Did KG get injured Wednesday?

[Carlos Danger]

You know KG didn't play last night? Because if he did - they probably win that game. It's tank time - plain and simple. Yes, there is some preserving of KG via reduced minutes. But look at the guy...he's in great shape. Certainly he could play if they wanted (or needed) him to play. They are going to be better with him on the court than off. Flip knew what he was doing by holding him out on what was a very winnable game. Now he'll play tonight in front of the home crowd on what is most likely not a winnable game. Brilliant! Top five pick - here we come!

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I hate tanking, don't care what position.we're in. But this is not your fathers NBA. We care about tanking, twitter fights, and what suits guys wear on draft day

[Carlos Danger]

I hate tanking, don't care what position.we're in. But this is not your fathers NBA. We care about tanking, twitter fights, and what suits guys wear on draft day

I don't disagree with you...but then you just have to accept the "wink wink" explanations i.e.
1.) We needed to rest KG
2.) We need to see what we have in the young guys
3.) We wanted to experiment with different line ups

All good reasons...(if winning isn't top priority). Let's face it, 25 games to go and the more the lose, the better the odds of a good draft position. I read in today's Strib that Pek's ankles are bothering him again. Convenient :-). Maybe they can sign Mark Madsen to a 10 day contract to finish out the year as a 3 point specialist!

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

So are the players that are playing know that they're tanking? Is the coach doing all the tanking? Are there quiet tanking conversations before the game? If some players are playing well, are they taken out because they're not tanking enough?

[Carlos Danger]

So are the players that are playing know that they're tanking? Is the coach doing all the tanking? Are there quiet tanking conversations before the game? If some players are playing well, are they taken out because they're not tanking enough?

That would be your coach/GM's job. Players want to play and look good. You know the drill. Key players will be held out for various reasons. Young guys will get opportunity (like Payne). It only makes sense as a GM. Your players still play hard. You get to evaluate guys who wouldn't normally play much (like GR3 last night). And, you keep losing which improves your chances of obtaining a franchise changing player in the upcoming draft. Think of it as another pre-season where the key guys (known commodity players) play less to avoid injury and the young guys/scrubs all compete for future roster spots.

[Tactical unit]

I hate tanking, don't care what position.we're in. But this is not your fathers NBA. We care about tanking, twitter fights, and what suits guys wear on draft day

I don't disagree with you...but then you just have to accept the "wink wink" explanations i.e.
1.) We needed to rest KG
2.) We need to see what we have in the young guys
3.) We wanted to experiment with different line ups

All good reasons...(if winning isn't top priority). Let's face it, 25 games to go and the more the lose, the better the odds of a good draft position. I read in today's Strib that Pek's ankles are bothering him again. Convenient :-). Maybe they can sign Mark Madsen to a 10 day contract to finish out the year as a 3 point specialist!

@CarlosDanger : You couldn't be more wrong! KG was on the same rest / preservation plan in BKN this year and that team has had playoff aspirations being in the lowly Eastern conference. We aren't tanking by resting KG its just that he's older and if we want two more years out of him beyond this season then we have to take a conservative approach with him. Playing the young guys and trying out various lineup's is what a team with no playoff hopes should be doing. Finding out who plays best with who and developing these players as much as possible. Show casing players has its merits but I just don't see a point in playing Chase, either a team is going to take him or there not. It won't be due to him having a solid March, at this point he will be an expiring deal next year that we could buyout or use as part of a trade.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Carlos, I'm being sarcastic of course. But there are A LOT of players who tank, and by that I mean resting injuries (see Derrick Rose) for much longer than needed. So there is team tanking and player tanking. If there is another work stoppage, I'm hoping the fans start tanking.

[Carlos Danger]

@CarlosDanger : You couldn't be more wrong! KG was on the same rest / preservation plan in BKN this year and that team has had playoff aspirations being in the lowly Eastern conference. We aren't tanking by resting KG its just that he's older and if we want two more years out of him beyond this season then we have to take a conservative approach with him. Playing the young guys and trying out various lineup's is what a team with no playoff hopes should be doing. Finding out who plays best with who and developing these players as much as possible. Show casing players has its merits but I just don't see a point in playing Chase, either a team is going to take him or there not. It won't be due to him having a solid March, at this point he will be an expiring deal next year that we could buyout or use as part of a trade.

Meh. I have no idea what the "preservation plan" was in BKN. Maybe they were preserving his trade value. But you are going to have a hard time convincing me that KG requires rest after playing 19 minutes in one game over the past 17 days. He still looks to be in pretty great shape to me. Let's not insult the guy by thinking he can't play more. It's strategic.

That game last night was very winnable. If you want to win, you play all your best players. KG>Payne. That's not a rip on Payne. It's just to be expected since he's played very little and KG has talent and experience. I believe that if KG plays 8 to 10 minutes of that 4th quarter it would have made a positive difference. To me, if you are trying to win games, then that was a perfect chance to play your KG trump card.

[Carlos Danger]

Carlos, I'm being sarcastic of course. But there are A LOT of players who tank, and by that I mean resting injuries (see Derrick Rose) for much longer than needed. So there is team tanking and player tanking. If there is another work stoppage, I'm hoping the fans start tanking.

LOL! I'm with you Lloyd. But..in this case, if a couple extra losses means the Wolves finally catch a break in the lotto - perhaps it's worth the short term angst for our long term future.