Game Report - Wolves v Kings

[Lipoli390]

A pretty small Monday night crowd and a pretty sloppy game on both sides. But it was fun to watch KAT dominate in his first game back after the car accident. Towns put team on his back and, with some help from Tyus, Rose and Luol Deng, he carried the Wolves to a win that keeps them in the playoff hunt.

Tyus was more than helpful to Towns, he played a terrific game and was as important as KAT to last night's win. Tyus scored 16 points on 60% shooting to go with 8 assists and 3 steals. Those steals last night were part of his stellar defense. He is one of the League's best ball-thieves, yet he doesn't take undue risks to get those steals. I know there are those who continue to look at Tyus and, based on his size and athleticism, can't see him as a starting PG. But last night further confirmed for me that he will be a very good starting PG for the Wolves if the organization is smart enough to put him in that role going forward.

Dario looked a bit off, perhaps because his eye was nearly swollen shut, but he competed. Deng was hustling like a rookie trying to prove himself. He continues to convince me we should re-sign him after this season.

Okogie continues to look like he's hit the rookie wall. Yes, his shooting has been off all season, but in the last few weeks he's looked a bit overwhelmed at times. On the other hand, he was aggressive and as a result drew 4 fouls. Importantly, he hit all 4 foul shots. Further, his defense was pretty good.

Wiggins was an embarrassment. I wish I could say it was just a bad game for him. But unfortunately, it was an all-too typical game for Wiggins. He was 3-10 from the field, missing 6 of his 7 threes. He only got to the line twice and made only 1. I'm surprised the box score only shows him having 3 turnovers; it seemed he had a lot more. The crowd in my area would moan every time he touched the ball - begging for him to give it up to a teammate. The team was much better last night when he was on the bench. Sadly, that's not out of the ordinary.

I would have liked to see KBD get some minutes last night. As everyone knows, I'm all about playing the young guys, for good or bad, the rest of the season. But the flip side is that playing Rose, Deng and Tolliver significant minutes might enhance our chances of signing one or more of them for a reasonable amount of money after this season. I like all three guys as veteran bench players and we will need solid bench players to compete next season.

The Mavs, Pelicans and Lakers lost last night. So the Wolves continue to put distance between themselves and the teams behind them. Meanwhile, the Wolves have pulled even with the Lakers and are closing in on the Kings. So yes, the Wolves have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this season. However, the more likely scenario will be a 9th place finish in the West. At least then we'd have a shot at Zion. :)

The Wolves have a shot at putting together a very solid stretch over the next 7 games. And as much as I want to see a soft tank, that's not going to happen. So I'm prepared to enjoy watching the Wolves win some games down the stretch and actually compete for one of the final two playoffs seeds in the West.

[thedoper]

A pretty small Monday night crowd and a pretty sloppy game on both sides. But it was fun to watch KAT dominate in his first game back after the car accident. Towns put team on his back and, with some help from Tyus, Rose and Luol Deng, he carried the Wolves to a win that keeps them in the playoff hunt.

Tyus was more than helpful to Towns, he played a terrific game and was as important as KAT to last night's win. Tyus scored 16 points on 60% shooting to go with 8 assists and 3 steals. Those steals last night were part of his stellar defense. He is one of the League's best ball-thieves, yet he doesn't take undue risks to get those steals. I know there are those who continue to look at Tyus and, based on his size and athleticism, can't see him as a starting PG. But last night further confirmed for me that he will be a very good starting PG for the Wolves if the organization is smart enough to put him in that role going forward.

Dario looked a bit off, perhaps because his eye was nearly swollen shut, but he competed. Deng was hustling like a rookie trying to prove himself. He continues to convince me we should re-sign him after this season.

Okogie continues to look like he's hit the rookie wall. Yes, his shooting has been off all season, but in the last few weeks he's looked a bit overwhelmed at times. On the other hand, he was aggressive and as a result drew 4 fouls. Importantly, he hit all 4 foul shots. Further, his defense was pretty good.

Wiggins was an embarrassment. I wish I could say it was just a bad game for him. But unfortunately, it was an all-too typical game for Wiggins. He was 3-10 from the field, missing 6 of his 7 threes. He only got to the line twice and made only 1. I'm surprised the box score only shows him having 3 turnovers; it seemed he had a lot more. The crowd in my area would moan every time he touched the ball - begging for him to give it up to a teammate. The team was much better last night when he was on the bench. Sadly, that's not out of the ordinary.

I would have liked to see KBD get some minutes last night. As everyone knows, I'm all about playing the young guys, for good or bad, the rest of the season. But the flip side is that playing Rose, Deng and Tolliver significant minutes might enhance our chances of signing one or more of them for a reasonable amount of money after this season. I like all three guys as veteran bench players and we will need solid bench players to compete next season.

The Mavs, Pelicans and Lakers lost last night. So the Wolves continue to put distance between themselves and the teams behind them. Meanwhile, the Wolves have pulled even with the Lakers and are closing in on the Kings. So yes, the Wolves have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this season. However, the more likely scenario will be a 9th place finish in the West. At least then we'd have a shot at Zion. :)

The Wolves have a shot at putting together a very solid stretch over the next 7 games. And as much as I want to see a soft tank, that's not going to happen. So I'm prepared to enjoy watching the Wolves win some games down the stretch and actually compete for one of the final two playoffs seeds in the West.

After those 7 games our schedule is brutal. Barring some major turn around that means we will end up with a max of 10 more wins from what I can see in the schedule. If we can get more than that Saunders should be considered for coach of the year, it's that tough from what I can see. I think both Sacramento and LA win more than 10 from here on out, which would put us in the 11 spot in the west.

[Coolbreeze44]

This is a very talented team, especially when healthy. With the way Rose is playing combined with KAT, you've got enough star power to be in virtually every game. It's not the best team in the league, but we've come quite a ways from the sub 30 win seasons we had gotten used to. Problem is how do we get better from here? Because even though we are competent, it doesn't matter if you can't make/win in the playoffs.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

This is a very talented team, especially when healthy. With the way Rose is playing combined with KAT, you've got enough star power to be in virtually every game. It's not the best team in the league, but we've come quite a ways from the sub 30 win seasons we had gotten used to. Problem is how do we get better from here? Because even though we are competent, it doesn't matter if you can't make/win in the playoffs.

It's through defense. There is no other path unless we stumble into another star.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The way Tyus can pick the pocket of literally world-class ball handlers is incredible to watch. It's one thing to dig down on a big and slap the ball away or jump a passing lane (he does both of those things well too), but it's completely another level when he is picking a ball handler clean off the dribble. He's done this multiple times with some of the best PGs in the league. Fun to watch.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I thought Okogie did a good job of harassing Hield and keeping him mostly in check. That's not an easy assignment.

We've got the makings of a really good perimeter defense if we can get everyone healthy and guys like Okogie keep improving. RoCo, Deng, and Tyus are all plus-level on that side of the ball. Wiggins is solid-ish. Teague is a bit of a problem. Rose is the biggest liability on that side, but we need his scoring off the bench.

[Monster]

A pretty small Monday night crowd and a pretty sloppy game on both sides. But it was fun to watch KAT dominate in his first game back after the car accident. Towns put team on his back and, with some help from Tyus, Rose and Luol Deng, he carried the Wolves to a win that keeps them in the playoff hunt.

Tyus was more than helpful to Towns, he played a terrific game and was as important as KAT to last night's win. Tyus scored 16 points on 60% shooting to go with 8 assists and 3 steals. Those steals last night were part of his stellar defense. He is one of the League's best ball-thieves, yet he doesn't take undue risks to get those steals. I know there are those who continue to look at Tyus and, based on his size and athleticism, can't see him as a starting PG. But last night further confirmed for me that he will be a very good starting PG for the Wolves if the organization is smart enough to put him in that role going forward.

Dario looked a bit off, perhaps because his eye was nearly swollen shut, but he competed. Deng was hustling like a rookie trying to prove himself. He continues to convince me we should re-sign him after this season.

Okogie continues to look like he's hit the rookie wall. Yes, his shooting has been off all season, but in the last few weeks he's looked a bit overwhelmed at times. On the other hand, he was aggressive and as a result drew 4 fouls. Importantly, he hit all 4 foul shots. Further, his defense was pretty good.

Wiggins was an embarrassment. I wish I could say it was just a bad game for him. But unfortunately, it was an all-too typical game for Wiggins. He was 3-10 from the field, missing 6 of his 7 threes. He only got to the line twice and made only 1. I'm surprised the box score only shows him having 3 turnovers; it seemed he had a lot more. The crowd in my area would moan every time he touched the ball - begging for him to give it up to a teammate. The team was much better last night when he was on the bench. Sadly, that's not out of the ordinary.

I would have liked to see KBD get some minutes last night. As everyone knows, I'm all about playing the young guys, for good or bad, the rest of the season. But the flip side is that playing Rose, Deng and Tolliver significant minutes might enhance our chances of signing one or more of them for a reasonable amount of money after this season. I like all three guys as veteran bench players and we will need solid bench players to compete next season.

The Mavs, Pelicans and Lakers lost last night. So the Wolves continue to put distance between themselves and the teams behind them. Meanwhile, the Wolves have pulled even with the Lakers and are closing in on the Kings. So yes, the Wolves have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this season. However, the more likely scenario will be a 9th place finish in the West. At least then we'd have a shot at Zion. :)

The Wolves have a shot at putting together a very solid stretch over the next 7 games. And as much as I want to see a soft tank, that's not going to happen. So I'm prepared to enjoy watching the Wolves win some games down the stretch and actually compete for one of the final two playoffs seeds in the West.

Lip I'm glad you have come around to the ice aof enjoying watching this team compete.

As for Wiggins...is counterpart on the other end Barnes was similarly invisible. Wiggins has something to do with it. It was not a good game for a Wiggins however he had 5 assists and while he had a turnover late in the game on a travel (brewer traveled nearly every time he touched the ball...) Wiggins also had that terrific attack where he faked Barnes blasted past him got baseline and fired a perfect pass for an easy bucket. I've said all year what I care about from Wiggins is doing shot and playing defense. The guy can get some buckets I want to see him do other stuff. He also got an easy transition basket running the floor. He needs to do more I just like that I really think he is doing other winning stuff this year more consistently.

Let's be honest Tyus should get eaten alive by Fox. Instead (and I'm biased although I like Fox a lot) Tyus flat out outplayed him. Heck of a game for Tyus.

[Monster]

I thought Okogie did a good job of harassing Hield and keeping him mostly in check. That's not an easy assignment.

We've got the makings of a really good perimeter defense if we can get everyone healthy and guys like Okogie keep improving. RoCo, Deng, and Tyus are all plus-level on that side of the ball. Wiggins is solid-ish. Teague is a bit of a problem. Rose is the biggest liability on that side, but we need his scoring off the bench.

Okogie has stretches he was everywhere either defecting balls or getting into passing lanes and forcing problems. As Lip said he is struggling on offense right now (probably the league has adjusted a bit also) but yeah he did a pretty good job on Buddy.

[Lipoli390]

A pretty small Monday night crowd and a pretty sloppy game on both sides. But it was fun to watch KAT dominate in his first game back after the car accident. Towns put team on his back and, with some help from Tyus, Rose and Luol Deng, he carried the Wolves to a win that keeps them in the playoff hunt.

Tyus was more than helpful to Towns, he played a terrific game and was as important as KAT to last night's win. Tyus scored 16 points on 60% shooting to go with 8 assists and 3 steals. Those steals last night were part of his stellar defense. He is one of the League's best ball-thieves, yet he doesn't take undue risks to get those steals. I know there are those who continue to look at Tyus and, based on his size and athleticism, can't see him as a starting PG. But last night further confirmed for me that he will be a very good starting PG for the Wolves if the organization is smart enough to put him in that role going forward.

Dario looked a bit off, perhaps because his eye was nearly swollen shut, but he competed. Deng was hustling like a rookie trying to prove himself. He continues to convince me we should re-sign him after this season.

Okogie continues to look like he's hit the rookie wall. Yes, his shooting has been off all season, but in the last few weeks he's looked a bit overwhelmed at times. On the other hand, he was aggressive and as a result drew 4 fouls. Importantly, he hit all 4 foul shots. Further, his defense was pretty good.

Wiggins was an embarrassment. I wish I could say it was just a bad game for him. But unfortunately, it was an all-too typical game for Wiggins. He was 3-10 from the field, missing 6 of his 7 threes. He only got to the line twice and made only 1. I'm surprised the box score only shows him having 3 turnovers; it seemed he had a lot more. The crowd in my area would moan every time he touched the ball - begging for him to give it up to a teammate. The team was much better last night when he was on the bench. Sadly, that's not out of the ordinary.

I would have liked to see KBD get some minutes last night. As everyone knows, I'm all about playing the young guys, for good or bad, the rest of the season. But the flip side is that playing Rose, Deng and Tolliver significant minutes might enhance our chances of signing one or more of them for a reasonable amount of money after this season. I like all three guys as veteran bench players and we will need solid bench players to compete next season.

The Mavs, Pelicans and Lakers lost last night. So the Wolves continue to put distance between themselves and the teams behind them. Meanwhile, the Wolves have pulled even with the Lakers and are closing in on the Kings. So yes, the Wolves have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this season. However, the more likely scenario will be a 9th place finish in the West. At least then we'd have a shot at Zion. :)

The Wolves have a shot at putting together a very solid stretch over the next 7 games. And as much as I want to see a soft tank, that's not going to happen. So I'm prepared to enjoy watching the Wolves win some games down the stretch and actually compete for one of the final two playoffs seeds in the West.

Lip I'm glad you have come around to the ice aof enjoying watching this team compete.

As for Wiggins...is counterpart on the other end Barnes was similarly invisible. Wiggins has something to do with it. It was not a good game for a Wiggins however he had 5 assists and while he had a turnover late in the game on a travel (brewer traveled nearly every time he touched the ball...) Wiggins also had that terrific attack where he faked Barnes blasted past him got baseline and fired a perfect pass for an easy bucket. I've said all year what I care about from Wiggins is doing shot and playing defense. The guy can get some buckets I want to see him do other stuff. He also got an easy transition basket running the floor. He needs to do more I just like that I really think he is doing other winning stuff this year more consistently.

Let's be honest Tyus should get eaten alive by Fox. Instead (and I'm biased although I like Fox a lot) Tyus flat out outplayed him. Heck of a game for Tyus.

What Tyus did to Fox last night was indeed fun to watch. Importantly, it wasn't an anomaly. Tyus defends well against nearly every PG he's matched up against. At the same time, he does a terrific job protecting the ball against even the best defenders.

As for Wiggins, I'm past the point of giving him a pat on the back for 5 assists or 5 rebounds (never both) and having a couple nice buckets while hitting only 30% of his shots from the field, stifling the flow of the offense, getting to the line only 2 or 3 times and missing nearly half his foul shots. As for his defense, Q described it accurately as solidish. At $25-30 million per year, Wiggins is a problem. Unfortunately, he's a problem we can't easily get rid of. So I guess I'll take solidish defense and a really good scoring game every now and then. Thankfully, he's not a Darko or Kandiman type problem. And by all accounts, he's a good guy and good teammate. It's just that huge gap between his contract and what he delivers.

[kekgeek]

A pretty small Monday night crowd and a pretty sloppy game on both sides. But it was fun to watch KAT dominate in his first game back after the car accident. Towns put team on his back and, with some help from Tyus, Rose and Luol Deng, he carried the Wolves to a win that keeps them in the playoff hunt.

Tyus was more than helpful to Towns, he played a terrific game and was as important as KAT to last night's win. Tyus scored 16 points on 60% shooting to go with 8 assists and 3 steals. Those steals last night were part of his stellar defense. He is one of the League's best ball-thieves, yet he doesn't take undue risks to get those steals. I know there are those who continue to look at Tyus and, based on his size and athleticism, can't see him as a starting PG. But last night further confirmed for me that he will be a very good starting PG for the Wolves if the organization is smart enough to put him in that role going forward.

Dario looked a bit off, perhaps because his eye was nearly swollen shut, but he competed. Deng was hustling like a rookie trying to prove himself. He continues to convince me we should re-sign him after this season.

Okogie continues to look like he's hit the rookie wall. Yes, his shooting has been off all season, but in the last few weeks he's looked a bit overwhelmed at times. On the other hand, he was aggressive and as a result drew 4 fouls. Importantly, he hit all 4 foul shots. Further, his defense was pretty good.

Wiggins was an embarrassment. I wish I could say it was just a bad game for him. But unfortunately, it was an all-too typical game for Wiggins. He was 3-10 from the field, missing 6 of his 7 threes. He only got to the line twice and made only 1. I'm surprised the box score only shows him having 3 turnovers; it seemed he had a lot more. The crowd in my area would moan every time he touched the ball - begging for him to give it up to a teammate. The team was much better last night when he was on the bench. Sadly, that's not out of the ordinary.

I would have liked to see KBD get some minutes last night. As everyone knows, I'm all about playing the young guys, for good or bad, the rest of the season. But the flip side is that playing Rose, Deng and Tolliver significant minutes might enhance our chances of signing one or more of them for a reasonable amount of money after this season. I like all three guys as veteran bench players and we will need solid bench players to compete next season.

The Mavs, Pelicans and Lakers lost last night. So the Wolves continue to put distance between themselves and the teams behind them. Meanwhile, the Wolves have pulled even with the Lakers and are closing in on the Kings. So yes, the Wolves have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this season. However, the more likely scenario will be a 9th place finish in the West. At least then we'd have a shot at Zion. :)

The Wolves have a shot at putting together a very solid stretch over the next 7 games. And as much as I want to see a soft tank, that's not going to happen. So I'm prepared to enjoy watching the Wolves win some games down the stretch and actually compete for one of the final two playoffs seeds in the West.

Lip I'm glad you have come around to the ice aof enjoying watching this team compete.

As for Wiggins...is counterpart on the other end Barnes was similarly invisible. Wiggins has something to do with it. It was not a good game for a Wiggins however he had 5 assists and while he had a turnover late in the game on a travel (brewer traveled nearly every time he touched the ball...) Wiggins also had that terrific attack where he faked Barnes blasted past him got baseline and fired a perfect pass for an easy bucket. I've said all year what I care about from Wiggins is doing shot and playing defense. The guy can get some buckets I want to see him do other stuff. He also got an easy transition basket running the floor. He needs to do more I just like that I really think he is doing other winning stuff this year more consistently.

Let's be honest Tyus should get eaten alive by Fox. Instead (and I'm biased although I like Fox a lot) Tyus flat out outplayed him. Heck of a game for Tyus.

What Tyus did to Fox last night was indeed fun to watch. Importantly, it wasn't an anomaly. Tyus defends well against nearly every PG he's matched up against. At the same time, he does a terrific job protecting the ball against even the best defenders.

As for Wiggins, I'm past the point of giving him a pat on the back for 5 assists or 5 rebounds (never both) and having a couple nice buckets while hitting only 30% of his shots from the field, stifling the flow of the offense, getting to the line only 2 or 3 times and missing nearly half his foul shots. As for his defense, Q described it accurately as solidish. At $25-30 million per year, Wiggins is a problem. Unfortunately, he's a problem we can't easily get rid of. So I guess I'll take solidish defense and a really good scoring game every now and then. Thankfully, he's not a Darko or Kandiman type problem. And by all accounts, he's a good guy and good teammate. It's just that huge gap between his contract and what he delivers.

If Wiggins hit the open market tomorrow what do you think he would get average yearly salary. I'm legit curious.

For this year just my thoughts on value lost/ gained.

Teague: -4 mil. Still think he is a solid pg
Wiggins: - 15 mil
Covington: +12 mil
Taj: -6 mil (very solid player this isn't a dis to him)
Towns: +20 mil
Rose: +7 mil
Tyus: +2 mil
Bayless: -4 mil
Okogie: 0 mil
Deng: +5 mil
Tolliver: -2 mil
Saric: +4 mil
Gorgui: - 12 mil
KBD: 0 mil

Overall: +7 mil (most of it coming from Kat). Also just was my 1st instinct on the guy. No real science behind my silly post