lipoli390 wrote:Great game last night as all of you who watched it know. The spirit in the arena was terrific with an upbeat, near capacity crowd getting into the game under the purple lights. Speaking of purple, I love those uniforms. Really cool purple uniforms, purple lights, great music from the Prince of pop and a really good all-around performance from the team made for a fun night at Target Center last night. We should have a Prince night once every season.
As for the game, the win was the product of a total team effort. Everyone in the rotation played well even thought some obviously played better than others. It's been a long time since I've seen such a total team effort from the Wolves. The point disparity between the two teams is a bit misleading because Portland missed some shots they normally make. But the Wolves would have won last night's game even if the Blazers had hit those shots. The Wolves simply outplayed Portland on both ends of the court.
The team's newfound positive chemistry and comraderie were on full display against last night as they were Wednesday night. The positive change in the way the players conduct themselves and interact with one another both on the bench and the floor is enormous. And if I could come up with a stronger word than enormous to describe the change, I would. Honestly, it's almost unbelievable. In shoot-around, KAT was grabbing Saric's shoulders from behind and hopping along as Saric walked from one side of the court to another. Saric was smiling and clearly enjoying KAT's antics. Meanwhile Covington was smiling and talking with teammates as he went through his pregame shooting. Wiggins looked like he had an extra spring in his step in the pre-game shoot-around and that extra spring carried through during the game. But I noticed the same thing Wednesday from him and others. Lot's of smiles, lots of talking, but also a serious approach to the game once the ball goes up. Meanwhile, the guys continue to talk on the bench and on the floor. You see the players repeatedly huddle among themselves as they come out of timeouts after hearing from Thibodeau. These are things I can't remember seeing from Wolves players in a long long time.
A few more interesting tidbits. It's clear that Gorgui and Okogie have become close. The two are always talking or joking around with one another. Last night, Gorgui had his arm around Okogie, perhaps consoling him as he endured being out of the rotation. But honestly, neither Okogie nor anyone else on the bench looked unhappy. Lots of smiles, lots of talking and the players on the bench all standing a cheering for their teammates on the floor. The only player who looks a bit unhappy is Teague -- same thing Wednesday night. I'm not sure what to make of it, but my wife and I have noticed it both nights. It's too obvious to be dismissed as nothing. Something's going on with him. Once again last night, he ended up standing out side the huddle of his 4 teammates. He didn't have the same look of joy on his face that the others had. But the good news is that Teague played hard and played well last night and that's what matters most.
More tidbits. I saw Derrick Rose's girlfriend and little baby last night. The sat just across the isle from us. The season-ticket holder who sits just in front of me told me he was at Paisley Park the night before and met a bunch of the Wolves players. When he shoot Derrick Rose's hand, Derrick said, "hey, I see you at every game. Thanks for supporting us. You're a great fan." Then, last night, Derrick looked up in our direction and pointed at this guy with a smile as the guy pointed back. A really cool moment. This guy also said he got to talk to Towns a bit. He said he was amazed Towns actually remembered him from two weeks ago when Towns signed a shoe for him. He said Towns actually remember the type and color of the shoe. He also got to meet Covington and Saric. He said the only players who weren't friendly were Teague, Gorgui and Wiggins. But who knows what that was about. My season ticket rep said he met Covington. He said that RoCo seemed like a great guy. He asked my rep what he does for the organization, how long he's been there, etc. In other words, he treated him like a peer.
I suppose I should write something about the game, but I'm assuming it's all been written in the game thread and various media reports. I loved the way all the guys played last night, so I won't dwell on individual performances. But will highlight Wiggins for a moment. His 3-point shooting was very good last night as you all know. Yet, what stood out for me was his hustle and defense. He was really getting after it, challenging the ballhandler and forcing the issue on the defensive end. He was also rebounding the ball. If this is the Wiggins we see every game the rest of the season, the Wolves can make the playoffs. The team needs to run even more post-ups for Wiggins than they ran last night and Wiggins needs to be quicker and more asserting in taking advantage of those post-up mismatches. No more fading away in the post when guarded by a smaller player. I loved his power drive and layup in the 3rd quarter. Towns didn't have a great game offensively or on the boards, but he found ways to positively impact the game just battling Nurkic, fighting for rebounds, challenging shots and making his presence felt on both sides of the ball.
The Wolves have the chance to put together a great winning streak here. The team is gelling with a fresh positive atmosphere and infusion of new talent. I'm looking forward to Monday afternoon.
Lip, my advice is not to skip work Monday afternoon to go to the game...you'll be pretty lonely at TC! But if you're going to insist on going Monday, can I have your tix for Sunday?
He's referring to NZ time, just so I don't miss the game.
Did anyone else notice the nice trolling the Timberwolves did by having the Morris Day halftime show? The Bird song with lyrics 'HALLELUJAH!'...Brilliant!
longstrangetrip wrote:We all noticed how much better the individual and team defense was last night, and you can't understate how much RoCo has to do with that. But Wig being allowed to play the 2 instead of the 3 is also a big factor. I (unwisely) endorsed Flip's decision to experiment with Zach at PG, but mostly because I saw that Wig was so much more effective defending 2's than 3's. Zach at PG was never the right answer, but Wig at the 2 is. I really enjoyed how Thibs mixed and matched his wings and PG's last night to keep the focus on stopping CJ and Lillard...one of the first times I have tipped my hat to Thibs for his defensive acumen, and his team responded to his excellent defensive coaching in kind. Great to see!
Thibs actually was laughing after the game when someone suggested wiggins was better on both ends of the ball as a SG. He said something like "If Andrew things that makes a difference he can keep thinking that" and went on really have a happy belly laugh and then to praise Wiggins play on both ends of the ball. The idea Wiggins is better guarding one wing over another at this point is wildly overrated. He guarded various guys when Butler was here last year. Often He was taking on tougher matchups early not Butler. His defense against PF/SF guys last year was impressive at times.
That's right, Monster. In fact, Thibs said the defensive schemes for both wing positions are identical and the offensive schemes are nearly the same. Bottom line is that Wiggins isn't doing anything different or guarding different players based on whether he's at the 2 or the 3 position on this team. I think we're simply seeing the impact of no longer having Butler on the team. Butler's departure gives Wiggins more freedom and touches in the offense while also living the spirit of Wiggins and the rest of the team.
longstrangetrip wrote:We all noticed how much better the individual and team defense was last night, and you can't understate how much RoCo has to do with that. But Wig being allowed to play the 2 instead of the 3 is also a big factor. I (unwisely) endorsed Flip's decision to experiment with Zach at PG, but mostly because I saw that Wig was so much more effective defending 2's than 3's. Zach at PG was never the right answer, but Wig at the 2 is. I really enjoyed how Thibs mixed and matched his wings and PG's last night to keep the focus on stopping CJ and Lillard...one of the first times I have tipped my hat to Thibs for his defensive acumen, and his team responded to his excellent defensive coaching in kind. Great to see!
Thibs actually was laughing after the game when someone suggested wiggins was better on both ends of the ball as a SG. He said something like "If Andrew things that makes a difference he can keep thinking that" and went on really have a happy belly laugh and then to praise Wiggins play on both ends of the ball. The idea Wiggins is better guarding one wing over another at this point is wildly overrated. He guarded various guys when Butler was here last year. Often He was taking on tougher matchups early not Butler. His defense against PF/SF guys last year was impressive at times.
That's right, Monster. In fact, Thibs said the defensive schemes for both wing positions are identical and the offensive schemes are nearly the same. Bottom line is that Wiggins isn't doing anything different or guarding different players based on whether he's at the 2 or the 3 position on this team. I think we're simply seeing the impact of no longer having Butler on the team. Butler's departure gives Wiggins more freedom and touches in the offense while also living the spirit of Wiggins and the rest of the team.
Just to add to what you said here...last night Wiggins turned it up another notch but to me this year Butler or no Butler Wiggins has been giving more energy and effort overall. I think it's possible that Covington's defense COULD compliment the way Wiggins plays D better than Butler. It's something to monitor. What some of the folks on various podcast have suggested Covington might be a better team defender than Jimmy and not as good of an individual defender as Jimmy. That might actually help the entire roster more on that end as well in some ways at least in the regular season.
I'll add here that I'll live with any shot Wiggins takes within 12 feet of the rim. Do I wish he would get even farther? Yes but I'll take the progress and honestly sometimes with the way he gets stripped that stop and 12 foot jumpshot instead of going all the way to the rim is fine for now and might even be really effective. That should be a high percentage shot for a guy like him. Same with post ups where he does a fade-away. Those should be easy shots if he gets that close. Basically any shot he takes innthe paint or just outside of it on the baseline I'll live with. No 20 foot jumpers please.
lipoli390 wrote:Great game last night as all of you who watched it know. The spirit in the arena was terrific with an upbeat, near capacity crowd getting into the game under the purple lights. Speaking of purple, I love those uniforms. Really cool purple uniforms, purple lights, great music from the Prince of pop and a really good all-around performance from the team made for a fun night at Target Center last night. We should have a Prince night once every season.
As for the game, the win was the product of a total team effort. Everyone in the rotation played well even thought some obviously played better than others. It's been a long time since I've seen such a total team effort from the Wolves. The point disparity between the two teams is a bit misleading because Portland missed some shots they normally make. But the Wolves would have won last night's game even if the Blazers had hit those shots. The Wolves simply outplayed Portland on both ends of the court.
The team's newfound positive chemistry and comraderie were on full display against last night as they were Wednesday night. The positive change in the way the players conduct themselves and interact with one another both on the bench and the floor is enormous. And if I could come up with a stronger word than enormous to describe the change, I would. Honestly, it's almost unbelievable. In shoot-around, KAT was grabbing Saric's shoulders from behind and hopping along as Saric walked from one side of the court to another. Saric was smiling and clearly enjoying KAT's antics. Meanwhile Covington was smiling and talking with teammates as he went through his pregame shooting. Wiggins looked like he had an extra spring in his step in the pre-game shoot-around and that extra spring carried through during the game. But I noticed the same thing Wednesday from him and others. Lot's of smiles, lots of talking, but also a serious approach to the game once the ball goes up. Meanwhile, the guys continue to talk on the bench and on the floor. You see the players repeatedly huddle among themselves as they come out of timeouts after hearing from Thibodeau. These are things I can't remember seeing from Wolves players in a long long time.
A few more interesting tidbits. It's clear that Gorgui and Okogie have become close. The two are always talking or joking around with one another. Last night, Gorgui had his arm around Okogie, perhaps consoling him as he endured being out of the rotation. But honestly, neither Okogie nor anyone else on the bench looked unhappy. Lots of smiles, lots of talking and the players on the bench all standing a cheering for their teammates on the floor. The only player who looks a bit unhappy is Teague -- same thing Wednesday night. I'm not sure what to make of it, but my wife and I have noticed it both nights. It's too obvious to be dismissed as nothing. Something's going on with him. Once again last night, he ended up standing out side the huddle of his 4 teammates. He didn't have the same look of joy on his face that the others had. But the good news is that Teague played hard and played well last night and that's what matters most.
More tidbits. I saw Derrick Rose's girlfriend and little baby last night. The sat just across the isle from us. The season-ticket holder who sits just in front of me told me he was at Paisley Park the night before and met a bunch of the Wolves players. When he shoot Derrick Rose's hand, Derrick said, "hey, I see you at every game. Thanks for supporting us. You're a great fan." Then, last night, Derrick looked up in our direction and pointed at this guy with a smile as the guy pointed back. A really cool moment. This guy also said he got to talk to Towns a bit. He said he was amazed Towns actually remembered him from two weeks ago when Towns signed a shoe for him. He said Towns actually remember the type and color of the shoe. He also got to meet Covington and Saric. He said the only players who weren't friendly were Teague, Gorgui and Wiggins. But who knows what that was about. My season ticket rep said he met Covington. He said that RoCo seemed like a great guy. He asked my rep what he does for the organization, how long he's been there, etc. In other words, he treated him like a peer.
I suppose I should write something about the game, but I'm assuming it's all been written in the game thread and various media reports. I loved the way all the guys played last night, so I won't dwell on individual performances. But will highlight Wiggins for a moment. His 3-point shooting was very good last night as you all know. Yet, what stood out for me was his hustle and defense. He was really getting after it, challenging the ballhandler and forcing the issue on the defensive end. He was also rebounding the ball. If this is the Wiggins we see every game the rest of the season, the Wolves can make the playoffs. The team needs to run even more post-ups for Wiggins than they ran last night and Wiggins needs to be quicker and more asserting in taking advantage of those post-up mismatches. No more fading away in the post when guarded by a smaller player. I loved his power drive and layup in the 3rd quarter. Towns didn't have a great game offensively or on the boards, but he found ways to positively impact the game just battling Nurkic, fighting for rebounds, challenging shots and making his presence felt on both sides of the ball.
The Wolves have the chance to put together a great winning streak here. The team is gelling with a fresh positive atmosphere and infusion of new talent. I'm looking forward to Monday afternoon.
Lip, my advice is not to skip work Monday afternoon to go to the game...you'll be pretty lonely at TC! But if you're going to insist on going Monday, can I have your tix for Sunday?
He's referring to NZ time, just so I don't miss the game.
Ah, good point Kiwi...I forget sometimes how international we are here!
longstrangetrip wrote:We all noticed how much better the individual and team defense was last night, and you can't understate how much RoCo has to do with that. But Wig being allowed to play the 2 instead of the 3 is also a big factor. I (unwisely) endorsed Flip's decision to experiment with Zach at PG, but mostly because I saw that Wig was so much more effective defending 2's than 3's. Zach at PG was never the right answer, but Wig at the 2 is. I really enjoyed how Thibs mixed and matched his wings and PG's last night to keep the focus on stopping CJ and Lillard...one of the first times I have tipped my hat to Thibs for his defensive acumen, and his team responded to his excellent defensive coaching in kind. Great to see!
Thibs actually was laughing after the game when someone suggested wiggins was better on both ends of the ball as a SG. He said something like "If Andrew things that makes a difference he can keep thinking that" and went on really have a happy belly laugh and then to praise Wiggins play on both ends of the ball. The idea Wiggins is better guarding one wing over another at this point is wildly overrated. He guarded various guys when Butler was here last year. Often He was taking on tougher matchups early not Butler. His defense against PF/SF guys last year was impressive at times.
Yeah, that sounds like something Thibs would say...always the smartest guy in the room, and dismissive of the rest of the basketball world that just doesn't get it. He also didn't notice that Teague was bent over gasping for breath in the 4th quarter.
My eye test been different for Wig going way back to his first season. So is Robson's...last night he tweeted "Wiggins miles better defender at the 2".
longstrangetrip wrote:We all noticed how much better the individual and team defense was last night, and you can't understate how much RoCo has to do with that. But Wig being allowed to play the 2 instead of the 3 is also a big factor. I (unwisely) endorsed Flip's decision to experiment with Zach at PG, but mostly because I saw that Wig was so much more effective defending 2's than 3's. Zach at PG was never the right answer, but Wig at the 2 is. I really enjoyed how Thibs mixed and matched his wings and PG's last night to keep the focus on stopping CJ and Lillard...one of the first times I have tipped my hat to Thibs for his defensive acumen, and his team responded to his excellent defensive coaching in kind. Great to see!
Thibs actually was laughing after the game when someone suggested wiggins was better on both ends of the ball as a SG. He said something like "If Andrew things that makes a difference he can keep thinking that" and went on really have a happy belly laugh and then to praise Wiggins play on both ends of the ball. The idea Wiggins is better guarding one wing over another at this point is wildly overrated. He guarded various guys when Butler was here last year. Often He was taking on tougher matchups early not Butler. His defense against PF/SF guys last year was impressive at times.
Yeah, that sounds like something Thibs would say...always the smartest guy in the room, and dismissive of the rest of the basketball world that just doesn't get it. He also didn't notice that Teague was bent over gasping for breath in the 4th quarter.
My eye test been different for Wig going way back to his first season. So is Robson's...last night he tweeted "Wiggins miles better defender at the 2".
Robson has been pining for Wiggins toplay the 2for years including wanting Bazz to start at the 3. I guess Wiggins is better guarding C.J. McCollum than Jake Laymen. :) Thibs wasn't being dismissive basically every coach in the NBA says wing are interchangeable. The only really significant thing about the exacted was that Thibs actually made a joke. Lol
longstrangetrip wrote:We all noticed how much better the individual and team defense was last night, and you can't understate how much RoCo has to do with that. But Wig being allowed to play the 2 instead of the 3 is also a big factor. I (unwisely) endorsed Flip's decision to experiment with Zach at PG, but mostly because I saw that Wig was so much more effective defending 2's than 3's. Zach at PG was never the right answer, but Wig at the 2 is. I really enjoyed how Thibs mixed and matched his wings and PG's last night to keep the focus on stopping CJ and Lillard...one of the first times I have tipped my hat to Thibs for his defensive acumen, and his team responded to his excellent defensive coaching in kind. Great to see!
Thibs actually was laughing after the game when someone suggested wiggins was better on both ends of the ball as a SG. He said something like "If Andrew things that makes a difference he can keep thinking that" and went on really have a happy belly laugh and then to praise Wiggins play on both ends of the ball. The idea Wiggins is better guarding one wing over another at this point is wildly overrated. He guarded various guys when Butler was here last year. Often He was taking on tougher matchups early not Butler. His defense against PF/SF guys last year was impressive at times.
Yeah, that sounds like something Thibs would say...always the smartest guy in the room, and dismissive of the rest of the basketball world that just doesn't get it. He also didn't notice that Teague was bent over gasping for breath in the 4th quarter.
My eye test been different for Wig going way back to his first season. So is Robson's...last night he tweeted "Wiggins miles better defender at the 2".
In this case, I think Thibodeau is far smarter than Robson or anyone else who things position matters as between SF and SG. Who Wiggins guards depends on who the team is matched up against and who is playing the other wing for the Wolves. There two wing positions and in today's NBA the SF/SG distinction no longer matters. When Wiggins was on the floor with Teague and Rose, does anyone really think Wiggins was playing anything that might be called SG? Even the PG position has been somewhat blended with the wing positions to some degree on the Wolves and other teams.
I know I have mentioned this on a couple of posts but I really hope this is a Pelicans situation from last year. When Cousins got hurt last year everyone thought the Pelicans were done. But in the end it allowed them to play a pace and space offense and allowed Davis to take another step forward and they got real good real fast.
Now just in general talent the wolves are worse without Butler. But who knows maybe the fit is so much better. With Butler you have to play a specific way to get the most out of him. But Butler is not that guy who can be the best player on a championship caliber team. Towns is now allowed to shine and just think of this we dominated a game where Towns just had a meh game.
Like Q said earlier, please, pretty please let this Wiggins 3pt shot be real. PLEASE BASKETBALL GODS ONE TIME BE NICE TO MINNESOTA.
I know I have mentioned this on a couple of posts but I really hope this is a Pelicans situation from last year. When Cousins got hurt last year everyone thought the Pelicans were done. But in the end it allowed them to play a pace and space offense and allowed Davis to take another step forward and they got real good real fast.
Now just in general talent the wolves are worse without Butler. But who knows maybe the fit is so much better. With Butler you have to play a specific way to get the most out of him. But Butler is not that guy who can be the best player on a championship caliber team. Towns is now allowed to shine and just think of this we dominated a game where Towns just had a meh game.
Like Q said earlier, please, pretty please let this Wiggins 3pt shot be real. PLEASE BASKETBALL GODS ONE TIME BE NICE TO MINNESOTA.
Rose is not a small addition either. One reason the Pels were so good last year was Jrue was a terrific 2 way player. Rose may not be a 2 way player but his pace and offense is something that could be part of the formula you are looking at.
