Wolves vs Clippers Game Thread - the Austin Rivers show.

[Monster]

Taj Gibson is my third-favorite player on this team. Love that guy.

He has been worth every penny. Probably having his best year as a pro

I agree with both of you. He has exceeded my expectations and I was really happy to get him here.

[Monster]

Good win, but we really and I mean really need a wing that can defend a little off the bench.

I watched some of the Bucks pistons game tonight and even though he isn't a shooter a guy like Liggins would likely be a welcome sight at times.

[Lipoli390]

Taj Gibson is my third-favorite player on this team. Love that guy.

He has been worth every penny. Probably having his best year as a pro

I agree with both of you. He has exceeded my expectations and I was really happy to get him here.

Taj Gibson is my third-favorite player on this team. Love that guy.

He has been worth every penny. Probably having his best year as a pro

I agree with both of you. He has exceeded my expectations and I was really happy to get him here.

Count me in on the Taj love-fest. I liked signing him, but didn't like the contract. But watching what he does for us every single game has changed my tune to the point where I agree with Geek that Taj is worth every penny.

A cautionary note is that he's playing very heavy minutes at age 32. I'd like to see some of those minutes allocated to Gorgui to help keep Taj fresh and healthy the entire season.

[Lipoli390]

I missed the game, so I'll have to watch the recording tomorrow night. KAT, Taj, Butler and Teague look particularly impressive in the box score. KAT filled the stat sheet with 21 points on 64% shooting, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. That's what I'd call a great all-around game. Taj with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. This guy has been amazing so far this season. Teague was 3 for 3 from behind the arc. That's something this team needs and he apparently delivered tonight. Wiggins with 16 points on 43% shooting, only 2 foul shots (making 1 of them), 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Not impressive, but unfortunately all too typical for him.

42 minutes for Butler. That can't go on.

Nice and essential win tonight. Now the Wolves need to turn this into the start of a run. It's time to put together a lengthy win streak. We'll never have a better chance than we do the next 10 games.

[thedoper]

I missed the game, so I'll have to watch the recording tomorrow night. KAT, Taj, Butler and Teague look particularly impressive in the box score. KAT filled the stat sheet with 21 points on 64% shooting, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. That's what I'd call a great all-around game. Taj with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. This guy has been amazing so far this season. Teague was 3 for 3 from behind the arc. That's something this team needs and he apparently delivered tonight. Wiggins with 16 points on 43% shooting, only 2 foul shots (making 1 of them), 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Not impressive, but unfortunately all too typical for him.

42 minutes for Butler. That can't go on.

Nice and essential win tonight. Now the Wolves need to turn this into the start of a run. It's time to put together a lengthy win streak. We'll never have a better chance than we do the next 10 games.

Nothing unfortunate about wiggins tonight. Played within the game, made 2 huge dunks on great cuts in the 4th. Played his role perfectly as I saw it. Everyone was great in spurts.

[Lipoli390]

I missed the game, so I'll have to watch the recording tomorrow night. KAT, Taj, Butler and Teague look particularly impressive in the box score. KAT filled the stat sheet with 21 points on 64% shooting, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. That's what I'd call a great all-around game. Taj with 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. This guy has been amazing so far this season. Teague was 3 for 3 from behind the arc. That's something this team needs and he apparently delivered tonight. Wiggins with 16 points on 43% shooting, only 2 foul shots (making 1 of them), 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Not impressive, but unfortunately all too typical for him.

42 minutes for Butler. That can't go on.

Nice and essential win tonight. Now the Wolves need to turn this into the start of a run. It's time to put together a lengthy win streak. We'll never have a better chance than we do the next 10 games.

Nothing unfortunate about wiggins tonight. Played within the game, made 2 huge dunks on great cuts in the 4th. Played his role perfectly as I saw it. Everyone was great in spurts.

Good to hear, Doper. Thanks. I'm looking forward to watching the game.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Taj Gibson is my third-favorite player on this team. Love that guy.

He has been worth every penny. Probably having his best year as a pro

I agree with both of you. He has exceeded my expectations and I was really happy to get him here.

Taj Gibson is my third-favorite player on this team. Love that guy.

He has been worth every penny. Probably having his best year as a pro

I agree with both of you. He has exceeded my expectations and I was really happy to get him here.

Count me in on the Taj love-fest. I liked signing him, but didn't like the contract. But watching what he does for us every single game has changed my tune to the point where I agree with Geek that Taj is worth every penny.

A cautionary note is that he's playing very heavy minutes at age 32. I'd like to see some of those minutes allocated to Gorgui to help keep Taj fresh and healthy the entire season.

Gibson has never averaged more than 28 minutes per game in his previous 8 seasons. We'll see if playing 33+ (and 37+ mpg over the past 9 games) is sustainable soon enough.

But yes... he's a stabilizing force on the court.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I missed the game, so I'll have to watch the recording tomorrow night. KAT, Taj, Butler and Teague look particularly impressive in the box score. KAT filled the stat sheet with 21 points on 64% shooting, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. That's what I'd call a great all-around game. .

Fell asleep during this one... but I caught a comment from Whalen early when the Clippers had a shorter guy switched on to KAT... "Get it to him early."

The Wolves didn't. Instead, he fought and fought and fought with the smaller player until he eventually got called for 3 seconds. Those are the plays that also lead to fouls.

It's something I've noticed previously, too. I've mentioned that Teague doesn't push the ball on the break like we're used to. Not hitting early action in the post is another troubling trend. It's more noticeable when it ends with a "Green, Green" possession. I know the statistics say the Wolves are fine offensively...

Fair enough. But feeding the team's most talented player and keeping him engaged (where he might even wanna play defense consistently as a result) should be a top priority.

[Monster]

I missed the game, so I'll have to watch the recording tomorrow night. KAT, Taj, Butler and Teague look particularly impressive in the box score. KAT filled the stat sheet with 21 points on 64% shooting, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. That's what I'd call a great all-around game. .

Fell asleep during this one... but I caught a comment from Whalen early when the Clippers had a shorter guy switched on to KAT... "Get it to him early."

The Wolves didn't. Instead, he fought and fought and fought with the smaller player until he eventually got called for 3 seconds. Those are the plays that also lead to fouls.

It's something I've noticed previously, too. I've mentioned that Teague doesn't push the ball on the break like we're used to. Not hitting early action in the post is another troubling trend. It's more noticeable when it ends with a "Green, Green" possession. I know the statistics say the Wolves are fine offensively...

Fair enough. But feeding the team's most talented player and keeping him engaged (where he might even wanna play defense consistently as a result) should be a top priority.

On that mismatch play they also talked about sealing your man which made it sound like they were making a point that Towns wasn't doing a good enough job there. Why not run to the other side of the floor and get deeper post position? Sometimes Towns just gets so stubborn about getting the ball in that spot he becomes easier to defend.

There was one play in this game (it was before the dreaded 4th quarter) where the Wolves got the rebound on a typical miss and Teague dribbled up the floor quickly and was all alone in the front court for at least 2 seconds. It felt like they played at a much better pace in this game including Teague. That possession was an example of other guys in the team just not getting up the floor.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Sounds like this was a gritty win against a home team that made a nice late run on us. We did what winning teams do and fought it off nicely.

The Wolves are now alone in 4th place with their easiest stretch of the season ahead, and 4th is where I expect them to finish. The top 3 are all 8-2 or better in their last 10 and are establishing themselves as the cream of the division. Everyone else except Utah is 5-5 or worse in the last 10. The Wolves should be favored in every one of their next 9 games except the road game in Denver, and don't even have one BTB. If they can avoid injuries and Thibs can start spreading the minutes around better, I see no reason they can't go at least 7-2 and be 22-12 as they head to Milwaukee with a nice cushion over the 5th place team. Winning teams regularly win the games they are supposed to win, and it's time to prove that we are a winning team...we should know a lot more about this team by the end of December. I know there is a lot of frustration here about this team underachieving and I share that...but it's also an exciting time to be a Wolves fan.

Now, if only Thibs could find one more wing that he would be comfortable playing...