Game Report - Wolves v. Warriors

[Lipoli390]

Tonight's game was a lot of fun to watch live at Target Center. The crowd was surprisingly small considering it was a Friday night with decent weather and a popular opponent. The crowd wasn't particularly loud or energetic either. So most of the Wolves energy tonight came from within the team.

I didn't know Draymond Green wasn't playing until I arrived at the arena. No Green, no Curry, no Thompson, no Iggy, no Durant. The Warriors team on the floor tonight wasn't recognizable and I was convinced the Wolves would big by a pretty lofty margin. Of course, i was wrong as our Wolves were barely able to squeak out a win at home against the pale outline of what was one of the best NBA teams we've even seen. This was a game the Wolves should have dominated. The fact that we almost lost is a telling reminder that this teams has serious flaws and that we should all manage our expectations. On the other hand, the fact that the Wolves fought back to win this game tells us this team has some real grit and toughness.

Wiggins was fantastic on the offensive end tonight and decent defensively. He was obviously the guy who carried the Wolves to victory tonight. I've never seen him better than he was tonight at scoring on dribble penetration in the half court. He was unstoppable throughout much of the game and put some moves on defenders I've never seen from him. It wasn't just the old straight-line drive with a Euro-step and/or a spin move. He showed some really nice cross-over moves with change of speed and direction. No doubt he played at an allstar level tonight. Even his facial expression throughout the game was different with very few if any smiles and lots of focus. He failed to stay in front of his guy defensively more often than he should, but he was fantastic overall.

As great as Wiggins was, Okogie and Covington were runners up as keys to tonight's win. I can't say enough about how Okogie changed the tenor and trajectory of tonight's game. His smothering and opportunistic defense coupled with his rebounding, energy and timely high-percentage scoring were critical to tonight's win. Covington didn't shoot well, but he attacked the boards and defended while also contributing a couple big threes.

KAT didn't play well tonight and unfortunately he seemed to regress a bit back to some of his bad habits on the defensive end - like backpedaling as a smaller defenders drives the lane. Yet, as a measure of how great KAT is, his bad game tonight included 20 points and 14 rebounds, including a huge rebound and put-back in overtime. Overall, in spite of his issues tonight, KAT was a significant net positive for the Wolves.

The most vocal player on the bench was Napier. He was talking to teammates both individually and collectively throughout the night, sometimes obviously offering advice and pointers. During one timeout late in the 4th, the coaches stood back while Napier addressed the entire team in a very animated but clearly positive way. This guy seems like a great teammate and he's been very solid on the court.

So the Wolves are 5-3 right now. Yes, we've played mainly lower level teams, but there are no easy wins in the NBA. Credit this Wolves team - players and coaching staff - for giving fans a competitive and pretty exciting team to root for. Win or lose, tonight's game was fun to be at. Better yet, we won the game and did so with last minute heroics from Wiggins, Okogie, Covington and KAT. Perhaps that's something we can build around.

[Porckchop]

I remember the Wolves beating a Jordan lead Bulls team many years ago, I also remember the dolphins beating the Pats last year. The list goes on. In pro sports there's no such thing as a guarantee. A wins a win no matter the circumstances . We should be lauding the fact that they didn't hang their heads and continued to hustle out the victory.
Our dear Vikings are known for losing gimme games when each and every game is pivotal.

[Leado01]

Thanks for the report. Agreed on all points. I also thought Jake Layman kept us in the game with his attacks on the rim and intensity.

I don't recall whether you took my dinner bet a few months ago that Wiggins would be significantly better this year and would average over 21.5/game by Dec 10th, but if Wiggins puts in the efforts we've seen for most of this year, I'll gladly buy.

This team is pushing Wiggims to be a leader and they root for him. What's weird is I'm not so sure they love KAT the same way.  Your thoughts on that?

I also saw something tonight that bothered me, an uncontested rebound in OT that bounced right to Wiggins and KAT came over and took it. . . . then handed the ball back to Wig. Love used to pull that same move . . . it bothered me with Love and it will bother me if KAT starts that same crap.

[mjs34]

Thanks for the report. Agreed on all points. I also thought Jake Layman kept us in the game with his attacks on the rim and intensity.

I don't recall whether you took my dinner bet a few months ago that Wiggins would be significantly better this year and would average over 21.5/game by Dec 10th, but if Wiggins puts in the efforts we've seen for most of this year, I'll gladly buy.

This team is pushing Wiggims to be a leader and they root for him. What's weird is I'm not so sure they love KAT the same way.  Your thoughts on that?

I also saw something tonight that bothered me, an uncontested rebound in OT that bounced right to Wiggins and KAT came over and took it. . . . then handed the ball back to Wig. Love used to pull that same move . . . it bothered me with Love and it will bother me if KAT starts that same crap.

It's not the first time I've witnessed that, and one reason why I have never worried about Wig's rebounding numbers.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for the report. Agreed on all points. I also thought Jake Layman kept us in the game with his attacks on the rim and intensity.

I don't recall whether you took my dinner bet a few months ago that Wiggins would be significantly better this year and would average over 21.5/game by Dec 10th, but if Wiggins puts in the efforts we've seen for most of this year, I'll gladly buy.

This team is pushing Wiggims to be a leader and they root for him. What's weird is I'm not so sure they love KAT the same way.  Your thoughts on that?

I also saw something tonight that bothered me, an uncontested rebound in OT that bounced right to Wiggins and KAT came over and took it. . . . then handed the ball back to Wig. Love used to pull that same move . . . it bothered me with Love and it will bother me if KAT starts that same crap.

Leado - I don't think I took that bet, but I'm all in on Steak at Manny's if Wiggins keeps this up. :)

I don't think teammates are pulling for Wiggins any more than KAT. The difference is that KAT has been performing at a high level consistently for years while Wiggins hasn't. And that's made Wiggins a target for fans and media - rightly so. I think players generally tend to rally around a teammate who is struggling and getting hammered publicly, provided that player is working hard in practice and isn't a jerk. I also think the players understand how crucial Wiggins is to the success of this team. They know KAT will consistently give the team 20+/12+ every night while consistently being double teamed. But that's not enough to make the playoffs much less be a contender. They also know that things get interesting and exciting if Wiggins consistently plays up to his potential.

Like you, I noticed that stolen rebound by KAT. I thought it was funny. For the players and the success of the team, it's meaningless.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Thanks for the report Lip, glad you were able to enjoy the win in person.

For those of you that are pulling your hair out (like me) at the rate other teams seemingly make every damn long 2 and 3 against us, the stats back our frustration up. Teams are shooting a ridiculous 50% against us on long 2's (16 feet out to the 3 point line) and 39% against us on 3s. The first stat is worst in the NBA and we're second worst on opponent 3 pt %. D'Angelo Russell was the latest player to go off on us from these distances.

But here is the good news....we are limiting the actual number of shots beyond the 3 and at the rim and successfully coaxing teams to take long 2s and mid-range shots. We are top 10 in limiting 3s and top 12 in limiting shots from 0-3 feet. We are also top 10 in opponent FG% from 0-3 feet, so our paint protection is much better this year so far.

You have to hope that the math gods eventually pay us back and teams stop getting so hot from outside against us. We really have been unlucky in this regard.

[Lipoli390]

Just finished watching the recording of last night's game.

One thing it confirmed was just how one-sidedly bad the officiating was in favor of the Warriors. The failure to all that obvious goal tend on KAT's shot was completely inexplicable and unacceptable. Everyone in the arena at the time knew it was an obvious goal tend. The video replay confirmed the obvious. I can't understand why Ryan didn't challenge that terrible no-call. There were a number of other bad calls favoring the Warriors. The call on Okogie late overtime that would have sent Russell to the line for 3 shots was ridiculous. Thanks to the new coaches challenge, the official's idiotic call was reversed.

Watching the recording it hit me that Okogie was even more critical to the win than I thought. There was a stretch in overtime when he hit a corner three, then drew a charge, and then a couple plays later had a put-back for two points on what would have been a wasted possession. Not long after that he got a steal that ended up in Russell stripping him of the ball on a layup attempt, but the point is that he denied the Warriors a possession. When Covington won the tip in the 4th, it was Okogie who hustled to the ball and saved it from going out of bounds. When Covington deflected a pass in OT, it was Okogie who got to the loose ball. The list goes on.

The recording also confirmed for me that Wiggins has improved his handle. With some exceptions last night, he was dribbling far lower than usual and showing much more control over the ball. I noticed it last night and my impression was definitely confirmed watching the recording.

Layman also had two clutch layups late in the 4th to help get the game to overtime.

Interesting comment from Covington after the game. When asked what accounts for the improvement in the play of Wiggins, Robert answered: "it's his mentality. He's getting after it and playing both ends of he court." Covington was clearly I confirming the improvement in the play of Wiggins is the result of a change in Wiggins - his mentality. Let's hope this change in Wiggins' mentality is permanent.

[Monster]

Just finished watching NC this ugly but exciting game (down t he stretch and OT.

Not having competent PGs because Teague and Napier are our really hurt this team in this game. The Wolves did get quite a few open 3's that they missed but the turnovers were just absolutely killing them in the first half. GS's Rookies looked a lot better than ours. McLaughlin made a couple plays but was not good most of the game. I have no idea what Ryan was thinking giving McLaughlin the ball I think at the end of the 3rd quarter when Wiggins has been cooking all game. Terrible. Culver was meh although he made some nice passes.

Towns didn't have a particularly good game.

Okogie ended up helping the team win but some of his defense earlier was not good. Jumping early leaving guys open was bad. Rocco was just so so at times overall before coming up big. Overall there was a bunch of WTF defensive questions from this team at times throughout the game and it wasn't just players. Why they kept Okogie on Russell when it wasn't working I have no idea.

Layman kept them in the game with his play early on.

WIGGINS!!!!!!!! Freaking MVP. He finally was looking human at times later actually getting stripped etc going to the rim like we are used to but damn he was good in this game. Wiggins absolutely deserved to win this game how many times do you say that?!?