AbeVigodaLive wrote:- Good teams find a way to win games. The Wolves are finding ways to win games. It's fun.
They were winning early in the season, but it wasn't fun. This past month or so it has been increasingly more fun to watch, it's been a long time since we could say that!
Great job by Wiggins again tonight, sure hope he continues this level of effort once Jimmy gets back!
I think part of it is that it's getting to the point where it's tough to think of it as a mirage. It's been long enough now. It feels real.
Maybe Wolves fans can have a nice thing after all?
- Wolves centers go 1 - 9 fg... Towns makes only 1 shot... and the team wins.
- Another excellent (and energetic!) performance from Wiggins. It's what every Wolves fan wants and it's fun when he starts going downhill to the rim. Maybe this stretch can be used as a springboard. Looking good.
- Teague was also critical. With 17 free throws... obviously he was more aggressive. There was still at least one possession where he dribbled it for 23.7 of the shot clock... but not too much to complain about. I thought he was much better. The Wolves needed Teague tonight and ultimately he delivered. It's one of the perks of having a good team with a former All Star, 23 ppg+ scorer and others...
- Blake Griffin is super good. And now that he can even stretch defenses beyond the three point line... damn. 32 / 12 / 12.
- Blake Griffin had two TERRIBLE TOs late. Hasn't that always been the case with the Clippers though... Paul and Griffin always posted stats, but just did enough to lose at times anyway. For example, Griffin had 12 assists and only 2 TOs until the final 20 seconds when he fell apart.
- Add Griffin to the mix of really talented players who constantly whine about a lack of calls while mugging people and generally acting like a dick out there (see my mentions lately for Cousins and Jokic). On a late inbounds play, he was literally hugging Tyus Jones. The official said something and Griffin looked all nonplussed... then did it again... then grabbed/held Jones by the waist while he was trying to set the pick... then held Teague on the switch... then knocked Teague down... then went over and finally fouled KAT. I'm almost sure that all happened in about 5 seconds.
- There were a couple of And-1 calls Griffin didn't get. But beyond that, I didn't see THAT much for all the complaining and Ts.
- Thibs seems to be curbing KAT's minutes a bit. No foul trouble tonight and still only 33 minutes. Saw him call a trainer over at one TO to have his knee worked on. Something there?
- Good teams find a way to win games. The Wolves are finding ways to win games. It's fun.
Abe great breakdown on Griffin and those fouls. I did think earlier on in the game he had some things to complain about but nothing too catastrophic and like you said he was mugging guys. The Techs the coaches had at the end of the game made zero sense to me.
Teague has Teo guarding him and he was actually putting forth effort everything I have heard about him is he can't play D. This was a game for Teague to go at someone. He wasn't always perfect but he was key at times and getting all those fouls.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Thibs called KAT a stupid mother fucker
You heard him say that?? That's bad if you he did. Ugh. I blame Teague actually more then Kat, he's gotta go definitely to get that ball, he's so damn tentative
This is one play I saw totally differently. Towns just threw the ball backwards straight out of bounds without even looking. Teague had no chance to catch that even if he had been looking. The pass was clearly way off. Both guys should have been making more eye contact and communicating, but Towns just took the decision to throw the ball backwards without even seeing if anyone was there to catch it. That's totally on him. Big mistake at a crucial moment.
What made it worse was that Towns got the ball and took enough dribbled it looked like he was going to just bring it up the floor or at least a ways farther and then he just flipped it back. I thought Thibs was gonna do a front flip of some kind and maybe would have if that score table wasn't there. Honestly it was pretty funny when it happened but I did know watching it back the Wolves had won.
Duke13 wrote:I'm gonna crush the positivity a bit. Teague finished well, but through 3 quarters I thought he play was pretty bad despite what his stat line said. Over dribbling, and then picking up his dribble, hesitating on wide open shots only to get a terrible shot. He played well down the stretch though.
I didn't watch the game, so I was just going off the box score. Your description of Teague for 3 quarters is an all-too familiar sight. At least he picked it up in the 4th to get 30, but box scores can be misleading.
Belly's numbers were terrific. How did he look watching him play? He's been getting his rhythm back the past several games. He's a really good player when he's in rhythm and playing with confidence. I agree Belly should be getting more PT -- at least 20 MPG.
I thought Belly was very good. Playing the 3, it's going to be a challenge defensively for him but he held his own. He gives this team something them need, shooting and he increases the pace of play when he's in there. I loved when we went to Belly in the post a couple times in the 4 when Lou was guarding him. They were reacting and doubling quick, good recognition by the team. I just hope Tibs continues giving him minutes. He needs it for his confidence.
I thought his D was pretty good and a couple times he actually did a heck of a job on Lou and one time kept from fouling him on a 3 and Lou just passed the ball because he had picked up his dribble. I was really skeptical of Belly being able to defend the 3 but man he has looked plenty good there. I'm happy to be wrong and I wasn't against giving him some minutes there but I wasn't pounding the table for it. He could absolutely be part of the answer getting up 3's and not just catch and shoot 3's I think he COULD get some off screens. He is big enough he don't have to have a super quick trigger and he has the ball handling ability to attack and score driving or pass. He can be so valuable.
I was thinking during this game when the Clippers were having a dunking party that:
1. There were probably 4-5 possessions in this game the Wolves had good defensive possessions almost getting a steal or good defense and the ball found its way to a clippers player after a shot and that led to a dunk.
2. One theory that has been mentioned on a couple podcasts about defending in the new NBA against 3's is sometimes giving up some easy baskets even dunks at times. Lou Williams had 20 but was 3-9 on 3's and the Clippers hit 9 total. That's not too bad. Also Harrell is actually kinda good like Jim Peterson said this isn't really a surprise.
Still the defense wasn't great in this game but it probably wasn't as problematic as it felt in real time and not knowing the outcome.
One big problem we had last night defensively were those interior passes to Harrell, especially from Blake. Blake did a great job sensing when the defense had closed him off and then finding Harrell. If we meet them in the playoffs, I hope we've got a defensive plan for trying to minimize Blake's interior passing as a weapon.
SameOldNudityDrew wrote:One big problem we had last night defensively were those interior passes to Harrell, especially from Blake. Blake did a great job sensing when the defense had closed him off and then finding Harrell. If we meet them in the playoffs, I hope we've got a defensive plan for trying to minimize Blake's interior passing as a weapon.
Blake had KAT chasing all over the place. Blake really is a gifted unique player, but all of the bad habits of KAT defensively were on full display. I think part of it really was missing Butler, being able to trap off of his defender. I agree there has to be a game plan in place beyond trying to guard Blake 1 on 1 out of the high post.
SameOldNudityDrew wrote:One big problem we had last night defensively were those interior passes to Harrell, especially from Blake. Blake did a great job sensing when the defense had closed him off and then finding Harrell. If we meet them in the playoffs, I hope we've got a defensive plan for trying to minimize Blake's interior passing as a weapon.
Blake had KAT chasing all over the place. Blake really is a gifted unique player, but all of the bad habits of KAT defensively were on full display. I think part of it really was missing Butler, being able to trap off of his defender. I agree there has to be a game plan in place beyond trying to guard Blake 1 on 1 out of the high post.
My plan in at least one game would be to have Aldrich come in for a couple mi utes and just ruffle up Griffin and see if you can get under his skin for a technical or 2. Maybe he could "accidentally" run into Doc rivers on the sideline or something too. Good points on Griffins passing though he had a couple amazing dimes in this game. One I remember was his last pass for the score which was the final one in like 3 quick passes that set everything up. Hats off to a team that executes that well.
Wig is going to have his good nights and his not so good nights. My hope is those not so good nights continue to become less frequent. Hopefully we see some consistency starting to build, but it's still going to be a process. Nice to know though that we have a thoroughbred who can go off when needed. Once him and Butler are both clicking on each end, we will be a very tough out.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Wig is going to have his good nights and his not so good nights. My hope is those not so good nights continue to become less frequent. Hopefully we see some consistency starting to build, but it's still going to be a process. Nice to know though that we have a thoroughbred who can go off when needed. Once him and Butler are both clicking on each end, we will be a very tough out.
The spacing is an issue, but it was even more so with Wig and Zach. I like how interchangeable Jimmy and Wiggins are, yet each has nuances to their games that are complimentary. Wiggins cutting, Jimmy's passing. They already have a nice two man game when they're looking for each other. It will be a challenge to really create enough space for both to operate. There was an ongoing debate with Zach and Wig whether Wiggins was better suited at the 2. This was something that Flip and Sam tried to figure out. It still seems there a bit but playing with someone as talented as Butler seems to be helping Wiggins. The last two games have shown that Wiggins needs more space on the clear outs to use his speed. He's still out of place integrating the pounding a 3 takes, and the less frequent movement seems to make him become less engaged in sets with Butler. Ultimately I hope these games just bring his confidence back to just how much this team needs him.
