fit the system was critically important. Ok. Fair enough.
BUT THE TIMBERWOLVES TRADED FOR A MAX CONTRACT GUY AND GAVE UP A TOP 1ST RD PICK FOR A GUY WHO LOVES THE MID-RANGE AND SHOOTS CONTESTED MID-RANGE JUMP SHOTS AT MORE THAN 2X AS MUCH AS THE NEXT GUY ON THE TEAM!!!!!!!!
Ummm... apologies again. I don't know what's come over me this morning. But my very calm and measured point is that there appears to be inconsistencies and mixed messages from the top down in this organization. That sort of thing is what bad organizations are known for.
I feel better. Thank you.
Glad you feel better, Abe. Sometimes you just have to let it out. :) I only wish your rant wasn't based on fully accurate observations. But those observations are why I've come to the conclusion that Rosas is the worst PBO this franchise has even had - and that's saying something.
The disconnect between Gersson's vaunted "system" and the players he's pursued to play in that system is astounding. DLO is the best example of that disconnect - (1) a slower non-athletic half-court player to play in a fast-paced full-court system; (2) a ball-dominant PG who tends to dribble and shoot to play in a system purportedly predicated on ball-movement; (3) a mid-range shooter to play in a system that emphasizes 3-point shooting; and (4) a poor defender to be one of two pillars or stars on an already poor defensive team where the other pillar is also a notoriously bad defender. You can't make this stuff up. But there are other examples like using his two lottery picks in two years on prospects who were poor three-point shooters in college. Or how about trading a first-round pick for another poor three-point shooter as a back-up PG at $17M per year added to an already overcrowded backcourt?
Watching Rosas in action gives me a sense of how Alice must have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole.
DLO can make 3's, but that is literally the only attribute of his that fits "the system". Heck, even KAT isn't exactly a fast player, but his ability to bring a big outside the lane absolutely fits the system.
Beasley might be the closest guy to a great fit. Plays fast. Shoots the 3 in volume. Can convert midrange runners if he absolutely is forced by the defense to take a non-system shot.
Main issues tonight was the Wolves have no plan offensively...
Ok. I've been thinking about this. There was much discussion after the New Orleans win about Rubio/Saunders running more plays. So apparently, the preferred Rosas/Saunders system doesn't really run plays. I assume that means it's a more read-and-react set that relies on the players to make smart plays. Fair enough.
BUT THE TIMBERWOLVES ARE EMBARRASSINGLY SHORT OF PLAYERS WHO KNOW HOW TO PLAY NBA BASKETBALL AND THEY KEEP DRAFTING MORE OF THEM!!!!!!
Whew. Apologies. That got away from me a bit there. But, I'm calm now. Shirley, you see the disconnect, right?
________
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves also leaked that they were incredibly impressed with Anthony Edwards ditching mid-range shots during his pre-draft workout. The leaked information led us to believe that it was a positive and that finding players to fit the system was critically important. Ok. Fair enough.
BUT THE TIMBERWOLVES TRADED FOR A MAX CONTRACT GUY AND GAVE UP A TOP 1ST RD PICK FOR A GUY WHO LOVES THE MID-RANGE AND SHOOTS CONTESTED MID-RANGE JUMP SHOTS AT MORE THAN 2X AS MUCH AS THE NEXT GUY ON THE TEAM!!!!!!!!
Ummm... apologies again. I don't know what's come over me this morning. But my very calm and measured point is that there appears to be inconsistencies and mixed messages from the top down in this organization. That sort of thing is what bad organizations are known for.
I feel better. Thank you.
Glad you feel better, Abe. Sometimes you just have to let it out. :) I only wish your rant wasn't based on fully accurate observations. But those observations are why I've come to the conclusion that Rosas is the worst PBO this franchise has even had - and that's saying something.
The disconnect between Gersson's vaunted "system" and the players he's pursued to play in that system is astounding. DLO is the best example of that disconnect - (1) a slower non-athletic half-court player to play in a fast-paced full-court system; (2) a ball-dominant PG who tends to dribble and shoot to play in a system purportedly predicated on ball-movement; (3) a mid-range shooter to play in a system that emphasizes 3-point shooting; and (4) a poor defender to be one of two pillars or stars on an already poor defensive team where the other pillar is also a notoriously bad defender. You can't make this stuff up. But there are other examples like using his two lottery picks in two years on prospects who were poor three-point shooters in college. Or how about trading a first-round pick for another poor three-point shooter as a back-up PG at $17M per year added to an already overcrowded backcourt?
Watching Rosas in action gives me a sense of how Alice must have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole.
DLO can make 3's, but that is literally the only attribute of his that fits "the system". Heck, even KAT isn't exactly a fast player, but his ability to bring a big outside the lane absolutely fits the system.
Beasley might be the closest guy to a great fit. Plays fast. Shoots the 3 in volume. Can convert midrange runners if he absolutely is forced by the defense to take a non-system shot.
Agree with all your points. But I'll add that, while he can make threes, DLO is no where close to an elite 3-point shooter. If you're giving up a first round pick and paying max salary for a player you expect to be the second pillar/star of your team, you would think that player would be close to elite in at least one aspect of the system you expect the team to play. Beasley was the one trade-deadline acquisition that I thought made sense at the time. Bolmaro is another poor shooter in waiting. That one bugs me because it's simply a wasted draft pick.
I can't help but wonder what the Wolves could have done on draft day if they would have had both of their 2021 draft picks. Would those additional assets have created an opportunity to acquire Beal or Simmons? If not, having those picks would have helped mitigate the disaster of this season. I wonder how Wiggins would have faired at SF with Beasley at SG? Beasley's three-point shooting might have given Wiggins more room to get to the hole and it certainly would have reduced Wiggins' ball-handling and taken scoring pressure off of him, which would have helped. Or maybe we could have dealt Wiggins to the Hornets for Batum and Charlotte's #32 pick, which would have been a valuable asset. And as it turns out, Batum is actually playing well this season. What if the Wolves had acquired Randle instead of Rubio, using the same assets? Or what if the Wolves had acquired Christian Wood in a sign-and-trade deal before this season? (Monster has mentioned this) Given that Detroit just let him walk, it would seem that Wood was gettable without the need to give up a lot. Or what if the Wolves had signed Bobby Portis instead of Juancho - probably for less money than the amount Juancho's getting?
Sorry to go off on a tangent. But as much as I'm bothered by Gersson's bad acquisitions, I'm even more troubled by the opportunity costs associated with his moves.
KG4Ever wrote:JMac is easily best point guard on this team.
Agreed. This team is such a joke.
Statistically it's a fact as well. Better net rating this season. Better VORP. So the eyes are not lying.
It's not that he's great, it's that DLO and Rubio have been atrocious. DLO had a few bright spots where he shows flashes of brilliance, but he's like Wiggins and only shows up once in a blue moon.
I wonder if the rest of the roster is not doing them any favors either. Having a bunch of 19-22 year olds playing and arguably the most raw team in the league, especially without KAT. I don't give them a pass, I'm just taking the other side and trying to make a fair judgement. They both absolutely need to play better, but I'm doubting either can at this point.
Well, let's see what he does in a full-time starting role (if that ever happens) before leaning too heavily into those net rating and VORP numbers. He playing mostly against other backups. I will say that he seems like a well rounded point guard that has the right PG mentality to move the ball while also being able to score if he has to. The question is how far can he uplevel his game? Not sure he's a 32 MPG type starter.
Right like I said, I think it's more to do with Rubio and DLO playing bad then JMac being that good. Like you said he's primarily been playing against backups and garbage time too so that can inflate things.
Right now though it's looking like that Rubio trade was a flat out disaster as we'd be better off with JMac playing.
Main issues tonight was the Wolves have no plan offensively...
Ok. I've been thinking about this. There was much discussion after the New Orleans win about Rubio/Saunders running more plays. So apparently, the preferred Rosas/Saunders system doesn't really run plays. I assume that means it's a more read-and-react set that relies on the players to make smart plays. Fair enough.
BUT THE TIMBERWOLVES ARE EMBARRASSINGLY SHORT OF PLAYERS WHO KNOW HOW TO PLAY NBA BASKETBALL AND THEY KEEP DRAFTING MORE OF THEM!!!!!!
Whew. Apologies. That got away from me a bit there. But, I'm calm now. Shirley, you see the disconnect, right?
________
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves also leaked that they were incredibly impressed with Anthony Edwards ditching mid-range shots during his pre-draft workout. The leaked information led us to believe that it was a positive and that finding players to fit the system was critically important. Ok. Fair enough.
BUT THE TIMBERWOLVES TRADED FOR A MAX CONTRACT GUY AND GAVE UP A TOP 1ST RD PICK FOR A GUY WHO LOVES THE MID-RANGE AND SHOOTS CONTESTED MID-RANGE JUMP SHOTS AT MORE THAN 2X AS MUCH AS THE NEXT GUY ON THE TEAM!!!!!!!!
Ummm... apologies again. I don't know what's come over me this morning. But my very calm and measured point is that there appears to be inconsistencies and mixed messages from the top down in this organization. That sort of thing is what bad organizations are known for.
I feel better. Thank you.
Glad you feel better, Abe. Sometimes you just have to let it out. :) I only wish your rant wasn't based on fully accurate observations. But those observations are why I've come to the conclusion that Rosas is the worst PBO this franchise has even had - and that's saying something.
The disconnect between Gersson's vaunted "system" and the players he's pursued to play in that system is astounding. DLO is the best example of that disconnect - (1) a slower non-athletic half-court player to play in a fast-paced full-court system; (2) a ball-dominant PG who tends to dribble and shoot to play in a system purportedly predicated on ball-movement; (3) a mid-range shooter to play in a system that emphasizes 3-point shooting; and (4) a poor defender to be one of two pillars or stars on an already poor defensive team where the other pillar is also a notoriously bad defender. You can't make this stuff up. But there are other examples like using his two lottery picks in two years on prospects who were poor three-point shooters in college. Or how about trading a first-round pick for another poor three-point shooter as a back-up PG at $17M per year added to an already overcrowded backcourt?
Watching Rosas in action gives me a sense of how Alice must have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole.
DLO can make 3's, but that is literally the only attribute of his that fits "the system". Heck, even KAT isn't exactly a fast player, but his ability to bring a big outside the lane absolutely fits the system.
Beasley might be the closest guy to a great fit. Plays fast. Shoots the 3 in volume. Can convert midrange runners if he absolutely is forced by the defense to take a non-system shot.
Agree with all your points. But I'll add that, while he can make threes, DLO is no where close to an elite 3-point shooter. If you're giving up a first round pick and paying max salary for a player you expect to be the second pillar/star of your team, you would think that player would be close to elite in at least one aspect of the system you expect the team to play. Beasley was the one trade-deadline acquisition that I thought made sense at the time. Bolmaro is another poor shooter in waiting. That one bugs me because it's simply a wasted draft pick.
I can't help but wonder what the Wolves could have done on draft day if they would have had both of their 2021 draft picks. Would those additional assets have created an opportunity to acquire Beal or Simmons? If not, having those picks would have helped mitigate the disaster of this season. I wonder how Wiggins would have faired at SF with Beasley at SG? Beasley's three-point shooting might have given Wiggins more room to get to the hole and it certainly would have reduced Wiggins' ball-handling and taken scoring pressure off of him, which would have helped. Or maybe we could have dealt Wiggins to the Hornets for Batum and Charlotte's #32 pick, which would have been a valuable asset. And as it turns out, Batum is actually playing well this season. What if the Wolves had acquired Randle instead of Rubio, using the same assets? Or what if the Wolves had acquired Christian Wood in a sign-and-trade deal before this season? (Monster has mentioned this) Given that Detroit just let him walk, it would seem that Wood was gettable without the need to give up a lot. Or what if the Wolves had signed Bobby Portis instead of Juancho - probably for less money than the amount Juancho's getting?
Sorry to go off on a tangent. But as much as I'm bothered by Gersson's bad acquisitions, I'm even more troubled by the opportunity costs associated with his moves.
I'm pleased that you bring this up. It was the opportunity cost that I was so upset with the day of the DLO trade. We shot our entire load on a plan sure to fail. You nailed it here Lip.
