Game Report - Wolves v. Rockets

[Monster]

A couple thoughts here.

I was livid at the officiating for over half the game BUT I'll say this the Wolves int hat 2nd half we're playing aggressive D and were rewarded a number of times with no calls. The Rockets guys thought that T on Teague was ridiculous and there were a couple other fouls they thought were bad too. I thought they were homers on a couple other fouls but that's ok. Lol

As for Teague's energy he was better at the Derrick Rose thing tonight than Derrick Rose was. I do think Teague took it up a notch offensively after that T. On the other end he was up on CP3 the whole time playijg him well giving lots of effort. I don't think CP3 sees that type of defense a lot. Get Teague mad and maybe he will actually take open 3s!!!! Lol one he did pull down but it was Capela closing out on him so that made sense once I processed it more.

Meanwhile Rose as a defender helped enough to offset a meh offensive night. To his credit he didn't shoot the team out of the game. He missed Saric and Towns wide open from 3 a few times. It reminded me of poor Belly last year wide open. The difference between him and Saric is Saric tend to find something else to do. Belly often just stood there.

My favorite play of the night was Covington grabbing that Capela shot and then also winning the jump ball. Unbelievable.

Also I thought all things considered Towns exerted his will innthe post against the Rockets. He made it look easy a number a times against both Capela and Tucker. Yes Capela got some rim runs on him but a couple of those were not on Towns. He had attempted a shot at the rim someone else should have been there. Wiggins got back one time and broke it up. It was great to see. That one long lob Harden passed to him where he seemed to finish it while about to beyond the back board was a pretty good play by both guys not bad D by Dieng who once again had some solid minutes.

Great win. Yes the Rockets missed some open 3's but the Wolves got them out of their rhythm and the Rockets look like they have some problems. Yeah they will add some players and get better but if Inwas a fan I would be worried. They aren't the same team as last year. As the Dunc'd on guys mentioned about this game the Rockets 3 point shooting isn't what it was last year.

You could see the modern NBA in full effect... and why it's tough to build around a post player... last night.

There was a lot of pushing + shoving + elbowing between Towns and Tucker last night. A lot. Yet, just a few feet away, you can't place your hand on a guy's hip without an automatic foul call. I'm not saying that I want to go back to Anthony Mason as a PG era basketball... only that I'd like to see a slightly more level playing field.

The NBA seems to be actively removing post play from the game when they call the game like that. In addition... it was at least 3 (maybe 4?) offensive fouls on Towns last night. That's yet another detriment to having everything go through the post..

The Dunc'd on guys always say "fix the charge". Nene was moving on that one it was a bad call. I was not happy with Towns till I saw the replay and Nene was clearly sliding into position.

I'll say this about the post ups in this game the Spacing a lot of the time was much better than other times we have played Houston. There was a lot more space to work with. I think there is a place for post ups in the modern game IF your guys are actually good at them AND can pass out of them. Towns did pretty well in this game and so did Taj and Saric to some extent as well. Oh yeah and Wiggins manhandled Green that one time.

[AbeVigodaLive]

A couple thoughts here.

I was livid at the officiating for over half the game BUT I'll say this the Wolves int hat 2nd half we're playing aggressive D and were rewarded a number of times with no calls. The Rockets guys thought that T on Teague was ridiculous and there were a couple other fouls they thought were bad too. I thought they were homers on a couple other fouls but that's ok. Lol

As for Teague's energy he was better at the Derrick Rose thing tonight than Derrick Rose was. I do think Teague took it up a notch offensively after that T. On the other end he was up on CP3 the whole time playijg him well giving lots of effort. I don't think CP3 sees that type of defense a lot. Get Teague mad and maybe he will actually take open 3s!!!! Lol one he did pull down but it was Capela closing out on him so that made sense once I processed it more.

Meanwhile Rose as a defender helped enough to offset a meh offensive night. To his credit he didn't shoot the team out of the game. He missed Saric and Towns wide open from 3 a few times. It reminded me of poor Belly last year wide open. The difference between him and Saric is Saric tend to find something else to do. Belly often just stood there.

My favorite play of the night was Covington grabbing that Capela shot and then also winning the jump ball. Unbelievable.

Also I thought all things considered Towns exerted his will innthe post against the Rockets. He made it look easy a number a times against both Capela and Tucker. Yes Capela got some rim runs on him but a couple of those were not on Towns. He had attempted a shot at the rim someone else should have been there. Wiggins got back one time and broke it up. It was great to see. That one long lob Harden passed to him where he seemed to finish it while about to beyond the back board was a pretty good play by both guys not bad D by Dieng who once again had some solid minutes.

Great win. Yes the Rockets missed some open 3's but the Wolves got them out of their rhythm and the Rockets look like they have some problems. Yeah they will add some players and get better but if Inwas a fan I would be worried. They aren't the same team as last year. As the Dunc'd on guys mentioned about this game the Rockets 3 point shooting isn't what it was last year.

You could see the modern NBA in full effect... and why it's tough to build around a post player... last night.

There was a lot of pushing + shoving + elbowing between Towns and Tucker last night. A lot. Yet, just a few feet away, you can't place your hand on a guy's hip without an automatic foul call. I'm not saying that I want to go back to Anthony Mason as a PG era basketball... only that I'd like to see a slightly more level playing field.

The NBA seems to be actively removing post play from the game when they call the game like that. In addition... it was at least 3 (maybe 4?) offensive fouls on Towns last night. That's yet another detriment to having everything go through the post..

The Dunc'd on guys always say "fix the charge". Nene was moving on that one it was a bad call. I was not happy with Towns till I saw the replay and Nene was clearly sliding into position.

I'll say this about the post ups in this game the Spacing a lot of the time was much better than other times we have played Houston. There was a lot more space to work with. I think there is a place for post ups in the modern game IF your guys are actually good at them AND can pass out of them. Towns did pretty well in this game and so did Taj and Saric to some extent as well. Oh yeah and Wiggins manhandled Green that one time.

Notice who Towns got most of his buckets against... it was Capela and not the woefully undersized Tucker.

Why?

Because Tucker has been around the block and realized he is afforded every opportunity to mug opposing bigs in the post UNTIL they get the ball. That's a lot of work to fight through -- along with some risk for fouls -- for KAT and other bigs to deal with just to get a relative low percentage (analytics) look on the block or to initiate the offense for a kick out.

[Monster]

A couple thoughts here.

I was livid at the officiating for over half the game BUT I'll say this the Wolves int hat 2nd half we're playing aggressive D and were rewarded a number of times with no calls. The Rockets guys thought that T on Teague was ridiculous and there were a couple other fouls they thought were bad too. I thought they were homers on a couple other fouls but that's ok. Lol

As for Teague's energy he was better at the Derrick Rose thing tonight than Derrick Rose was. I do think Teague took it up a notch offensively after that T. On the other end he was up on CP3 the whole time playijg him well giving lots of effort. I don't think CP3 sees that type of defense a lot. Get Teague mad and maybe he will actually take open 3s!!!! Lol one he did pull down but it was Capela closing out on him so that made sense once I processed it more.

Meanwhile Rose as a defender helped enough to offset a meh offensive night. To his credit he didn't shoot the team out of the game. He missed Saric and Towns wide open from 3 a few times. It reminded me of poor Belly last year wide open. The difference between him and Saric is Saric tend to find something else to do. Belly often just stood there.

My favorite play of the night was Covington grabbing that Capela shot and then also winning the jump ball. Unbelievable.

Also I thought all things considered Towns exerted his will innthe post against the Rockets. He made it look easy a number a times against both Capela and Tucker. Yes Capela got some rim runs on him but a couple of those were not on Towns. He had attempted a shot at the rim someone else should have been there. Wiggins got back one time and broke it up. It was great to see. That one long lob Harden passed to him where he seemed to finish it while about to beyond the back board was a pretty good play by both guys not bad D by Dieng who once again had some solid minutes.

Great win. Yes the Rockets missed some open 3's but the Wolves got them out of their rhythm and the Rockets look like they have some problems. Yeah they will add some players and get better but if Inwas a fan I would be worried. They aren't the same team as last year. As the Dunc'd on guys mentioned about this game the Rockets 3 point shooting isn't what it was last year.

You could see the modern NBA in full effect... and why it's tough to build around a post player... last night.

There was a lot of pushing + shoving + elbowing between Towns and Tucker last night. A lot. Yet, just a few feet away, you can't place your hand on a guy's hip without an automatic foul call. I'm not saying that I want to go back to Anthony Mason as a PG era basketball... only that I'd like to see a slightly more level playing field.

The NBA seems to be actively removing post play from the game when they call the game like that. In addition... it was at least 3 (maybe 4?) offensive fouls on Towns last night. That's yet another detriment to having everything go through the post..

The Dunc'd on guys always say "fix the charge". Nene was moving on that one it was a bad call. I was not happy with Towns till I saw the replay and Nene was clearly sliding into position.

I'll say this about the post ups in this game the Spacing a lot of the time was much better than other times we have played Houston. There was a lot more space to work with. I think there is a place for post ups in the modern game IF your guys are actually good at them AND can pass out of them. Towns did pretty well in this game and so did Taj and Saric to some extent as well. Oh yeah and Wiggins manhandled Green that one time.

Notice who Towns got most of his buckets against... it was Capela and not the woefully undersized Tucker.

Why?

Because Tucker has been around the block and realized he is afforded every opportunity to mug opposing bigs in the post UNTIL they get the ball. That's a lot of work to fight through -- along with some risk for fouls -- for KAT and other bigs to deal with just to get a relative low percentage (analytics) look on the block or to initiate the offense for a kick out.

It was interesting/weird that they went with Capela on Towns. Towns did score on Tucker a couple times I believe. The other question is did Taj score on Tucker? I think he did once. Trucker usually stones Taj too which is also impressive. I think the time Taj beat Tucker he was farther away from the basket and beat him on a drive in the middle of the floor.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Post ups are generally not a really efficient type of shot. Turnaround jumpers and 6-foot jump hooks while being jostled, to put it lightly, by a defender is not easy. KAT has not been as efficient with that right-handed jump hook this year at all. Houston was absolutely baiting us into post ups and it worked. They normally crush teams that only score 103 points. Luckily our defense was even better!

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

[youtube]JNouD7p_VoA[/youtube]

Covington and Wiggs were everywhere last night. Roco has to be close to a DPOY nomination.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Thanks canuck. Great video. If Wig can do that 75% of the time, have one nasty dunk each game, and hit be a upper 30s 3point shooter, I'll be happy.

Maybe Covey will slowly start to make a difference in him.

[worldK]

[youtube]JNouD7p_VoA[/youtube]

Covington and Wiggs were everywhere last night. Roco has to be close to a DPOY nomination.

Thank you for the video cnuck. Seeing wiggins defend like that was great. He clearly has the ability to be an elite defender. Just be active and put in the effort. He should follow and emulate roco on that end, he clearly has the physical ability to do it.

If Wig can develop into a roco level defender and 39% volume 3pt shooter with more ability on offense. Something like a reliable 18-20ppg. Will he be worth the max?.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

[youtube]JNouD7p_VoA[/youtube]

Covington and Wiggs were everywhere last night. Roco has to be close to a DPOY nomination.

Thank you for the video cnuck. Seeing wiggins defend like that was great. He clearly has the ability to be an elite defender. Just be active and put in the effort. He should follow and emulate roco on that end, he clearly has the physical ability to do it.

If Wig can develop into a roco level defender and 39% volume 3pt shooter with more ability on offense. Something like a reliable 18-20ppg. Will he be worth the max?.

Thats prime kawhi with a 3 pt shot. I dont see it from Wiggins. He has all the tools, except the mental aspect. Everyone that has ever played with him says the same thing. Piss him off, and he'll close the gym. Let him be, and hes more than content to go with the flow.

Everyone loves him as a person, but it does have to be frustrating for his teammates to see greatness in practice only to see him not impose his will in games unless he "feels" like it. I think Fullmer knew how to get through to him. Self(kansas) didnt and Thibs doesnt. But I do think Flip did and even Mitchell.

People paint wiggs as a lazy player content with cashing in that paycheck, but I dont think its the case. He just doesnt tell the world how hard or much he's working, he just does it quietly.

""He's in the gym 11 o'clock at night, he's in the gym working through his ups and downs he has to work through," said Gibson. "He's done a great job on defense, got a lot of key stops that last game, but he does put the work in. Every night I come here around 10 or 11 at night he's still here getting shots up. His time will come and he'll overcome it but I just love his mentality as of late."

Wiggins relies on the extra time he puts in to break out of these kinds of slumps. He knows they won't last, but he's proactive in making sure he's getting extra shots up, preferably late at night when the gym is quiet and he can be alone."

Wiggs issues are all mental. Thats the gamble with him.

[worldK]

[youtube]JNouD7p_VoA[/youtube]

Covington and Wiggs were everywhere last night. Roco has to be close to a DPOY nomination.

Thank you for the video cnuck. Seeing wiggins defend like that was great. He clearly has the ability to be an elite defender. Just be active and put in the effort. He should follow and emulate roco on that end, he clearly has the physical ability to do it.

If Wig can develop into a roco level defender and 39% volume 3pt shooter with more ability on offense. Something like a reliable 18-20ppg. Will he be worth the max?.

Thats prime kawhi with a 3 pt shot. I dont see it from Wiggins. He has all the tools, except the mental aspect. Everyone that has ever played with him says the same thing. Piss him off, and he'll close the gym. Let him be, and hes more than content to go with the flow.

Everyone loves him as a person, but it does have to be frustrating for his teammates to see greatness in practice only to see him not impose his will in games unless he "feels" like it. I think Fullmer knew how to get through to him. Self(kansas) didnt and Thibs doesnt. But I do think Flip did and even Mitchell.

People paint wiggs as a lazy player content with cashing in that paycheck, but I dont think its the case. He just doesnt tell the world how hard or much he's working, he just does it quietly.

""He's in the gym 11 o'clock at night, he's in the gym working through his ups and downs he has to work through," said Gibson. "He's done a great job on defense, got a lot of key stops that last game, but he does put the work in. Every night I come here around 10 or 11 at night he's still here getting shots up. His time will come and he'll overcome it but I just love his mentality as of late."

Wiggins relies on the extra time he puts in to break out of these kinds of slumps. He knows they won't last, but he's proactive in making sure he's getting extra shots up, preferably late at night when the gym is quiet and he can be alone."

Wiggs issues are all mental. Thats the gamble with him.

I was thinking roco but be a better finisher and cutter and has a decent post game to go to. More like a Garry Harris type with post skills on offense than a kawhi all around talent on offense. That is why I had him at 18-20ppg. I given up hope that he can be your 1st option wing scorer. His ball handling is just bad that he can't be counted on to create on the wings. If he can develop that garry harris 3 and cut game and can run the break and given post up opportunities and contribute there while playing close to roco level on d, i would be thrilled. That probably pegged him as your 3rd wheel who makes max money but I think that may be his ceiling going forward.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

This is what Thibs probably salivated about when it came to a Bulter/Wiggins pairing (and now a RoCo/Wiggins pairing) is two defensively interchangeable wings that can fly around and wreak havoc. What made that block against Eric Gordon so good is he used his weak hand to swat it away. I've NEVER seen Wiggins even come close to making a play like this. As others have said tons and tons of times, why isn't this the WIggins we get to see every night? Because it just isn't and unitl he strings together multiple weeks worth of effort and solid to strong play, I'll be a huge skeptic. Fool me once...yada, yada.