Game Report - Wolves v. Jazz

[Lipoli390]

Another terrible loss that furthers the evolving picture of a team in turmoil that's headed for another lottery appearance.

So apparently, Thibs is mad. What else is new? He's been in a consistently angry tirade from the beginning of the season for the full 48 minutes of every single game. I'll note that he hasn't patted a player on the back once the entire season in the games I've seen. Not once! He hasn't clapped or shown a single moment of positive enthusiasm or joy. He is truly the most profoundly negative force I've ever encountered in my life. My wife and others around me were offering this observation tonight as well.

This team hasn't just failed to improve from last season; it's regressed and regressed significantly with 20% of this season already in the rear view mirror. This team is on track to win fewer games than last season and, as Q illustrated in another thread, we are statistically worse as a team in every category. And yet it's the same players as last season, all of whom were reported to have worked hard this past off season - players whose work ethics have never been questioned. So what's changed from last season? Answer: Our head coach. And now he's mad. Mad at who? Mad at his players? I get that. But has he developed any anger at the face he sees in the mirror? I doubt it. Has he channeled his anger into rethinking and revising his approach to coaching these young talented players? Obviously not.

So the question isn't whether it's the coach or the players. It's both. But when things get a lot worse with the same players and the only change has been the coach, then who should get the lion's share of the blame? The answer should be an easy yes. And that's true even if you don't subscribe to Harry Truman's mantra that the buck stops with those in leadership. I've read criticism of KAT's tendency this season to play more on the perimeter, acting more like a guard than a 6'11 center or PF. Do you really think he's doing that on his own? As my Bulls season ticket holder friend told me this past summer, Thibs micromanaged every single offensive possession when with the Bulls. He orchestrates and calls almost everything that happens in real time and that's in addition to drawing up the strategy before games. And of course, it's Thibs who has taken the ball out of Ricky's hands. So let's not kid ourselves. Thibs isn't responsible for individual mistakes players make, but he is responsible generally for how they play and how this team plays together.

I recognize that our players have flaws and bear some responsibility for this team's poor showing so far this season. In tonight's game, for example, we again saw Wiggins as a one-dimensional player who way too often plays with almost no intensity. It wasn't just his paltry 2 rebounds tonight. Once again, it was the pain of watching him fail to pursue loose balls that he could have retrieved with his speed and reach. It was watching him commit 6 fouls, most of them lazy ones that stemmed from his many defensive lapses. And tonight he even failed to do the one thing he does consistently well -- get to the line. Astoundingly he had no trips to the line tonight.

KAT had another poor shooting night, but worse were his defensive lapses and failure to box out on the defensive glass. But he showed a lot of intensity tonight, worked his butt off and did pull down 12 boards to go with a steal and block along with 19 points. And he was facing a really, really long opponent in Gobert. Ricky was hitting his shots tonight, but continued to give up too much penetration on the defensive end. Dunn continues to look good defensively but totally lost on the offensive end.

Other than Wiggins and to some extent KAT, Dunn and Ricky, I don't really have a big problem with the effort or play of our other guys tonight.

Zach was terrific with 28 points, 8 boards, and 8 assists, shooting 53% from the field. One of the best parts of his game tonight was the way he attacked the paint with dribble penetration that resulted in some beautiful layups and was reflected in 9 trips to the line. Nice to see him attack and draw fouls. Except for one stupid steal attempt in the paint, Zach's defense was superb tonight. Here's an interesting observation from tonight, but also true of the other games I've been to. Zach initiates communications with Thibs more than any other Wolves player by far. He did a lot of that tonight. At one point, he came over to remind Thibs that Ricky had just picked up his 4th foul. Thibs appeared to ignore him and then an assistant coach said the exact same thing to Thibs. The next moment, Thibs took Ricky out of the game. That was one example of many where Zach was offering observations to Thibs or asking him questions. Zach and Gorgui appear to be the only two Wolves players whose concentration and psyche haven't been negatively impacted by Thibs. At least that's the way it appears.

Gorgui was very solid tonight. I see Gorgui and Zach as the mentally toughest players on this team. In addition, Gorgui is clearly the smartest. He is almost always in the right place at the right time on both ends of the court. He knows how to draw charges and he plays hard with great intensity all the time. His stat line tonight was very solid with 11 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, but he was better than his box score. He's definitely a glue guy and a keeper long term. I can't understand his lack of playing time in the 4th tonight.

The bench was ok. Bazz showed some moxy and gave us some big points. Belly made some poor decisions with the ball, but overall he crashed the boards and gave good minutes off the bench. Tyus is a tough little guy and, as Flip said, he's a winner. I want to see more of him. He's tough and smart. He struggles to defend because of his physical limitations, but his intelligence allows him to play better defensively than you might think. He reads players well and seems to anticipate extremely well where they're going with the ball.

I'll end with this. Tonight was a continuation of everything that's gone wrong so far this season. And one thing I noticed tonight and have been noticing since the first game is that our players look unhappy and beaten down. They don't have anything close to the same level of enthusiasm or exuberance we saw from them last season. It's very disturbing and suggests the problems we're seen so far this season go deeper than we'd like to admit.

I'm still open the the possibility that we're in the 2 steps back phase of a process under Thibs that will have us taking 4 steps forward before the season ends. And as frustrated as I am, I think it's still a few weeks too soon to conclude that we're in a permanent backwards slide or rut. But if Thibs' frustration as head coach leads his to blow up this talented young squad in his front office role, then I'm done. He came here to coach what he called "the best young roster in the League." If he fails to develop this team -- a team that played .500 ball after the all-star break last season -- into at least a playoff team, then he will end up being Glen Taylor's biggest mistake. And that's saying something!!

[WildWolf2813]

basketball is a job to these players now. It's not a game. For whatever reason these guys simply aren't built to handle a taskmaster.

[Lipoli390]

basketball is a job to these players now. It's not a game. For whatever reason these guys simply aren't built to handle a taskmaster.

Wild -- I think very few NBA players today are built to handle a taskmaster like Thibs. Nor should they be.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Zach LaVine is going to be a special player. That's my report.

[worldK]

After 2 straight seasons as flip and then sam's numero uno whipping boy. Im not surprised how mentally tough lavine is. I love how lavine is playing this year. He still needs to play better d but he and dieng are the two guys that have played their role well and consistently under thibs.

[Lipoli390]

Zach LaVine is going to be a special player. That's my report.

Agree 100%. He has exceptional skills in multiple areas -- (1) great shooting stroke with ability to hit at a high clip from anywhere on the floor, both inside and outside the three-point arc, and either off the dribble or the catch; (2) great elevation and nice body control going to the hole; (3) exceptional straight line speed WITH THE BALL; (4) superb lateral quickness as reflected in his combine numbers several years ago; (5) excellent consistent free throw shooting; and (6) a toughness and tremendous moxy that makes him a gamer in crunch time and will drive his improvement.

Keep in mind that he didn't get much playing time his one year in college (far less than Wiggins). In addition, he was forced to play out of position at PG and got far fewer minutes than Wiggins the past two NBA seasons. As a result, as a 22 year old 3rd year player he has tremendous remaining upside.

[AbeVigodaLive]

LaVine is already a better player than I expected. I'm glad I was wrong about him.

He really should get a left hand though on those driving layups... but yes... cool to see the development/improvement in his game. He's fun to watch when he's moving toward the hoop or rising for a jumper.

[kekgeek]

"I'll end with this. Tonight was a continuation of everything that's gone wrong so far this season. And one thing I noticed tonight and have been noticing since the first game is that our players look unhappy and beaten down. They don't have anything close to the same level of enthusiasm or exuberance we saw from them last season. It's very disturbing and suggests the problems we're seen so far this season go deeper than we'd like to admit."


Just putting my 2 cents into this, they might be beaten down by Thibs and I am a Thibs supporter and I blame more of our problems on the players than Thibs but I can imagine it probably is not fun to play for Thibs when they are losing. But I would also say they probably look beat down because they were told they are the next big thing in the NBA and they should make the playoffs this year and now the season is going down the toilet, it is easier to play with no expectations like the wolves did after the all star break last year.

I am honestly the most disappointed in our newcomers to the team they have brought absolutely nothing to the team and I mean nothing. So I think more blame could be put on the front office as well. I think we are missing those guys you want to go to war with. Maybe we all underestimated the importance on what KG and prince brought last year. I would love to add someone like Barnes or Casspi. I just want a player that will knock someone on their ass when things start going bad, we don't have that this year.

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

You gotta wonder how different things might be if we simply had not blown two or three of those early big leads. Whatever little confidence this team had left is pretty much gone right now.

I just listened to the Towns post game interview. Dude sounded like he was about to break down crying at any second as he lamented about how everything is on his shoulders, etc. As much as I love KAT's passion, the only thing I hear in this is immaturity. He's pressing and he's been pressing all season. And maybe this is a by-product of Thibs overbearing intensity. Regardless, he's not in a good head space and his game continues to look discombobulated. And on top of that now Wiggins looks like he's caught the same bug.

Has Thibs ever been in a losing situation like this? Especially having to deal with your best players being this young? I hate to say it, but this season does have a chance to be a complete train-wreck. Meaning less wins than last year. Yikes.

[Monster]

Of the probable/likely stars of Towns Wiggins and Lavine I think zach is my favorite of those guys on and off the court. I just gravitate to him a little more. The improvement he has made in his game since coming out of college is pretty amazing (isn't talked about enough IMO) and it seems likely he is gonna continue to improve.