crazy-canuck wrote:the rockets were daring us to pass the ball to kat and wiggins in the post. daring us all series. i think thibs might have overthought this and thought it was a trap and just played into their hands and faded wiggs and kat to the corner for the first 2 games.
kat and wiggs both commanded doubles and sometimes triple teams tonight. the kids made the right reads and it opened the floor for teague and butler to get open lanes and looks.
The rockets simply cant match up with those 2 due to their speed and athleticism. They know it. Pressure them and hope for mistakes and allow everyone else to beat you.
The added bonus of the rockets pressuring kat and wiggs is that they are looking to make the play for others rather than take a contested shot. And their defense has also taken a step up. This bodes well for the teams future.
I don't know exactly what it was maybe just the energy of the Woves being at home but the post ups went differently in this game. Wiggins and Towns were able to actually make some moves and score and in the previous 2 games it just wasn't successful. The Rockets has also scouted Wiggins and were taking away those cross court passes that he makes. Tonight he was able to get them to guys. One difference was ai think Towns got deeper in his post position more. The whole offense was just really working a lot. It was fun.
I think both guys just took it strong and said screw it.
Kat didn't make a million moves before putting anything up. When he got a chance, he went strong head first.
Wiggs didn't do anything fancy. He just put his head down, went right as usual, and just went over whoever was there.
Most importantly, both guys were actively looking to create for others and look for the open guy. Wiggs especially was on his drive and kick game. He stays in the air for so long that it buys him a little extra time.
It's also crazy that they get no respect from the refs. Kat is constantly mugged and wiggs hasn't gets hit when he goes in.
Both kids showed alot of maturity this game.
Your point about Wiggins not doing anything fancy is a great one. A few of us in my section were talking about that late in the game. Wiggins kept his dribbling to a minimum without any spin moves or turns. He just sent straight into the paint. What we've seen from Wiggins these last three games, especially last night, is super encouraging.
KiwiMatt wrote:Lip, I can't say I agree with you on giving the game ball to Rose. I thought he took too many ill advised shots. But yes he certainly provided a much needed spark off the bench. It was a real team effort but for me it was Andrew Wiggins with arguably his best career game. I would also like to applaud Jeff Teague, loved the passion he played with tonight. Hey and Jimmy Butler wasn't half bad now was he? And honourable mention to KAT who got mugged all game.
My favourite plays of the game: The steal and euro step dunk by Gorgui and the no call on Harden driving at KAT in the fourth. James Harden is use to getting those calls when HE creates the contact. Was nice to see the officials get it right for once.
The Rockets play such and unorthodox brand of basketball. It's like they have a bunch of linebackers/hockey players out there checking opposition players to create space for Harden and Paul. Illegal screen after illegal screen. The thing is that their whole squad bar Capella can hit the 3 ball at an efficient rate. Then there's the absolute hammering Towns get evertime he establishes low post position. Watching Tucker pushing and arm grabbing him with out any calls was comical to say the least. Don't get me wrong, I like to see the officials let it go a bit like they do in the playoffs, but man that was brutal.
I'm fine with the officials letting things go more in the playoffs. But they have to do it equitably on both sides. KAT was getting mugged nearly every possession, yet he was getting called for breathing. That foul call on Taj in the 1st quarter was ridiculous. It was a clean block and while I can see that sort of thing called in the regular season, the officials haven't been calling that sort of thing in all the playoff games I've been watching. And as much as I like to see the refs loosen the reins a bit in the playoffs, they can't continue to allow defenders to grab, hold and push KAT the way the Rockets have been this series.
As for Rose getting the game ball, I think you might actually agree with me if you were in the arena. As I said, it might be harder to fully appreciate his impact on TV. His energy, his interaction with teammates, the way he moves off the ball, the intensity he brings on both sides of the ball have made him a huge difference-maker for this team. Has he been our best player? No. I thought Wiggins was our best player last night with Butler and Teague a close second and third. But I think Rose was arguably our most impactful player. Just consider what would have happened last night if Rose weren't on the roster. Our starters couldn't have logged more minutes. Would his minutes have going to Crawford? MGH? Belly? Aaron Brooks? You see what I mean? Scary! Kudos to Thibs for signing him.
This was more of the offense I envisioned when this team was put together. Drive and kick and 3's with efficiency more than really volume. Now 56% isn't sustainable from behind the arc, but if we can hang in the ball park from behind the arc it's just over. We hang with all these guys giving up big double digit deficits from behind the arc. If that number is single digits or even, I don't care who we are playing we're winning that game and last night was a perfect example. We blew out a team who made 15 3's which traditionally would have been about a +18 margin for them because we hit 15 efficiently. Keep being aggressive. Keep driving and kicking and hopefully we can keep that margin low so we give ourselves a real chance. We have more talent than them which is crazy to say, but we simply do when Jeff, Wiggins, Butler and Towns show up. This can still be a series, but game 4 is critical. If you hold home court the notorious playoff chokers will start to feel the pressure again.
crazy-canuck wrote:the rockets were daring us to pass the ball to kat and wiggins in the post. daring us all series. i think thibs might have overthought this and thought it was a trap and just played into their hands and faded wiggs and kat to the corner for the first 2 games.
kat and wiggs both commanded doubles and sometimes triple teams tonight. the kids made the right reads and it opened the floor for teague and butler to get open lanes and looks.
The rockets simply cant match up with those 2 due to their speed and athleticism. They know it. Pressure them and hope for mistakes and allow everyone else to beat you.
The added bonus of the rockets pressuring kat and wiggs is that they are looking to make the play for others rather than take a contested shot. And their defense has also taken a step up. This bodes well for the teams future.
I don't know exactly what it was maybe just the energy of the Woves being at home but the post ups went differently in this game. Wiggins and Towns were able to actually make some moves and score and in the previous 2 games it just wasn't successful. The Rockets has also scouted Wiggins and were taking away those cross court passes that he makes. Tonight he was able to get them to guys. One difference was ai think Towns got deeper in his post position more. The whole offense was just really working a lot. It was fun.
I think both guys just took it strong and said screw it.
Kat didn't make a million moves before putting anything up. When he got a chance, he went strong head first.
Wiggs didn't do anything fancy. He just put his head down, went right as usual, and just went over whoever was there.
Most importantly, both guys were actively looking to create for others and look for the open guy. Wiggs especially was on his drive and kick game. He stays in the air for so long that it buys him a little extra time.
It's also crazy that they get no respect from the refs. Kat is constantly mugged and wiggs hasn't gets hit when he goes in.
Both kids showed alot of maturity this game.
Your point about Wiggins not doing anything fancy is a great one. A few of us in my section were talking about that late in the game. Wiggins kept his dribbling to a minimum without any spin moves or turns. He just sent straight into the paint. What we've seen from Wiggins these last three games, especially last night, is super encouraging.
I agree with both of you. Well said.
Teague especially was talking at shootaround about this team playing more free. Lip did you see anything specific live other than the obvious result that these guys were just letting it loose?
khans2k5 wrote:This was more of the offense I envisioned when this team was put together. Drive and kick and 3's with efficiency more than really volume. Now 56% isn't sustainable from behind the arc, but if we can hang in the ball park from behind the arc it's just over. We hang with all these guys giving up big double digit deficits from behind the arc. If that number is single digits or even, I don't care who we are playing we're winning that game and last night was a perfect example. We blew out a team who made 15 3's which traditionally would have been about a +18 margin for them because we hit 15 efficiently. Keep being aggressive. Keep driving and kicking and hopefully we can keep that margin low so we give ourselves a real chance. We have more talent than them which is crazy to say, but we simply do when Jeff, Wiggins, Butler and Towns show up. This can still be a series, but game 4 is critical. If you hold home court the notorious playoff chokers will start to feel the pressure again.
You make a good point that Houston isn't exactly a proven playoff winner. Houston is a really good team so they can win regardless but I think missing Luc in this series is far from a small factor if the Wolves actually play well and make this a real series which I thought they could keep it somewhat interesting even before they won last night. Harden and Chris Paul are a pretty good tandem though.
khans2k5 wrote:This was more of the offense I envisioned when this team was put together. Drive and kick and 3's with efficiency more than really volume. Now 56% isn't sustainable from behind the arc, but if we can hang in the ball park from behind the arc it's just over. We hang with all these guys giving up big double digit deficits from behind the arc. If that number is single digits or even, I don't care who we are playing we're winning that game and last night was a perfect example. We blew out a team who made 15 3's which traditionally would have been about a +18 margin for them because we hit 15 efficiently. Keep being aggressive. Keep driving and kicking and hopefully we can keep that margin low so we give ourselves a real chance. We have more talent than them which is crazy to say, but we simply do when Jeff, Wiggins, Butler and Towns show up. This can still be a series, but game 4 is critical. If you hold home court the notorious playoff chokers will start to feel the pressure again.
You make a good point that Houston isn't exactly a proven playoff winner. Houston is a really good team so they can win regardless but I think missing Luc in this series is far from a small factor if the Wolves actually play well and make this a real series which I thought they could keep it somewhat interesting even before they won last night. Harden and Chris Paul are a pretty good tandem though.
It's not even just a Houston thing for playoff choking. This is CP3's legacy so far as well. CP3 and Harden are probably the two biggest underperformers in the playoffs in the league when you think of the top players and their playoff legacies. It's a mentality that you can attack no matter how much is fair or not to put on them based on their previous performances.
khans2k5 wrote:This was more of the offense I envisioned when this team was put together. Drive and kick and 3's with efficiency more than really volume. Now 56% isn't sustainable from behind the arc, but if we can hang in the ball park from behind the arc it's just over. We hang with all these guys giving up big double digit deficits from behind the arc. If that number is single digits or even, I don't care who we are playing we're winning that game and last night was a perfect example. We blew out a team who made 15 3's which traditionally would have been about a +18 margin for them because we hit 15 efficiently. Keep being aggressive. Keep driving and kicking and hopefully we can keep that margin low so we give ourselves a real chance. We have more talent than them which is crazy to say, but we simply do when Jeff, Wiggins, Butler and Towns show up. This can still be a series, but game 4 is critical. If you hold home court the notorious playoff chokers will start to feel the pressure again.
You make a good point that Houston isn't exactly a proven playoff winner. Houston is a really good team so they can win regardless but I think missing Luc in this series is far from a small factor if the Wolves actually play well and make this a real series which I thought they could keep it somewhat interesting even before they won last night. Harden and Chris Paul are a pretty good tandem though.
It's not even just a Houston thing for playoff choking. This is CP3's legacy so far as well. CP3 and Harden are probably the two biggest underperformers in the playoffs in the league when you think of the top players and their playoff legacies. It's a mentality that you can attack no matter how much is fair or not to put on them based on their previous performances.
In the last few years has Paul choked or has he and or Blake just been injured? Regardless he hasn't got it done so like you said there could be pressure that could benefit the Wolves who don't really have any and confidence is growing now that they just won their first game.
KiwiMatt wrote:Lip, I can't say I agree with you on giving the game ball to Rose. I thought he took too many ill advised shots. But yes he certainly provided a much needed spark off the bench. It was a real team effort but for me it was Andrew Wiggins with arguably his best career game. I would also like to applaud Jeff Teague, loved the passion he played with tonight. Hey and Jimmy Butler wasn't half bad now was he? And honourable mention to KAT who got mugged all game.
My favourite plays of the game: The steal and euro step dunk by Gorgui and the no call on Harden driving at KAT in the fourth. James Harden is use to getting those calls when HE creates the contact. Was nice to see the officials get it right for once.
The Rockets play such and unorthodox brand of basketball. It's like they have a bunch of linebackers/hockey players out there checking opposition players to create space for Harden and Paul. Illegal screen after illegal screen. The thing is that their whole squad bar Capella can hit the 3 ball at an efficient rate. Then there's the absolute hammering Towns get evertime he establishes low post position. Watching Tucker pushing and arm grabbing him with out any calls was comical to say the least. Don't get me wrong, I like to see the officials let it go a bit like they do in the playoffs, but man that was brutal.
I'm fine with the officials letting things go more in the playoffs. But they have to do it equitably on both sides. KAT was getting mugged nearly every possession, yet he was getting called for breathing. That foul call on Taj in the 1st quarter was ridiculous. It was a clean block and while I can see that sort of thing called in the regular season, the officials haven't been calling that sort of thing in all the playoff games I've been watching. And as much as I like to see the refs loosen the reins a bit in the playoffs, they can't continue to allow defenders to grab, hold and push KAT the way the Rockets have been this series.
As for Rose getting the game ball, I think you might actually agree with me if you were in the arena. As I said, it might be harder to fully appreciate his impact on TV. His energy, his interaction with teammates, the way he moves off the ball, the intensity he brings on both sides of the ball have made him a huge difference-maker for this team. Has he been our best player? No. I thought Wiggins was our best player last night with Butler and Teague a close second and third. But I think Rose was arguably our most impactful player. Just consider what would have happened last night if Rose weren't on the roster. Our starters couldn't have logged more minutes. Would his minutes have going to Crawford? MGH? Belly? Aaron Brooks? You see what I mean? Scary! Kudos to Thibs for signing him.
Fair enough Lip. You certainly get a different perspective watching is live than on TV. I have to admit I was wrong about D Rose. I thought he was done and a horrible fit but he has proved me wrong on both accounts. The biggest benefit he brings is playoff experience and it has shown. I'd be all for signing him on for next season if the price is right. Minnesota has been his salvation and hopefully he repays back Thibs faith in him.
If we can play to that level for the rest of the series I can see it going to game 7. But with this officiating I find it hard to see us getting past the 1st round. And I will be rooting against James Harden and the Rockets as I can't stand their style of play. Effective yes, but illegal and boring to watch.
The improved offense is as simple as moving the ball. We did very little dribbling and a whole lot of passing.
Unfortunately, Monday night the rockets will be returning to the physical game they played (and got away with) in the first two games. The wolves have got to come out with the same physical play. Towns needs to figure out something when Harden comes down hill on him.
I would like to see more Belly/less G, because they actually guard Belly. I would also like to see a little MGH to get Butler more rest and keep JC's minutes down to a minimum. I think MGH would be a really good fit on the perimeter.
We need to be helping a lot less from the weak-side corner.
sjm34 wrote:The improved offense is as simple as moving the ball. We did very little dribbling and a whole lot of passing.
Unfortunately, Monday night the rockets will be returning to the physical game they played (and got away with) in the first two games. The wolves have got to come out with the same physical play. Towns needs to figure out something when Harden comes down hill on him.
I would like to see more Belly/less G, because they actually guard Belly. I would also like to see a little MGH to get Butler more rest and keep JC's minutes down to a minimum. I think MGH would be a really good fit on the perimeter.
We need to be helping a lot less from the weak-side corner.
MGH seems to make sense in theory, but in reality, he has done very little to suggest he deserves playing time.
