Camden wrote:We really need Dieng to just get back to being an average big in the game. He will never be worth his contract, but chances are that he's not going anywhere for a year or two because of the obvious. And if he's here, he's going to get minutes.
As for the Adreian Payne trade, two minutes after it was reported, myself and several others called it a travesty. Just a terrible deal from all angles. If you remember, we already had Thaddeus Young starting at the 4-spot, we had a developmental big with a higher ceiling than Payne's in Anthony Bennett, and we were beginning a rebuild so trading a first-round pick was poor management of future assets. It didn't help that Payne was a 23-year old rookie who didn't show much promise leading up to the trade and couldn't get minutes on a Hawks team.
Yes, you and I were among those calling it a travesty from the beginning. And you're right that Gorgui's not going anywhere unless there's a front office somewhere in the NBA infatuated with him. I would NOT trade any first round picks just to get rid of Gorgui.
No doubt that Gorgui is not worth his contract. But he's better than he's shown this season. Gorgui simply hasn't adjusted well to coming off the bench. He needs more minutes and needs them on a more predictable basis to be at his best. That's just the way he is. With Taj looking like he's wearing down a bit, it would make sense to shift some of his minutes to Gorgui. I think it would help both of them. If Gorgui gets more minutes and gets hot this final 9 games maybe it will entice a GM or two to give us something of value for Gorgui this summer.
I just finished watching the game on my DVR. I had seen the box score before watching and noticed that Wiggins only hit 5 of his 15 shots. After watching the game I had to look at the box score again because I couldn't believe he shot that poorly. The point is that Wiggins played so well overall that he didn't look like he was shooting poorly. His defensive play on Hardaway, forcing a turnover, late in the 4th was huge as were a number of hustle plays and some big shots he made. I really like what we're seeing from Wiggins lately. I've noticed he doesn't smile nearly as much as he used to. :) That's a good thing -- a sign perhaps that he's turned the corner and found the level of intensity he needs to be great.
But as good as Wiggins and Towns were, and both were terrific, I agree with Wild that Belly was tonight's unsung hero for the Wolves. His shoot, his rebounding, his toughness and his hustle. His effor diving to the floor for the ball down the stretch was inspiring.
Crawford was a mixed bag as usual, but overall he hit big shots and made plays that helped us win. And I agree with those who noted that Gorgui had a terrific 4th quarter (actually staring in the late 3rd with his block near the end of the quarter.
The only Wolves player who played poorly was Teague. His shooting was obviously horrible and he had zero rebounds. Add to that way too many passes while in the air with nowhere to go. We shouldn't see that from a veteran NBA PG. So tonight was bad Teague. We need to see good Teague the rest of the way this season.
I don't see us beating the Sixers unless all our guys have good nights. I'm still having a hard time getting over the fact that the Sixers signed by Bellinelli and Illyasova as FAs last month while the Wolves came away with no one. With Butler down, we could really use one of those two guys right now.
WildWolf2813 wrote:The bandwagon is filling up. There were a lot more Wolves jerseys in the crowd tonight. It wasn't easy but they got a much needed win. Towns had a Towns-like game, but Bjelica was the unsung hero of the game. He made so many bailout shots. Bjelica as a starter is everything we thought we'd get from him when he came over from Turkey.
Wiggins didn't have a great game but 11 rebounds proves he can be a good rebounder if he just put forth the effort. He was aggressive on the boards and knew to attack when the team needed a bucket.
Foul on Ntilikina aside, Taj Gibson keeps showing us that he's been the third best player for us this season. Steady.
Jeff Teague coulda scored any basket he wanted but chose to be passive tonight and it affected his game. Our backcourt was a major weakness tonight. Can Teague and Wiggins PLEASE stop passing in the air? The Knicks may have had 5 breakaway layups off that kind of turnover alone.
Jamal Crawford seemed determined to shoot us out of this game. He makes one shot and he wanted to iso and take heat check jumpers. He really summed up where he is as a player.
Gorgui Dieng is pretty much Bazz had we paid him. It sucks to watch.
Ran into Benz and Jim Pete after the game. Very approachable. Saw Frank Layden as well as Karl Towns' parents. Towns loves to show out near his hometown. First win at MSG for him.
All in all, I'll take it and I hope they match my win total for them tomorrow night in Philly. 9 games left, no reason why they can't go 7-2 or 6-3 at worst.
Good write-up, glad you saw a win...I think winning in Philly is going to be tough.
I haven't seen every game the last month or so but so haven't seen the ones where Taj looks worn down. Belly should play more when Butler is healthy. I think that's the key to bring him back that you tell him he is gonna be one of the first guys off the bench and play at least somewhere around 25mpg. Play him at PF play him at SF just play the guy. Dieng is likely to see fewer minutes not more. Hopefully he can get comfortable not playing big minutes and be more of a consistant contributor in that role...or the Wolves can deal him in a overpaid guy/s for overpaid guy/s deal this summer. I don't see a match there though unfortunately. Like Cam said we just need him to be average so he can help more consistently. He has the ability we have seen it and his numbers aren't bad this year.
