Game Report - Wolves v. Kings

[Lipoli390]

Felt like the the smallest crowd of the season so far. I guess the combination of a weeknight and the lack of interest in the Kings kept the attendance down. But the good news is that the Wolves won. The even better news is that we finally blew out a substantially inferior team on our home court, which is what we should do.

Our shooting tonight was the polar opposite of Tuesday night's game against the Sixers. We went from 40% FG shooting on Tuesday to 56% tonight and from 17% behind the arc Tuesday to 47.6% tonight. So instead of scoring 100 points in regulation and eventually losing, we scored 119 tonight and won handily. Shocking. Interestingly, we were outrebounded tonight, but we had 9 blocks to the Kings' 2 and 9 turnovers compared to the King's 14.

We shouldn't get too giddy over tonight's win. The Kings are a really, really bad team. So yes, we shot much better tonight than two days ago, but we got much better looks tonight against a significantly inferior defense. But the pleasing thing is that we won handily and that's promising.

My game ball goes to KAT, who had an incredible game tonight with 30 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 5 assists, 1 steal and zero turnovers. It doesn't get much better than that. Was he charged up because of Embiid's remarks? Maybe. But honestly, KAT always plays with intensity, passion and competitive zeal. The difference tonight wasn't his motivation. The difference was his quick decision-making on the offensive end and better discipline on the defensive end. Regarding his quick decision-making, he didn't dribble the air out of the ball seemingly thinking through all his options as the defensive collapsed around him -- his all too familiar approach lately. Instead, he either attacked the basket, put up a shot or passed shorterly after receiving the ball. It was a joy to watch and, if it continues, he's going to take his game to new heights even on the offensive end. His passes were smart, timely, crips and on target. His shot selection was excellent. To cap it all off, he was a defensive force tonight with 5 blocks a steal and a lot of forced misses.

Butler is runner up for the game ball. I just love the way this guy plays -- with such passion and presence. His 21 points were big points. But he also had 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and a block with zero turnovers.

Gorgui gets an honorable mention for what I think was his best game of the season so far. His 8 rebounds and 4 steals in 22 minutes are obviously impressive, but those stats only tell part of the story. As Thibs said after the game, Gorgui and Taj did a lot of great things that don't show up in the box score. Thibs didn't mention any examples, but I can recall some things. As one general example, Gorgui set up his teammates for rebounds a number of times by boxing out under the rim. He was a disruptive force defensively in passing lanes, which was reflected only partially in his impressive 4 steals. This was the Gorgui from last season -- the Gorgui who Thibs rewarded at the beginning of last season with a nice contract and then later at the end of the season praised as the team's most improved player.

I also liked the energy, effort and overall play of Tyus off the bench. Jamaal had another poor shooting night, but he brought great energy to the floor for the Wolves.

Not everyone played well for the Wolves tonight. Although Wiggins broke out of his shooting slump tonight as I predicted, he was terrible tonight. He had what had to be one of the least impactful 22-point scoring games in NBA history. He had 1 rebound, 0 assists, 0 blocks and 0 steals in over 30 minutes. He was repeatedly losing his man on the defensive end and getting beaten off the dribble. And although he broke out of his shooting slump, he continued to favor contested 2-pointers over drives to the bucket.

Teague can shoot and he showed that again tonight. He was bad overall, but he wasn't particularly good either. In contrast to Gorgui and Taj, who were better tonight than suggested by the box score, Teague was worse that his stat suggest. He and Wiggins stood out tonight, as they often do, for their lack of competitive zeal. Fortunately, all our other guys seem to have that zeal. The good news is that Jeff Teague is a very good shooter and can help the team with his ability to score the ball in several different ways -- perimeter shots and dribble-drive floaters.

It was fun to see MGH finally get some significant minutes. He looked really good defensive and not so bad on the offensive end. I love the way he competes on the floor and fights through screens defensively. The bonus from MGH tonight was his excellent FG shooting, hitting 2 of his 3 shots from the field - one of them a corner three. I hope we see more of him going forward.

It was strange that Bazz didn't get any minutes tonight even in garbage time at the end. It has to be more than just Thibs not trusting him to perform. I have to believe Bazz did something unreported that has put him in Thib' doghouse. This would have been a good game to give Bazz some minutes and a chance to get some confidence. It must have been humiliating for Bazz to sit and watch as MGH got significant minutes, including time when the outcome was still uncertain, while he got no time in what turned out to be a blowout win for the Wolves. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that MGH got significant minutes. I'm just reflecting on how Bazz must have felt and it doesn't make much sense to me, especially since Wiggins wasn't providing anything beyond his scoring.

That's it for now. Good to get a lopsided win. But the Wolves have to build on this win with a similar win Saturday night against the other West Conference bottom dweller who will will play here without their best player.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Good write-up, Lip. I think we both could smell a big outing from Towns awaiting us and he didn't disappoint.

Just curious, but how did our guys look on the bench? Engaged and focused? Or due to the fact that it was a blowout win were they laughing it up and enjoying themselves -- Wesley Johnson style? I obviously don't want this to become a "no fun zone" but I'd like for our guys to keep their heads in the game despite the score being lopsided, especially when we need to rattle off consecutive wins!

[Lipoli390]

Good write-up, Lip. I think we both could smell a big outing from Towns awaiting us and he didn't disappoint.

Just curious, but how did our guys look on the bench? Engaged and focused? Or due to the fact that it was a blowout win were they laughing it up and enjoying themselves -- Wesley Johnson style? I obviously don't want this to become a "no fun zone" but I'd like for our guys to keep their heads in the game despite the score being lopsided, especially when we need to rattle off consecutive wins!

They were laughing it up and enjoying themselves. But thankfully I wouldn't say they went Wes Johnson on us. :). The distinction is that they were laughing and enjoying themselves in the context of the game. For instance, they were all smiles, standing and jumping around on the bench when Cole got his bucket. So I was pleased with the demeanor at the end. I liked the energy on the bench and on the floor tonight. They were having fun, but they were also engaged. The energy from Wiggins and Teague wasn't great, but at least Wiggins broke out of his shooting slump and Teague hit some big shots. He has a really nice looking shot.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Good report Lip. Nice to see we took care of business. Wish I could have seen Kat dominate. Always fun when his game is on. Also props to stubborn thibs for trying something different, using a new guy.

[Monster]

I think sometimes we tend to overplay and perceive how bad some teams are. The Kings have been competitive in a number of their recent games among a couple poor outings. This is a team that has some legit talent young and old and they go 10 deep. You have to come to play every night in this league and while we shouldn't go over the moon beating the Kings it shouldn't just be no big deal we really took it to a team either. They have plenty of talent on their roster. Heck Koufus has 11/8 in 19 mins and had an exchange with Joeger coming out in the 2nd half making me wonder if he was unhappy with coming out of the game which would make sense given his efficient production and whonthe Wolves tend to put out there on the floor at PF/C.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Agree Monster, the Kings won at New Orleans a few nights ago, so you can't just write them off. They have some solid vets, like Randolph and Hill.

KAT was using every trick in his bag last night. He even whipped out the Dirk one-legged step back. That's normally not a shot you want him taking, but when he gets it going, almost every shot he takes is a good shot.

[Monster]

Agree Monster, the Kings won at New Orleans a few nights ago, so you can't just write them off. They have some solid vets, like Randolph and Hill.

KAT was using every trick in his bag last night. He even whipped out the Dirk one-legged step back. That's normally not a shot you want him taking, but when he gets it going, almost every shot he takes is a good shot.

I'm ok with him taking it if he is more in the 18' range. I don't like when he takes it basically a step inside the 3 point line (same for Wiggins most of the time) that means someone has pushed him way off his spot and he is settling. If he wants to take a difficult shot like that dribble back to the 3 point line and let it fly or pump fake the dude and get a foul for 3 FTs. Like you said Q Towns was really good in this game. His UK buddy Skal has zero chance defending him he is too light and got no help.

[Lipoli390]

I think sometimes we tend to overplay and perceive how bad some teams are. The Kings have been competitive in a number of their recent games among a couple poor outings. This is a team that has some legit talent young and old and they go 10 deep. You have to come to play every night in this league and while we shouldn't go over the moon beating the Kings it shouldn't just be no big deal we really took it to a team either. They have plenty of talent on their roster. Heck Koufus has 11/8 in 19 mins and had an exchange with Joeger coming out in the 2nd half making me wonder if he was unhappy with coming out of the game which would make sense given his efficient production and whonthe Wolves tend to put out there on the floor at PF/C.

Point well taken, Monster. The Kings have some talent and have beaten some good teams. They also have nice size and talent inside with Randolph, WCS and Skal, which made the performances of KAT, Taj and Gorgui all the more impressive last night. But they have the worst point differential in the entire NBA and they were without Fox most of the game. Nevertheless, I agree we shouldn't dismiss this win as "no big deal." The key for me is the fact that we blew them out. That's why I actually view the victory as a pretty big deal.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Good win. Beat a team they should have beaten. Easily.

- It's a make-or-miss league. Tonight, the Wolves hit shots. They missed those shots Tuesday.

- No... Sacramento is not good. They are on pace for 55+ losses. And they might be even worse than their record... Consider, they are the 2nd worst offensive team... and 3rd worst defensive team. The mix of old/young guys is odd. The team has no identity. And seems to throw out random lineups haphazardly. Note... nobody averages more than 25 minutes. So even if they have a talented guy... he's not playing much more than a fringe NBA player.

[benthewolf [enjin:19020845]]

Beat the teams you need to beat at home. Get a little lucky every once in a while on the road. And go .500 with your peers. That will get you into the playoffs. I wasn't upset with the 76ers game. I thought the Wolves showed good energy and came within one freethrow of winning in regulation. That 76ers team can beat anyone anywhere on any given night. They can also lose to anyone on any given night. Time to finish this homestand with two more wins and call it a win.