GDT: Minnesota vs. Brooklyn (Preseason)

[Q-is-here]

One thing I will say is that Ant has looked pretty good defensively thus far this preseason. He'll get better offensively, but the question has always been whether he'd be able to mentally lock in on defense. He's shown flashes of excellence, especially against Ja in the playoffs last year. Good to see he's still making good effort on that end.

I agree Drew. I have noticed the same thing.

[Q-is-here]

I watched a regular season Boston game last year and it was basically Tatum and Brown taking turns pounding the ball into the floor and trying to get the right matchup on switches. It was boring and ugly to watch on offense. Two months later they were in the Finals competing for a title.

I guess what I'm saying is we need to accept Ant for what he is. He is never going to be ping-ponging the ball around and making perfectly timed cuts. We actually need someone that can play great isolation ball on this roster. I just think it's about picking his spots and growing into his role this season.

Q - I think you're generally right about accepting Ant for what he is, but two thoughts in response. First, I still think he can and should moderate his iso ball tendencies a little just as MJ had to do for the Bulls to become a championship team. Second and more importantly, I think accepting Ant as he is raises the question about whether he and DLO fit well together. Having one guard with sticky fingers is fine, but having two when one of them is your PG can be problematic. That's especially true when you have a third scorer on your team - i.e., KAT - who needs the ball. That is the looming question for me. And it's a question I haven't even resolved yet in my own mind. I want things to work out with DLO because he's here and he's talented. I'm also intrigued by DLO's P&R potential with Gobert. But I have concerns.

Meanwhile, the Wolves will have to figure out how to maximize the Gobert-KAT pairing. Sam Mitchell raised the concern about Gobert impeding the team's spacing, which allowed KAT last season to thrive on the offensive end. Sam agreed that KAT is an elite three-point shooter, but he also stressed that what makes KAT special is the fact he's also a great low-post scorer and a terrific dribble drive scorer. Gobert's only value on the floor offensively is in the paint and that seems to constrain KAT's ability to apply the full measure of his main offensive talents. That's what Sam said and I agree. Sam rightly emphasized that the Wolves will have to figure that out to make the Gobert deal pay off.

So this will be an interesting season. Key questions in my mind:

1. Will Ant take a big step forward and blossom into a consistently dominant all-star caliber player or star?

2. Will McDaniels take a significant step forward to at least become a reliable 3&D guy who hits his threes consistently and defends without fouling?

3. Will KAT and DLO stay healthy and be on the court for 70+ games - something they haven't been able to do the last couple seasons?

4. Will the team, without Beverley and Vando, be able to effectively defend the perimeter and not end up depending too much on Gobert's paint protection like we saw with the Jazz?

5. Will Ant and especially DLO moderate their tendencies and ultimately mesh well together offensively?

6. Will the team be able to play Gobert and KAT together for most of each game without constraining the full beneficial range of KAT's offensive talents? Perhaps a high-low passing scheme between the two will actually unlock more of KAT's passing talent. I'm actually pretty confident that KAT will be able to handle defending power forwards. The new trimmed down version of KAT this season seems plenty quick and agile on the defensive end. So I'm actually fairly confident that the KAT-Gobert pairing will work on the defensive end.

Good set of questions Lip.

- On #1, I'm just not sure the opportunity will be there for Ant to carry a usage that would scream "all-star", especially if #3 and #6 happen. However, if he can take another step forward defensively and give us the same offense as last year, I'd be OK with that. That is at least borderline all-star for what is still a very young player.

- On #2, I have not been encouraged by Jaden's 3-point shooting from anywhere on the floor except the corners. And the foul problems still seem to exist.

- On #5, I think Cam provides good evidence that DLO doesn't take away from Ant's effectiveness. My issue is more of a longer-term one, which is does Ant's long-term growth into a dominant lead guard get stunted a bit by playing next to DLO. I view that as more of a future issue than a current one holding us back this season.

- On #6, you brought up Sam Mitchell's concerns about spacing. But didn't that apply last year too with Vanderbilt? Or what about when KAT played with Taj Gibson? Not sure why suddenly we're concerned about spacing when KAT has always started next to another big that couldn't shoot.

Finally, I've seen enough of KAT post-ups. They really don't work anymore for him. It leads to too many offensive fouls, thrown-away passes, or missed shots. When he gets someone smaller on him, he needs to square him up and just shoot over him from mid-range versus trying to back him down. It just hasn't been a profitable strategy for him.

[Coolbreeze44]

You asked in the other thread why there is always so much scrutiny on DLO. Well what you did above is a major reason for that. You go to extraordinary lengths to incessantly prop him up. And by doing that, you invite the counterpoints that so many people make. If you really don't want the negativity, you would be best served to root for the name on the front of the jersey, and stop focusing so much on ONE on the back. In my opinion your, propagation of DLO is the reason the board focuses on him so much. You post more than anyone else, and a large portion of them are Pro-DLO. I think if you back off some on the DLO rhetoric, the board would follow suit. I'll take your word on whether that's what you want.

What I did above? You mean by asking where that unsupported rhetoric stemmed from and then providing a counterargument supported by data? I hardly see how THAT is the problem here. Should we instead just nod our heads in unison at baseless claims? That seems to be where society as a whole is headed, but I thought we were collectively more intellectual than that. And if there was legitimate reason for the above claim, I'd like to know and learn more about it.

Also, what you may see as "propping up" is my idea of providing resistance to the numerous posts -- far more than whatever my total would be -- that paint D-Lo as something he's not. And I do think he's better than most people here think he is so I try to share evidence of why I think that versus "my eyes told me."

You've made this same accusation towards me before regarding my posts, but yet you conveniently leave out that I'm almost always replying to others who have already initiated that conversation. Why is my response the main focus instead of the countless others on the opposing end of the debate?

I see the chicken, you see the egg.