San Antonio at Minnesota: Not Your Father’s Spurs

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Teague looks so much better when he is looking to score first and not having to worry so much about getting everyone touches.

Him playing more with the bench solves alot of problems for us.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's slightly behind real-time DVR Viewing Review:

- Wiggins was awesome. Again. It was interesting to hear Jim Pete discussing the difference between the old Wiggins warming up and the new Wiggins.

- Teague was the good Teague tonight. He was pushing the pace. He was aggressive. We see that when he gets upset or wants to get even. His energy was huge tonight. Speaking of...

- ... how many deflections with a Wolves player saving the ball while falling out of bounds did we see? That stuff is contagious and energy stuff. That might have been the most impressive thing of all. Now, if they keep up that level of energy and intensity... this could get fun.

- We hear about how Aldridge and especially DeRozan hold the Spurs back as they play an old-school game. Small sample size, but they were the only two Spurs worth a damn tonight.

- The Wolves seemed very loose on the bench in the 3rd quarter. Laughing, eating, et al. Earlier in the year, Chris Vernon (Memphis play-by-play guy) was ripping the Wolves for being loose and clowning after the Grizzlies loss. But I dunno yet. It's a new breed of athlete. Having fun and playing free and loose might not be the worst thing in the world. We'll see if the Wolves are still having fun in March and whether there's anything to this or not.

- It's simple and we've seen other teams/players do it for years... but the Wolves + Saunders really do seem intent on taking advantage of the 2-for-one at the end of quarters. Modern hoops!

- I'm very surprised the Wolves are 7 - 4, especially as they're changing how they play. But I aint complaining.

By the way... the Wolves shot 34 three pointers in each of the past two games. Is that just a fluke or is it part of the new "system" and the guys are just figuring out what are good and bad shots?

[Tactical unit]

Welcome back J. Teague and another nice performance from Wiggins and Towns, this team is starting to look like a playoff caliber team. On the year we lost to PHIL, MIL, @MEM, & DEN in OT. PHIL & MIL are often referred to as power house teams in the east. The Memphis game was Towns first game off suspension and our first game not having both PG's in addition to D. Brooks and J. Morant really having nice games, Memphis was on fire from 3pt range and really fought hard at home. In the DEN loss MN had plenty of chances to win and I am rather encouraged overall at how this team is playing and I still see room for many young players and the staff to get better. I think Culver is getting more comfortable and capable of a lot more, would like to see him attack even more in the next few games.

[Wolvesfan21]

Wiggins has been impressive this season turning his career around (so it seems). I'm not going to jump on the hype train so if I continue to doubt it, maybe it will continue to improve. :D

The Wolves haven't faced tougher competition other then the Bucks and Sixers, taking care of many non playoff teams is encouraging though. Because that was always a problem before. Losing to the bad teams. SA isn't necessarily a bad team, but they are not a title contender either. It's a game you should win at home.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

my two notes from the game

Towards the end of the game, maybe 3 or 4 min left - SA missed and Layman was getting the rebound, Towns swoops in and elbows Layman in the head trying to get the rebound over him and 1 other guy - there was not a single SA player within 15 feet (at least). Layman was pissed and Towns never looked back...


Okogies box score looks horrendous but dam he plays some serious game-changing D - he was far too amped up in the 1st qtr.

That said, he does this talkie talkie thing with his hands all the time (not sure how else to explain it - he holds his hands up and makes his hands do sock puppet talking - LOL), I have seen a player mock him in a pissed off way before, anyone knows what that is all about? I swore he did it to Towns once before walking to the bench during a time out.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

my two notes from the game

Towards the end of the game, maybe 3 or 4 min left - SA missed and Layman was getting the rebound, Towns swoops in and elbows Layman in the head trying to get the rebound over him and 1 other guy - there was not a single SA player within 15 feet (at least). Layman was pissed and Towns never looked back...


Okogies box score looks horrendous but dam he plays some serious game-changing D - he was far too amped up in the 1st qtr.

That said, he does this talkie talkie thing with his hands all the time (not sure how else to explain it - he holds his hands up and makes his hands do sock puppet talking - LOL), I have seen a player mock him in a pissed off way before, anyone knows what that is all about? I swore he did it to Towns once before walking to the bench during a time out.

Towns has talked about this before. You want your big thinking every rebound is his when it comes off the rim/glass and that's how he approaches it. I have zero problem with him going after everything instead of him relying on a teammate to grab the board -- even if it's uncontested. This is a non-issue.

Okogie's telling the other four Wolves on the court to talk on defense, to communicate. Whether that's calling out screens and cuts or making sure someone picks up the ball-handler in transition or to switch or stay home on P&R action. The best defensive teams are usually the ones that communicate the best on the floor.

[Lipoli390]

my two notes from the game

Towards the end of the game, maybe 3 or 4 min left - SA missed and Layman was getting the rebound, Towns swoops in and elbows Layman in the head trying to get the rebound over him and 1 other guy - there was not a single SA player within 15 feet (at least). Layman was pissed and Towns never looked back...


Okogies box score looks horrendous but dam he plays some serious game-changing D - he was far too amped up in the 1st qtr.

That said, he does this talkie talkie thing with his hands all the time (not sure how else to explain it - he holds his hands up and makes his hands do sock puppet talking - LOL), I have seen a player mock him in a pissed off way before, anyone knows what that is all about? I swore he did it to Towns once before walking to the bench during a time out.

Towns has talked about this before. You want your big thinking every rebound is his when it comes off the rim/glass and that's how he approaches it. I have zero problem with him going after everything instead of him relying on a teammate to grab the board -- even if it's uncontested. This is a non-issue.

Okogie's telling the other four Wolves on the court to talk on defense, to communicate. Whether that's calling out screens and cuts or making sure someone picks up the ball-handler in transition or to switch or stay home on P&R action. The best defensive teams are usually the ones that communicate the best on the floor.

Well said, Cam. Great rebounders in the NBA have always done what KAT does. I'm from Chicago and remember Rodman doing it all the time when he was with the Bulls. Like all elite rebounders, KAT is zoned in on the ball and always in attack mode. That's exactly what we should want from him as Wolves fans since it's a big part of what makes him a great rebounder. By the way, I saw that play and Layman did NOT look pissed to me - not at all. If he was pissed, I'm sure he got over it quickly and I'm sure he loves the extra possessions that KAT's rebounding gives the team. If we're looking for legitimate criticism of KAT, there's his tendency to back-pedal on defense rather that holding his ground and using his size and strength. He also needs to stop trying to make the flashy pass, something that Jim Pete called him out for.

I love that Okogie is talking and encouraging his teammates to talk. I've seen a lot of other players around the League do the same thing. I've never seen any of his teammates mock Okogie for it. Perhaps a teammate was just giving him some crap in a fun way. Or maybe a teammate was pissed off because Okogie called him out for not talking, in which case my issue is with the teammate, not Okogie.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Obviously, Layman needed somebody to blame... considering he's currently 13th on the team in rebounds per 36 minutes.

Even Shabazz Napier averages more boards.

[apollotsg [enjin:6592798]]

Perhaps a teammate was just giving him some crap in a fun way. Or maybe a teammate was pissed off because Okogie called him out for not talking, in which case my issue is with the teammate, not Okogie.

It was an opposing team, a few games ago - they acted like they were tired of Okogie doing it - I thought it was funny because whatever it was frustrated them - and I recall us winning the game. The other prominent time I saw him do it was right after a timeout was called and they were walking back to the bench, I could not tell if he was doing it to Towns of the other team that happen to be close by walking to their bench. it makes lots of sense if he is doing it to get his teammates talking more on defense.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

?Chase Budinger had to die so Minnesota could enjoy Jake Layman. Bless you.?

?11 GP, 26.5 MP, 10.5 PPG (44.8 FG%, 35.6 3P% on 4.1 3PA, 66.7 FT%), 2.8 RPG, and 1.0 SPG.?

?He's not setting the world on fire by any means, but he's done his job and played his role well.?