lipoli390 wrote:I'm fine with that starting lineup. Regarding Okogie, we already have our three best scorers as starters, i.e., Towns, Wiggins and Covington. Okogie balances the lineup better than any of the alternatives since he is a better passer, ballhandler and defender than Graham or KBD. Regarding Culver, the offense tends to run much better with Culver than Teague at the point, but more importantly, it makes sense to commit to developing and evaluating Culver as our starting PG of the future. I also think this starting lineup will strengthen our second unit, which otherwise lacks scoring punch. KBD will provide more offensive firepower to the second unit in the absence of Wiggins, Towns and/or Covington.
This lineup might also be a statement from the coaching staff about this organization's commitment to defense. Right now, only 4 teams in the West give up more points per game than the Wolves and all but one of them is below the Wolves in the standings. The Wolves have the 14th rated defense on advanced measures, but that's below all the teams above the Wolves in the Western Conference standings. So defense remains an issue for the Wolves if they intend to become a true contender. This starting lineup should be very good defensively.
In the end, Culver or Okogie (hopefully both) will have to become a decent perimeter shooter if this team going to take a significant step forward. If that happens and Culver develops into a good lead guard, then this lineup could be the real deal in the long term. The rest of this season should be about developing those players and giving them every opportunity to develop individually and together with the starting lineup. So I like the move. And I remain comfortable with the Wolves as a lottery team this season with an eye towards evaluating and building for next season and beyond.
Your missing one thing about Okogie vs. KBD and it's that he is not a better shooter than KBD and that is our #1 issue as a team. Additionally, this actually makes our bench weaker, not stronger, in that Okogie has proven to be a very nice burst of energy coming off the bench.
Your hope about either Okogie or Culver becoming decent perimeter shooters is just that - hope. We've had years of data showing us how awful this team has been at taking poor shooters and turning them into anything other than continued poor shooters. Hell, we've taken good shooters and turned them into poor shooters (I'm looking at you Jeff Teague!).
Seriously Q. Does whether Okogie or KBD is in the starting lineup really matter? I'll answer that question myself with a resounding no. Both should get a lot of minutes all season to evaluate and develop them so we have as complete a picture as possible of what we have on this roster before next summer. Nowell, Martin and Reid need to get significant playing time as well. And the organization needs to see if it can turn Covington, Teague and possibly Wiggins into young high-upside talent or draft picks via trades this season or next summer. Oh, and this organization needs to make smart draft decisions, which at a minimum, means not trading up to take a guy with a broken shot.
Obviously, this team isn't even close to being a contender. Our 3-point shooting is terrible (except for KAT And maybe Covington). We don't have an elite ballhandler who can create shots for himself and others. We don't have any shot-blocking/defensive bigs to help KAT down low and our defense gives up a lot of points. The Wolves are a lottery team regardless of whether Okogie or KBD is inserted in the starting lineup.
lipoli390 wrote:I'm fine with that starting lineup. Regarding Okogie, we already have our three best scorers as starters, i.e., Towns, Wiggins and Covington. Okogie balances the lineup better than any of the alternatives since he is a better passer, ballhandler and defender than Graham or KBD. Regarding Culver, the offense tends to run much better with Culver than Teague at the point, but more importantly, it makes sense to commit to developing and evaluating Culver as our starting PG of the future. I also think this starting lineup will strengthen our second unit, which otherwise lacks scoring punch. KBD will provide more offensive firepower to the second unit in the absence of Wiggins, Towns and/or Covington.
This lineup might also be a statement from the coaching staff about this organization's commitment to defense. Right now, only 4 teams in the West give up more points per game than the Wolves and all but one of them is below the Wolves in the standings. The Wolves have the 14th rated defense on advanced measures, but that's below all the teams above the Wolves in the Western Conference standings. So defense remains an issue for the Wolves if they intend to become a true contender. This starting lineup should be very good defensively.
In the end, Culver or Okogie (hopefully both) will have to become a decent perimeter shooter if this team going to take a significant step forward. If that happens and Culver develops into a good lead guard, then this lineup could be the real deal in the long term. The rest of this season should be about developing those players and giving them every opportunity to develop individually and together with the starting lineup. So I like the move. And I remain comfortable with the Wolves as a lottery team this season with an eye towards evaluating and building for next season and beyond.
Your missing one thing about Okogie vs. KBD and it's that he is not a better shooter than KBD and that is our #1 issue as a team. Additionally, this actually makes our bench weaker, not stronger, in that Okogie has proven to be a very nice burst of energy coming off the bench.
Your hope about either Okogie or Culver becoming decent perimeter shooters is just that - hope. We've had years of data showing us how awful this team has been at taking poor shooters and turning them into anything other than continued poor shooters. Hell, we've taken good shooters and turned them into poor shooters (I'm looking at you Jeff Teague!).
Seriously Q. Does whether Okogie or KBD is in the starting lineup really matter? I'll answer that question myself with a resounding no. Both should get a lot of minutes all season to evaluate and develop them so we have as complete a picture as possible of what we have on this roster before next summer. Nowell, Martin and Reid need to get significant playing time as well. And the organization needs to see if it can turn Covington, Teague and possibly Wiggins into young high-upside talent or draft picks via trades this season or next summer. Oh, and this organization needs to make smart draft decisions, which at a minimum, means not trading up to take a guy with a broken shot.
Obviously, this team isn't even close to being a contender. Our 3-point shooting is terrible (except for KAT And maybe Covington). We don't have an elite ballhandler who can create shots for himself and others. We don't have any shot-blocking/defensive bigs to help KAT down low and our defense gives up a lot of points. The Wolves are a lottery team regardless of whether Okogie or KBD is inserted in the starting lineup.
Agree with this take. I wish we were competing for a playoff spot because I want to see how teams guard towns, Wiggins and okogie especially but it is looking less likely now
Despite the last few losses, the Wolves are still currently holding the 8th seed in the West. And this is despite utterly terrible shooting by many players not named KAT, KBD or Roco. A couple close losses and blown games to boot. We also have a new system which many new players who are not familiar with each other (though many teams are as well).
I don't think it is out of the question they could make the playoffs. Maybe even 50% chance legitimately. I can see the team getting better from here. However, it would be nice to have a chance for a top 3 pick. Either way, I'll just enjoy the ride.
Wolves 3 pt shooting: 272/824 (33%)
KAT, RoCo, Wiggins, Layman: 172/447 (.385)
Rest of team: 100/377 (.265) - and that includes 15/32 from KBD...without him it's under 25%.
Ouch.
I think we should really push hard for bogdanovic before the kings lose him for nothing.
We could probably eat dedmons deal if dieng goes out + whatever else they want.
Wolves 3 pt shooting: 272/824 (33%)
KAT, RoCo, Wiggins, Layman: 172/447 (.385)
Rest of team: 100/377 (.265) - and that includes 15/32 from KBD...without him it's under 25%.
Ouch.
I think we should really push hard for bogdanovic before the kings lose him for nothing.
We could probably eat dedmons deal if dieng goes out + whatever else they want.
Just adding shooting is not enough. This team severely lacks ball handling playmakers to generate open 3's off dribble penetration. You could have 5 good 3pt shooters out there and if nobody can actually generate the open looks it wouldn't matter.
Wolves 3 pt shooting: 272/824 (33%)
KAT, RoCo, Wiggins, Layman: 172/447 (.385)
Rest of team: 100/377 (.265) - and that includes 15/32 from KBD...without him it's under 25%.
Ouch.
I think we should really push hard for bogdanovic before the kings lose him for nothing.
We could probably eat dedmons deal if dieng goes out + whatever else they want.
Just adding shooting is not enough. This team severely lacks ball handling playmakers to generate open 3's off dribble penetration. You could have 5 good 3pt shooters out there and if nobody can actually generate the open looks it wouldn't matter.
You make a really important point, Kahns. The lack of ball-handling playmakers has been a big problem with this team for a while and I've been harping on it a lot. As an example of what we need, the ideal fit for this team from last June's draft would have been Ja Morant. Andrew Wiggins is not and never will be the ball-handling shot creator this team needs. Neither will Okogie. Culver? Well.... I have my doubts, but I won't dismiss the possibility of him developing into that sort of player.
Wolves 3 pt shooting: 272/824 (33%)
KAT, RoCo, Wiggins, Layman: 172/447 (.385)
Rest of team: 100/377 (.265) - and that includes 15/32 from KBD...without him it's under 25%.
Ouch.
I think we should really push hard for bogdanovic before the kings lose him for nothing.
We could probably eat dedmons deal if dieng goes out + whatever else they want.
Just adding shooting is not enough. This team severely lacks ball handling playmakers to generate open 3's off dribble penetration. You could have 5 good 3pt shooters out there and if nobody can actually generate the open looks it wouldn't matter.
You make a really important point, Kahns. The lack of ball-handling playmakers has been a big problem with this team for a while and I've been harping on it a lot. As an example of what we need, the ideal fit for this team from last June's draft would have been Ja Morant. Andrew Wiggins is not and never will be the ball-handling shot creator this team needs. Neither will Okogie. Culver? Well.... I have my doubts, but I won't dismiss the possibility of him developing into that sort of player.
I think bogs could be that guy and he wouldn't cost us any where near as much as what russell would.
