Is there life after Robinson?- Wolves/Blazers GDT

[TheGrey08]

So... this Lillard guy... he's pretty good yeah? lol nice win though. Wish I hadn't missed the first 2.5 quarters.

[60WinTim]

Gary Neal's comment about the improved energy tonight compared to the Denver game:

KG read us the riot act in the locker room after the Denver game saying you have to bring the energy night in and night out.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

This win feels a lot better than our earlier win against Portland. Back then the Blazers played bad. Tonight, we played well and earned the win. (assuming we hold on!)

Agree Tim. It's very rare that we are able to withstand a shooting exhibition like that (they were 14-27 from 3, something we can only dream about doing some day under a different coach).

The key was coming out in that 3rd period, getting some stops, and then Martin and Neal getting hot with the long 2's.

A few other highlights....

- Wiggins made that Euro step move going to the hoop seem way too easy. He was sort of doing his usual half-lope down the court and then he made the easy lay-in after the brilliant footwork.

- Flip once again proved to everyone that LaVine is a better 2 than 1. Yet we have a young, defensive-oriented true PG rusting away on the bench while empty minutes are given to Zach out of position.

- Rubio was a maestro tonight with his passing. He gave guys a ton of easy looks.

- After three years at Louisville and nearly two years in the NBA, Dieng still hasn't seen a pump fake he doesn't like. Jesus, what does it take to get him to stay down!? He had a nice game offensively tonight, but he was once again a trainwreck on defense.

- Payne looked a bit more under control tonight.

- Flip, please don't overpay for Gary Neal this offseason.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Whew, I'm glad I went to that game...that was a fun night! Portland is a good team and they played well, so it feels great to come back from double digits down to beat them.

In the original post in this thread, I laid out the four key things I wanted to see, and the Wolves nailed all four.

1)Early intensity. It was clear that KG must have given the team a pep talk after the Denver game, because they came out active and intense on both ends of the court. And they kept up the intensity for the entire game. I can't think of one player whose effort I would question tonight.

2) Bounce back game from Martin. He started slow, missing his first couple shots. But after that he was lights out. Only one three, but still an efficient 29 on 21 shots, along with 6 boards and 2 assists, He was active on D too.

3) Take advantage of CJ McCollum's defense with great production from our reserve SG's. All night whoever was being guarded by CJ got the big eyes, and Neal ended up with a ridiculously efficient 27 points on only 11 shots :-o . And I think perhaps 6 of LaVine's 8 came when he was at SG.

4) Win the boards. Portland has been the better rebounding team all year, but tonight the Wolves exercised textbook blocking out, and won the battle 45-36. Pek missed 4 of the easiest shots he has missed all year (seriously, can he dunk?), but he outmuscled Lopez and Kaman all night...he is so vital to our defense and rebounding.

But as great as our wings were, tonight was all about Rubio and KG. We know we defend better when KG is on the court, but our offense runs so much better also. KG's effective picks and quick ball movement makes our offense so much better. When Flip put him in with 4 minutes left, I knew we had this one won...we're that much better when he is out there.

And Rubio was terrific. He would have had 19 assists tonight if Pek could have made 4 more easy layups. After he made his spectacular 20-foot bounce pass to Wigs for a slam, I realized what was missing from ricky;s game tonight...the flash. I would describe his performance tonight as surgical. He would break down the defense, and then repeatedly hit the right man in the right place. As much as I like the flashy Ricky, he's more effective when he is surgical like he was tonight.

Finally, I want to credit Flip for his rotations tonight. Zach was really struggling at PG and Flip gave him the quick hook. But he got him in there soon afterward for some confidence building time at the 2. He got a lot of good minutes from Payne, Neal, Gorgui and Zach, and the starters looked fresh when Flip got them all on the floor for the last 5.

[TAFKASP]

Anybody still upset about not drafting CJ McCollum?

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Great win. Holy cow it looked like we were going to be on a Damian Lillard/Tracy McGrady youtube clip for eternity there for a minute though at the end. Holy balls!

All around great offensive game for us, and we did most of the other things we needed to do to put us in position to do it. A 40 point quarter. Tons of scoring from the wing. A great game from Martin. An offensive explosion from Gary Neal. Good efficient scoring from Wiggins. A great job running the show from Rubio. Just great to see!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Anybody still upset about not drafting CJ McCollum?

Yes, the entire Portland organization.

I know I've lost a step, but I swear I could go off for 40 against him.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

More data to show Ricky was surgically, if not spectacularly, effective last night. Although he had the ball in his hands for much of his 39 minutes last night, he only had one turnover.

I'm not a great stat guy, but a 15 to 1 assist to turnover ratio is good, isn't it?

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

More data to show Ricky was surgically, if not spectacularly, effective last night. Although he had the ball in his hands for much of his 39 minutes last night, he only had one turnover.

I'm not a great stat guy, but a 15 to 1 assist to turnover ratio is good, isn't it?

People just need to accept who Rubio is. He isn't a great shooter. He isn't going to be Russell Westbrook, but that's not to say he can't be Jason Kidd. The guy is a great assist artist and a solid all around player.

[bleedspeed]

Anybody still upset about not drafting CJ McCollum?

I was thinking to myself how bad could he be on defense. Then I watched the game and am not sure I have seen anyone worse. I wonder if he ever became fully healthy again.