CoolBreeze's 2 Things I Didn't Like Tonight Plus 1 (Nuggets)

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Hard to find faults after a 2-0 start, but I agree with the slow pace and too many half court sets, however it was effective in the 4th protecting that lead.

[Monster]

I just finished watching the game. Mostly Inam just enjoying it and quite frankly shocked how impressive we looked.

Bazz probably wasn't the best matchup for Gallo. Prince looked bad a couple times but there were stretches he was really doing well on him. Bazz played well tonight he will get his opportunities. Sam could have put Bazz in there toward the end but keeping Prince in was probably good for getting the win.

The Wolves will push the pace plenty. Tonight they were in the half court and damn they got a ton of good looks. The offense was terrific don't be fooled by the lower FG% they were getting whatever they wants most of the time. Both teams missed gummies plays. The Wolves lived at the line and after missing those 5 FTs in a row nailed almost the ready of them.

Lavine made some mistakes but if he keeps playing as well as he did tonight I'll be plenty happy.

The Wolves will get pushed around this year but they were all over the place in this game.

[Leado01]

Sam wants to win now. There's a problem with perpetually rebuilding. . .you loae fans. So i dont have an issue with giving Tay amd KG 25 minutes if it means we can get a W against the teams that we should beat.

[Leado01]

Sam wants to win now. There's a problem with perpetually rebuilding. . .you loae fans. So i dont have an issue with giving Tay amd KG 25 minutes if it means we can get a W against the teams that we should beat.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Leado01, If Sam was only about winning now, he sure as heck wouldn't have LaVine playing backup PG. I think he's balancing the need to start games on the right foot with development of the young guys. The debate as it relates to LaVine (in my opinion) is whether playing him at PG is helping his development more than it hurts the team and other guys he plays with. I think the cons outweigh the pros.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Q, I know most here disagree with Zach at PG, but I think Sam believes playing Zach at backup PG is a "win now" move. When we drafted Jones and signed Miller, this board was full of comments about their poor defense, and I think Sam agrees with that take...he's watched them guarding Ricky in practice. Like all of us, Sam detests opponent PG penetration which so often leads to a kick-out for a wide-open three, and he thinks Zach has the best chance of the three options to keep the opposing PG in front of him. It didn't work very well in the first half in LA, and Zach is far from being able to run an offense efficiently (although I'm not ready to say a 19-year-old is all that he is ever going to be at PG), but he is by far our best option at backup PG defensively. And defense is what Sam is all about.

[60WinTim]

Leado01, If Sam was only about winning now, he sure as heck wouldn't have LaVine playing backup PG. I think he's balancing the need to start games on the right foot with development of the young guys. The debate as it relates to LaVine (in my opinion) is whether playing him at PG is helping his development more than it hurts the team and other guys he plays with. I think the cons outweigh the pros.

I agree with this, Q. I still say Sam is a genius because of the position he has put the other young guys in. But the odd guy out is LaVine. And when he becomes more exposed against stronger teams, will Sam stick with it? Or will we see times when Andre Miller comes to the rescue?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Leado01, If Sam was only about winning now, he sure as heck wouldn't have LaVine playing backup PG. I think he's balancing the need to start games on the right foot with development of the young guys. The debate as it relates to LaVine (in my opinion) is whether playing him at PG is helping his development more than it hurts the team and other guys he plays with. I think the cons outweigh the pros.

I agree with this, Q. I still say Sam is a genius because of the position he has put the other young guys in. But the odd guy out is LaVine. And when he becomes more exposed against stronger teams, will Sam stick with it? Or will we see times when Andre Miller comes to the rescue?

Yeah, personally, I think Zach should just sit and wait his turn. Inevitably someone will get hurt and he will get reps at SG. Or there will be blowout situations (either for us or against us) where he can get some reps in. Having a competent PG at the helm for both "shifts" helps not only with winning games, but also bringing out the best in the other young guys he plays with.

The thing is, Zach is still a young guy in only the 2nd year of a rookie contract. He has plenty of time to learn and develop with the Wolves.

[Monster]

Leado01, If Sam was only about winning now, he sure as heck wouldn't have LaVine playing backup PG. I think he's balancing the need to start games on the right foot with development of the young guys. The debate as it relates to LaVine (in my opinion) is whether playing him at PG is helping his development more than it hurts the team and other guys he plays with. I think the cons outweigh the pros.

I agree with this, Q. I still say Sam is a genius because of the position he has put the other young guys in. But the odd guy out is LaVine. And when he becomes more exposed against stronger teams, will Sam stick with it? Or will we see times when Andre Miller comes to the rescue?

Yeah, personally, I think Zach should just sit and wait his turn. Inevitably someone will get hurt and he will get reps at SG. Or there will be blowout situations (either for us or against us) where he can get some reps in. Having a competent PG at the helm for both "shifts" helps not only with winning games, but also bringing out the best in the other young guys he plays with.

The thing is, Zach is still a young guy in only the 2nd year of a rookie contract. He has plenty of time to learn and develop with the Wolves.

Just looking at Lavine's stats in these 2 games they aren't too shabby. 9ppg in 20 mpg and 43% shooting. He hasn't hit a 3 yet but that will likely come. He has gotten opportunities to have the ball late in quarter situations and has come through on a decent amount of those plays. I am not arguing he has been good but I do see some signs of his minutes being worthwhile for his development.

Everyone knows he isn't helping the team as a true PG which is in STARK contrast to Miller and Tyus who can likely get it done there and also score some in their own ways. As others keep bringing up I do think Lavine ends up being more of a positive defensive guy overall. If he gets beat he has the athletic ability and length to get back in the play. He is rebounding at a pretty high rate for a guard which helps also. It's been interesting how they have used Zach and Martin interchangably at times defending guards. As bad as Zach looks running an offense Tyus looked overmatched guarding guys in preseason. Miller is crafty but probably not good enough to basically not play Lavine at all.

Has this team really struggled to score? Yeah there have been stretches where they have but a lot of that time they got good looks they just didn't go down or it was more inexperience than anything else. It seems clear that Sam is going all in on defense and letting the offense come together one way or another and against 2 winless teams that's worked out ok. When the Wolves play some more legit opponents and teams have more film to prep for both sides of the ball that may not work. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I am not suggesting that I am a fan of playing Lavine as the backup PG or it's genius but I do think it makes sense for a few reasons and that it's worked out alright so far but it's early.

[TAFKASP]

Leado01, If Sam was only about winning now, he sure as heck wouldn't have LaVine playing backup PG. I think he's balancing the need to start games on the right foot with development of the young guys. The debate as it relates to LaVine (in my opinion) is whether playing him at PG is helping his development more than it hurts the team and other guys he plays with. I think the cons outweigh the pros.

I agree with this. While there is value in cutting the vets minutes and getting the kids experience there is also value in instilling in the kids the expectation to win! After a decade of basketball incompetence this team needs to shed its loser mentality just as much as it needs its youth to gain experience!

I think an extra five minutes for each young bench player will do less good than continually losing 85%+ of your games will do harm!