Game Report - Wolves v. Suns

[Lipoli390]

The Wolves needed to win this game today and they did. We can't get too giddy over this win since it came against a lottery team without its best player. But I can't complain about a win.

I'll start with a couple general observations. First, the Wolves did what I've repeatedly said they have to do to win most of the time this season - i.e., they scored over 110 points. Tonight the total was 119. The Wolves defense was pretty good tonight, yet the Suns still scored 108 points. Second, the scoring was distributed primarily among our core three -- Towns, Wiggins and Butler. There's only one ball and those three are our best scorers, which means they need to carry the vast majority of the scoring load. If not, then they're talents are not bing fully utilized.

Now some thoughts on individual players:

1. My game ball goes to Tyus Jones. He was tremendous. He is such a smart and tough player who also is quicker and more skilled than many think. And he has a great feel for the game. He was great on both sides of the ball tonight, scoring 9 points on 50% shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 steals. His on ball defense was excellent and relentless, so it wasn't as if he was leaving his defensive assignment to jump passing lanes for steals. Importantly, I wasn't surprised by his performance tonight because he's played really well all season.

2. If Tyus didn't get my game ball, I'd give it to Taj Gibson. He went after every rebound and loose ball like a heat-seeking missle. He made great decisions and helped the team enormously with his passing, scoring and rebounding. When the smoke cleared, he had a box score showing 16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Hard to believe that he was better than his box score, but he was. However, I'm not surprised. He's been tremendous all season so far.

3. I think Wiggins had his best all-around game of the season. His shooting was just OK as he finished with 21 points on 44% shooting. But I've never seen him so active defensively and in pursuit of the ball. His best moment might have been his blocked shot that he got at the tail end of a full-court sprint. In the end, he finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. But like Tyus and Taj, his performance was better than his box otherwise good box score indicates. The only visible blemish on Andrew's game today was the end of the 3rd quarter when he through the ball away on an ugly drive as he was anointed by Thibs to run the offense for the final shot block of the quarter. But that ugly moment for Wiggins is on Thibs, not on Andrew. Thankfully, we were playing at home against a bad team without its best player. If this had bee a close game against a more talented opponent, then Thibs' ridiculous decision at the end of the 3rd might have cost us the win.

4. Gorgui Dieng looked like the Gorgui Dieng who Thibs referred to as last season's most improved player. Actually, he was already showing signs this past week fo getting his game back. No doubt in my mind, he has struggled to adjust to his very different role as a bench player. I think he's starting to adjust. That will be huge for this team. He finished with 11 points on 62.5% shooting and 6 rebounds in only 20 minutes. Nice to see Gorgui getting his game back.

5. Amazing that I've already singled out 4 Wolves players for special praise based on today's game, but haven't mentioned our leading scorer, Karl Anthony Towns. That's not a veiled criticism of KAT. It just underscores the great contributions of the other four. In any event, KAT was terrific tonight and I doubt we win this game without his 32 points and 12 rebounds. He wasn't featured in the offense and he's had better games offensively. Yet he was still our leading scorer with 32 points. That simply underscores the fact that KAT's our best scorer.

As good as those 5 guys were, Aaron Brooks was horrible. So get well, Mr. Teague. :)

Tonight's game was further confirmation that the Wolves are a very talented team. But early 3rd quarter, the guy sitting directly in front of me who was attending his first game turned around during a Wolves possession and asked me if the Wolves always play like this. I asked him what he meant and he replied, "I mean standing around in the half court without any movement off the ball." He added that it was driving him crazy. I told him I've been at every home game and that I've been going crazy the whole season for the same reason. That's a long way of saying that, in spite of today's win, I remained concerned about this team's ability to play up to his ability.

Side Note: It's fun sitting in front of Karl's dad. He actually sat two rows behind me. He's very friendly and also very vocal. He generally makes comments you'd hear from any engaged fan. For example, on Butler's first trip to the line, KAT Sr said, "come on Jimmy, hit your free throws." Then Butler proceeded to miss both of them. :). At one point in the second half (can't remember exactly when), Gorgui made a nice pass to KAT for the score. KAT's dad shouted, "great play G!" Late in the 4th as the Wolves became soft defensively and the Suns made a run, KAT Sr shouted, "come on guys, the game ain't over yet!" He's pretty hard on his own son. I mentioned earlier his comment when his son make a boneheaded defensive play. He got on his son a couple other times when KAT held the ball too long, passing up good looks or a temporary one-on-one situation. I was listening for any criticism of Thibs or any favoritism towards any particularly players, but didn't detect any of that.

Another side note: We saw Thibs smile during a game for the first time since he's been here. It came right after KAT missed his thundering 2nd half dunk attempt, which eventually found its way into Andrew's hands for a 3-pointer. Thibs's face immediately broke into a huge grin that lasted even as he sat down to talk with his players during the time out. It was odd, but fun to watch.

As a final thought, we should all be thrilled that we have a backup PG who can step in and do what Tyus Jones did today. And at age 22 with limited playing time under his belt, he's only going to get better. It was also nice to see Gorgui play so well. But we need Teague and Belly to get well so we can get better play from our bench as we play better teams going forward.

[Monster]

Thanks for the report Lip. FYI Tyus turns 22 in May. He was the youngest PG on the floor for either team. :)

Also you didn't mention Butler. He was pretty good.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for the report Lip. FYI Tyus turns 22 in May. He was the youngest PG on the floor for either team. :)

Also you didn't mention Butler. He was pretty good.

Just an oversight on Butler. So Tyus is even younger than I thought. :). I really love the way he plays. He plays with heart and intelligence.

[Shumway]

Thanks for always going to the effort of writing these up Lip.

I haven't had the chance to actually watch enough Wolves basketball so far this season to really add anything to the discussion, so I appreciate reading your takes.

If only Cools 2+1 was as reliable as your game reports.