Game Report - Wolves v. Hawks

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I recognize that I let myself get too affected by Thibs' unattractive sideline demeanor when I go to games, but sitting right behind Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce last night, I couldn't help wishing that the coaches would swap benches. Not only did I respect Pierce's game decisions, offensive philosophy (threes and dunks, baby) and rotations more than Thibs', the difference in professionalism was on stark display. Every time I looked at Thibs, he would be whining about a call with that stereotypical Thibs' palms to the sky grimace...ugh. In contrast, Pierce focused his attention on the game rather than the refs, and displayed a calmness and coolness that has to be soothing to his players. Also, it was impressive the way he commanded the attention of his players during timeouts...not one player was joking around or looking up at the crowd, unlike the behavior during a Thibs timeout. Pierce has nowhere near the talent to work with that Thibs has, and as a first year coach, doesn't have anywhere near Thibs' success in the league. But something about him just looks like a winner, and comments about him from other coaches tell me I am not alone. I would change coaches with the Hawks in a heartbeat.

Interesting how easy it is to commend rotations when it fits a narrative.

Consider that the Hawks had Justin Anderson on the court at the end of regulation. The guy is a journeyman player for his career who has only played 132 minutes for one of the worst teams in the league. All the analytics show him being a subpar defender.

But Lloyd Pierce put him in the game when the Hawks desperately needed a defensive stop. And he got a block. What a great move by Pierce!

Do you really think there was a single Hawks fan thinking "Yes, he put in that Anderson guy who never plays at the biggest moment. What a smart move."

Or, the same with him playing DeAndre Bembry 35 minutes. Do you think having that guy on the court so much in the 2nd half had something to do with the red-hot Hawks going from 42 points in the 1st quarter to only 41 in the entire second half? After all, he has a -3.6 OBPM. He's a terrible offensive basketball player.

I don't know anything about Lloyd Pierce's ability to coach. As I noted elsewhere, they avoid the bad two-point shots, so that's a good sign. But overall, I still don't know and that hasn't changed after last night. It wasn't Thibs' fault for that loss. He didn't help the Wolves win... so he's definitely part of the problem. But losing to a Hawks team at home through bad defense, missed free throws and botched dunks is NOT the time to blame Thibs.

******** THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OR DEFENSE FOR TOM THIBODEAU IN ANY WAY.

What a Thibs bobo you are...I literally have never read a negative comment about Thibs from you ;) .

I gotta admit I scratched my head when I saw Anderson taking his jersey off right in front of me...kind of the same feeling I had when I saw Okogie going into the game when we needed a tying 3-pointer. Difficult to understand either move.

Bembry is a difficult guy for me to figure out. His season stats are terrible and he seems to play out of control at times, but he was clearly giving us fits last night with his ball movement, rebounding and constant movement at both ends of the court. I don't know if he is always such a "do shit" type of player, but he certainly was last night. I don't know for sure, but maybe Pierce recognized that the kid was doing some good things and knew his additional minutes would keep his starters fresh. Pierce had all his wings at 35 minutes or less in the closing minutes, while Thibs had all of his at 41 minutes or more. We all can debate whether this minutes disparity had an impact on the outcome, but we can't argue with the numbers themselves.

Here's another possible reason:

The Hawks really don't care if they win or not. For the Wolves, every game still matters. It's easy to stick to putting in journeyman and sticking with young guys when you know a win or loss has no effect on your long-term goals (or job).

The Wolves losing to the Hawks at home (in the way that they did) should be placed at the feet of the entire organization. Everybody is to be blamed for that one.

No question atlanta was able to play looser last night than the Wolves...nothing for them to play for. I felt tense myself as a fan at the end of the game because a loss felt like playoffs slipping away, so I'm certain the players felt tight too.

We probably haven't talked enough about how bad Dario Saric was last night. I have been pleasantly surprised with his overall game since the trade, even without enough 3-point success, but last night he was pure garbage. The poor inbound pass up 4 was terrible, but his 3-11 shooting was a negative too. He not only went 1-5 on threes, but also eschewed the open three a couple times to move in for the dreaded missed 2. I noticed he was open a lot beyond the arc late in the game...normally I would rip his teammates for not getting him the ball, but not last night...just wasn't his night. He's lays a smart game, but he like Tyus, he needs to make his threes to optimize his abilities. He was a 40% 3-point shooter his last year in the Euro League, so we should expect better than the 33% he is giving us this year.

[Monster]

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.

Thanks for the report Lip. I believe you should look deeper into the numbers than FG attempts. Are you upset that Covington took more FG attempts than Towns also? Did you forget that Towns went to the line 15 times compared to just 3 for Rose? The Wolves played through Towns A LOT in this game.

I agree Tyus could have played more instead of Rose but damn I honestly would have had a tough time taking Rose out there at the end of the game. Hell of a game for Tyus though he has looked more like the player we thought he could be recently.

[Monster]

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.

Q Bjelica last season took 4.8 3's per 36 minutes. This year 5.2. That's not exactly a huge uptick. He should be shooting MORE than that especially since he is shooting an even higher percentage.

Edit: Dario Saric is taking very nearly as many 3's per 36 minutes as he has for his career. My point is only I don't think Bjelica is a good example of what you are stating although I don't completely disagree with what you are saying about guys not letting it fly.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

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.

Thanks for the report Lip. I believe you should look deeper into the numbers than FG attempts. Are you upset that Covington took more FG attempts than Towns also? Did you forget that Towns went to the line 15 times compared to just 3 for Rose? The Wolves played through Towns A LOT in this game.

I agree Tyus could have played more instead of Rose but damn I honestly would have had a tough time taking Rose out there at the end of the game. Hell of a game for Tyus though he has looked more like the player we thought he could be recently.

Monster, it seemed to me that a lot of KAT's free throw attempts were off offensive rebounds, not passes from his teammates. I don't know if it was as apparent on TV, but Dedmon and Collins had NO chance of stopping KAT last night...EVERY possession should have gone through him. If it had, he would have scored 45 with 10 assists (he was also passing exceptionally well last night, and Covington would have benefitted from that). There are going to be nights where KAT is intimidated by a bigger center and not want the ball inside, but last night was not one of them. His teammates could have gotten him involved a lot more.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Further beating the Thibs vs. Pierce dead horse discussion, I generally agree with the "players more important than coach" take. But then I watched the 30 for 30 documentary about the 1983 NCAA tournament a couple days ago (a must watch for those who haven't seen it) and it's clear that NC State is overmatched in personnel in almost every game. There's no doubt in my mind that they don't win the national championship, or even get to the big dance, without the emotional leadership of Jim Valvano...truly inspiring to watch. Hmm...does Glen watch 30 for 30s?

[thedoper]

Further beating the Thibs vs. Pierce dead horse discussion, I generally agree with the "players more important than coach" take. But then I watched the 30 for 30 documentary about the 1983 NCAA tournament a couple days ago (a must watch for those who haven't seen it) and it's clear that NC State is overmatched in personnel in almost every game. There's no doubt in my mind that they don't win the national championship, or even get to the big dance, without the emotional leadership of Jim Valvano...truly inspiring to watch. Hmm...does Glen watch 30 for 30s?

Imagine a 30 for 30 on Glen. Just pure excitement I'm sure. At least half of it would be footage of him sleeping.

[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.

Thanks for the report Lip. I believe you should look deeper into the numbers than FG attempts. Are you upset that Covington took more FG attempts than Towns also? Did you forget that Towns went to the line 15 times compared to just 3 for Rose? The Wolves played through Towns A LOT in this game.

I agree Tyus could have played more instead of Rose but damn I honestly would have had a tough time taking Rose out there at the end of the game. Hell of a game for Tyus though he has looked more like the player we thought he could be recently.

Next time I'll keep count of the half-court possessions when Towns doesn't even touch the ball. There were a lot of those last night as there often are. I'll keep a separate count of the times our PG (usually Rose or Teague) fails to get the ball to Towns early in half-court poessessions when KAT has established good low-post position. There were quite a few of those last night. Then I'll keep a separate count of the times our PG or wing drove the lane into traffic when Towns was wide open for an unimpeded perimeter shot, usually a 3-pointer. There were a number of those last night as well, including the last play in regulation when Rose drove into a pack of Hawks and not surprisingly had his shot swatted away.

As for KAT's 15 trips to the line, my recollection is similar to LST's. Many of those were on offensive rebounds. I'll add that a number of them were off the ball after the Hawks were in the penalty. The fact that KAT was fouled so often, coupled with his 59% shooting percentage, was testament to the fact that the Hawks had a really hard time stopping him. The fact that Rose had only 3 foul shots and shot only 42% from the field suggests that he wasn't particularly difficult to stop.

Looking ahead, we should also keep in mind that its unlikely Derrick Rose will be here after this season. If Thibodeau is fired as I think he will be after this season, then the chances of Rose re-signing here are close to zero. The Wolves will be cap-strapped next summer and Rose will find a suitor willing to pay more. If not a team willing to pay more, Rose can sign with a true title contender. He'll have much better options than the Wolves. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to re-sign Rose for several more seasons. But I just don't see it happening. Therefore, it's important that this organization look beyond it's heavy reliance on Rose.

[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.

Thanks for the report Lip. I believe you should look deeper into the numbers than FG attempts. Are you upset that Covington took more FG attempts than Towns also? Did you forget that Towns went to the line 15 times compared to just 3 for Rose? The Wolves played through Towns A LOT in this game.

I agree Tyus could have played more instead of Rose but damn I honestly would have had a tough time taking Rose out there at the end of the game. Hell of a game for Tyus though he has looked more like the player we thought he could be recently.

I should add that I'm not upset that RoCo took more shots than Towns. RoCo shot 50% from the field and got his shots off passes or as a result of his own hustle. He was also our best 3-point shooter last night.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Anybody else notice the Hawks seemed to be leaving Wiggins open the entire 4th quarter and OT? His defender was helping off of him a lot, and we weren't finding him to take the open three. It was like the Hawks didn't respect his shot and neither did his teammates.

Lip's right there's a lot to be disappointed in with that game, but that was something I don't know if we talked about enough in this thread. Is that going to become a thing? Opposing teams getting to help off of one of our max players? Bottom line for me is that this team has had its ceiling capped since we signed him to that contract. Biggest mistake we've made since passing on Curry.

[Monster]

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.

Thanks for the report Lip. I believe you should look deeper into the numbers than FG attempts. Are you upset that Covington took more FG attempts than Towns also? Did you forget that Towns went to the line 15 times compared to just 3 for Rose? The Wolves played through Towns A LOT in this game.

I agree Tyus could have played more instead of Rose but damn I honestly would have had a tough time taking Rose out there at the end of the game. Hell of a game for Tyus though he has looked more like the player we thought he could be recently.

Next time I'll keep count of the half-court possessions when Towns doesn't even touch the ball. There were a lot of those last night as there often are. I'll keep a separate count of the times our PG (usually Rose or Teague) fails to get the ball to Towns early in half-court poessessions when KAT has established good low-post position. There were quite a few of those last night. Then I'll keep a separate count of the times our PG or wing drove the lane into traffic when Towns was wide open for an unimpeded perimeter shot, usually a 3-pointer. There were a number of those last night as well, including the last play in regulation when Rose drove into a pack of Hawks and not surprisingly had his shot swatted away.

As for KAT's 15 trips to the line, my recollection is similar to LST's. Many of those were on offensive rebounds. I'll add that a number of them were off the ball after the Hawks were in the penalty. The fact that KAT was fouled so often, coupled with his 59% shooting percentage, was testament to the fact that the Hawks had a really hard time stopping him. The fact that Rose had only 3 foul shots and shot only 42% from the field suggests that he wasn't particularly difficult to stop.

Looking ahead, we should also keep in mind that its unlikely Derrick Rose will be here after this season. If Thibodeau is fired as I think he will be after this season, then the chances of Rose re-signing here are close to zero. The Wolves will be cap-strapped next summer and Rose will find a suitor willing to pay more. If not a team willing to pay more, Rose can sign with a true title contender. He'll have much better options than the Wolves. Don't get me wrong. I'd love to re-sign Rose for several more seasons. But I just don't see it happening. Therefore, it's important that this organization look beyond it's heavy reliance on Rose.

So what's the solution to the Rose "problem"? Just sit him? The guy is a good offensive player. Is it so insane to coach the guy like you think he is a pretty good NBA player and he might actually need to stay healthy? I mean Rose has the talent to be a SIGNIFICANT player going forward. He isn't 23 or whatever but I see value in investing in him.

I agree the Wolves including Rose missed Towns (Rose missed Saric wide open from 3 at least twice in the 2nd half) but there was also plenty of time te Hawks sent multiple players to Towns to force the ball put of his hands. Still Rose had 9 assists I just don't think the Wolves were so bad at getting the ball to Towns. You and LST make good points about some of the FTs being from offensive rebounds.

To me the reason this team lost this game was not on the offensive end but the defensive one. Atlanta just got too many easy looks in the first half. The Wolves tightened things down in the 2nd half but they weren't good enough innthat first half on that end. The good news is that Covington started to look more like himself in that 2nd half on that end. They need him to get back to more of a very good defensive player instead of just good.