Game Report - Wolves v. Hawks

[Lipoli390]

A big crowd tonight at Target Center to watch the Wolves host one of the worst teams in the NBA. What did the Wolves give those fans? An inexcusable loss. Obviously, the Wolves lost this game in oh so many ways and for oh so many reasons. Coming out flat as a team and falling behind by 20 points in the first quarter was unacceptable. Coming back and building a 9-point lead in the 3rd, however, should have been the beginning of the end for the Hawks. Alas, the Wolves fell flat again on the offensive end and allowed the Hawks to get back in the game. The end result was an overtime loss and an understandably angry crowd of Timberwolves fans.

Of all the things that contributed to this loss, including missed free throws by multiple Wolves' players, the following three things stand out for me:

1. The entire team coming out flat in the first quarter;
2. The complete inability of Derrick Rose to stay anywhere close to Young defensively; and'
3. The ridiculous failure of the team to run the offense through Towns.

The last point is the one that gets me the most. With all the missed free throws (and KAT had his share of those) and the lackluster start to the game, what takes the cake for me was the team's failure to get KAT as much as a single on multiple possessions, which goes beyond the utter failure to run the offense through him as our best offensive player. As early as the 2nd quarter, I told the guy behind me that KAT would score 40+ points if the Wolves would just get him the ball consistently. No one on the Hawks could stop KAT. But fortunately for Atlanta, Thibodeau and Derrick Rose were able to contain him.

The fact that KAT took 17 shots, hitting 59% of them, while Rose took 24 shots on 42% shooting is unacceptable. Towns is the Wolves best offensive player by far. And tonight Towns was having a great game, ending up with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Atlanta had a hard time stopping him. When KAT wasn't scoring, he was making some terrific passes that led to 5 assists. Note he would have had 7 assists if Covington didn't showboat his way to two missed dunks.

It's bad enough that the Wolves don't run their offense through KAT. Even worse is that the Wolves often fail to get KAT a single touch on multiple possessions every game and tonight was no exception. The most memorable and consequential failure to get KAT a touch was the last play of regulation when the Wolves had the ball with the game tied. Rose never shared the ball with anyone, ultimately dribbling away the remaining time, driving recklessly into traffic and getting his shot blocked. You may not have noticed on TV that KAT was wide open for a 2-pointer and Rose had a clear passing lane to get him the ball but chose to drive into a packed lane instead.

Tyus actually played well tonight and should have had even more of Derrick Rose's minutes. Tyus was much better than Derrick defending both Lin and Young. Tyus also, as usual, did a better job of getting good shots for his teammates. Had the minutes of Rose and Tyus been inverted, the Wolves would have probably won in spite of all the other crap. But the bottom line is this. Give KAT a touch on every half-court possession tonight, and there is no doubt the Wolves would have won in spite of all the other crap. That's the ball game.

As for the other crap, let's start with Wiggins. He actually had some nice hustle plays and pulled down 6 rebounds. But missing 7 of 12 free throws (42%) from the foul line AND scoring only 16 points on 35.7% shooting from the field is totally unacceptable for a core member of the rotation, much less a max player. KAT missed 5 of 15 free throws (66.7%). That's bad, but it's better than 42% and, more importantly, KAT scored 31 points on 59% shooting and pulled down 19 rebounds. Covington missed two dunks that should have been easy layups and hit only 60% of his 5 free throws, but he scored 28 points on 50% shooting and hit some really big shots. He also had 4 assists to go with his 7 rebounds. All players make mistakes and have flaws that show up in games. But what matters is a player's overall play. Both KAT and Covington more than made up their mistakes and misses. That's what good players do. The time has passed when I'm prepared to praise Wiggins simply for a couple blocks, a few hustle plays and 6 rebounds when he otherwise produces so little.

For more crap, I'll point to Dario Saric. He looked like a deer in headlights tonight down the stretch. He was afraid to shoot, repeatedly passing up open threes. And when he shot down the stretch he was tentative and tight, repeatedly hitting the front of the rim. He ended up 3 for 11 from the field. That's not acceptable. It wasn't because he was particularly well defended. The player who stopped Saric tonight was Saric.

Probably the worst moment of tonight's game, and there were many to choose from, came late in the first quarter as I watched Jeff Teague and Bayless laughing and joking on the bench while their teammates were getting their collective ass kicked by nearly 20 points. It was shades of the Wes Johnson era. Watching Teague yuck it up with Bayless for an extended time while the team was getting the crapped kicked out of it by one of the League's worst teams made me sick.

I want players who give a shit, play hard and show heart all the time - on the court and on the bench. That's what I see in Derrick Rose, KAT, Covington and Saric. I'll live with the mistakes and flaws in all four of these players. But ball-watching and lazy body-language on the court or yucking it up on the bench while their teammates are getting their ass kicked are things I can't accept any more than I can accept tonight's loss to Atlanta.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Probably the worst moment of tonight's game, and there were many to choose from, came late in the first quarter as I watched Jeff Teague and Bayless laughing and joking on the bench while their teammates were getting their collective ass kicked by nearly 20 points. It was shades of the Wes Johnson era. Watching Teague yuck it up with Bayless for an extended time while the team was getting the crapped kicked out of it by one of the League's worst teams made me sick.

I want players who give a shit, play hard and show heart all the time - on the court and on the bench.

That's NBA basketball. Unfortunately. It's been going on for a long time in a lot of cities. Not every team... but from what I've been told or read anecdotally, it does happen more often during the doldrums of an NBA season. Neither guy was playing... heck... what percentage of people in the arena even know who Bayless is?

He has no ties here other than being paid to sit on the bench 99% of the time.

That's not an excuse. I wish guys getting paid millions (or tens of millions) seemed to care about their game as much as guys like me do about our weekly men's league game. Alas... nope. Not always. Apparently.


[Note: Conversely, I'm sure a lot of us have either played with... or seen... guys who do a lot of preening and yelling and scowling to show "how much they really care." And we know it's only for show.]

[Lipoli390]

Probably the worst moment of tonight's game, and there were many to choose from, came late in the first quarter as I watched Jeff Teague and Bayless laughing and joking on the bench while their teammates were getting their collective ass kicked by nearly 20 points. It was shades of the Wes Johnson era. Watching Teague yuck it up with Bayless for an extended time while the team was getting the crapped kicked out of it by one of the League's worst teams made me sick.

I want players who give a shit, play hard and show heart all the time - on the court and on the bench.

That's NBA basketball. Unfortunately. It's been going on for a long time in a lot of cities. Not every team... but from what I've been told or read anecdotally, it does happen more often during the doldrums of an NBA season. Neither guy was playing... heck... what percentage of people in the arena even know who Bayless is?

He has no ties here other than being paid to sit on the bench 99% of the time.

That's not an excuse. I wish guys getting paid millions (or tens of millions) seemed to care about their game as much as guys like me do about our weekly men's league game. Alas... nope. Not always. Apparently.


[Note: Conversely, I'm sure a lot of us have either played with... or seen... guys who do a lot of preening and yelling and scowling to show "how much they really care." And we know it's only for show.]

Yes, it happens. But it's not acceptable.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

There is just no winning with this argument. They either take it seriously, nobody has fun and they all hate it here (Thibs approach to basektball) or they try to have fun on the bench and they aren't taking the game serious enough. There just doesn't seem to be an acceptable middle ground. Everyone wants us to play with the joy of the Warriors (from past years), but the second they show joy while they are losing they aren't taking the game seriously. Is the point just to make you feel better knowing that the team is as miserable as you watching them in these games? First they don't play well because Thibs is sucking the life and joy out of them. Then they don't play well because they are having fun on the bench and not taking the game seriously. Where's the middle ground there? Somehow they are supposed to give a shit, play hard, show heart, have fun, but not too much fun or else they aren't taking the game seriously enough (determined by if they are winning or not). That doesn't exist on mediocre teams because that is impossible to balance when you aren't winning consistently. Even teams like the Warriors struggle to balance it and they end up getting whipped on Christmas day because of it. It's an impossible standard.

[ItsJustSoSab]

Wiggins for MVP
Thibs for coach of the year
RoCo for the dunk contest
Okogie for the 3 pt. contest
Saric for our new starting PG, what a tremendous passer
Glen Taylor for a life time achievement award for being the greatest owner of all time with the greatest team of all time

That game was so bad, and so many guys did just god awful terrible or dumb things, that I just had to laugh

[ItsJustSoSab]

"I want players who give a shit, play hard and show heart all the time - on the court and on the bench. That's what I see in Derrick Rose, KAT, Covington and Saric. I'll live with the mistakes and flaws in all four of these players. But ball-watching and lazy body-language on the court or yucking it up on the bench while their teammates are getting their ass kicked are things I can't accept any more than I can accept tonight's loss to Atlanta."

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Sorry you had to witness that trainwreck of a game Lip. I was on the game thread, but a few final thoughts.

- I think Wiggins' comments after the game really weren't nearly as controversial as the media is making it. That being said, his timing was awful after he missed 3 out of 4 FTs in OT.

- I thought KAT's defense was horrible in the first half, better in the second. But he can't just pick his spots.

- Opposing teams get a lot of open corner 3's on us because we can't contain guards (ahem, Rose), forcing others to come off their man to help. That being said, sometimes I feel like we overhelp and shade off of players that are known great 3-point shooters.

- On our 3s, I think other than Covington, most of our players just don't feel comfortable letting it fly. Funny how Bjelica is suddenly hitting a career high in 3's in Sacramento. Mmmmm, I wonder why that is? May be the coaches there IMPLORE him to take those shots if he has the slightest crack. I don't think Thibs discourages 3's, but I don't think he does enough to discourage long 2's and implore that players don't hesitate on 3's, giving them a permanent green light to just let it fly.

- Tyus Jones has begun playing like the guy I was hoping we'd see this season. He's strung together a few good games now and has begun to climb up the +/- chart for us.

[Lipoli390]

There is just no winning with this argument. They either take it seriously, nobody has fun and they all hate it here (Thibs approach to basektball) or they try to have fun on the bench and they aren't taking the game serious enough. There just doesn't seem to be an acceptable middle ground. Everyone wants us to play with the joy of the Warriors (from past years), but the second they show joy while they are losing they aren't taking the game seriously. Is the point just to make you feel better knowing that the team is as miserable as you watching them in these games? First they don't play well because Thibs is sucking the life and joy out of them. Then they don't play well because they are having fun on the bench and not taking the game seriously. Where's the middle ground there? Somehow they are supposed to give a shit, play hard, show heart, have fun, but not too much fun or else they aren't taking the game seriously enough (determined by if they are winning or not). That doesn't exist on mediocre teams because that is impossible to balance when you aren't winning consistently. Even teams like the Warriors struggle to balance it and they end up getting whipped on Christmas day because of it. It's an impossible standard.

Kahns - You read way too much into my point. Yes, have fun on the court and on the bench. But do it in context. In other words, don't frolick on the bench when you team is getting it's ass kicked. Laugh and enjoy when your team is ahead. Or celebrate you tream doing well. That's an easy standard to meet.

[Lipoli390]

Sorry you had to witness that trainwreck of a game Lip. I was on the game thread, but a few final thoughts.

- I think Wiggins' comments after the game really weren't nearly as controversial as the media is making it. That being said, his timing was awful after he missed 3 out of 4 FTs in OT.

- I thought KAT's defense was horrible in the first half, better in the second. But he can't just pick his spots.

- Opposing teams get a lot of open corner 3's on us because we can't contain guards (ahem, Rose), forcing others to come off their man to help. That being said, sometimes I feel like we overhelp and shade off of players that are known great 3-point shooters.

- On our 3s, I think other than Covington, most of our players just don't feel comfortable letting it fly. Funny how Bjelica is suddenly hitting a career high in 3's in Sacramento. Mmmmm, I wonder why that is? May be the coaches there IMPLORE him to take those shots if he has the slightest crack. I don't think Thibs discourages 3's, but I don't think he does enough to discourage long 2's and implore that players don't hesitate on 3's, giving them a permanent green light to just let it fly.

- Tyus Jones has begun playing like the guy I was hoping we'd see this season. He's strung together a few good games now and has begun to climb up the +/- chart for us.

Good points, Q. Actually, everyone on the Wolves, including Covington, was bad defensively in the first quarter. KAT didn't stand out as particularly bad on that end of the court. Rose, however, did stand out as especially bad among bad.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I gotta agree with Q with respect to KAT's defense...while he showed some spark in the closing minutes and got some key blocks, he was indifferent most of the rest of the game. He refused to believe Dedmon could hit a wide-open three, and as a result a career 6 PPG guy laid 19 on KAT. I wouldn't have as big a problem with KAT not chasing Dedmon to the perimeter if he had been effective at all with post help defense, but time after time (after Rose would get beat...again) he displayed a "not my guy" attitude rather than helping out. More than any time I have watched him this season, KAT appeared to be saving all his energy for the offensive side of the court...really tough for me to watch, and a major reason we gave up 42 first quarter points to the worst offense in the NBA.
That said, KAT was brilliant on offense...and as Lip points out, he could have easily scored 40 if the guards could have gotten him more involved. Dedmon and Collins both had good offensive games, but were a joke when trying to stop KAT on defense...KAT treated both of them like high schoolers.

Finally, we need to talk about Thibs' rotations and Rose's injury late in the game. Some of us pointed out the foolishness of Thibs playing Rose and Covington (both coming off injuries) close to 40 minutes when we were up 20 against the Bulls late. We don't know for sure that Rose getting hurt tonight (and RoCo playing like a tired buffoon late in this game) was due to Thibs' insistence on overplaying his starters, but we do know these things:
1) he kept his starters in the Bulls' game when any other coach would have rested them
2) Thibs consistently ranks last or close to last in starters' minutes.
3) Rose has had a history of getting hurt, and has played most of his career for Thibs

The wolves looked exhausted at the end of the game, and Wig and RoCo were especially terrible. Again, we don't know that our late game meltdown was due to 4 Wolves playing 39+ minutes (while only Collins played 39 for Atlanta), but I can tell you at sure looked like it from my seat.