Looking forward to the 2018 season.

[TheFuture]

I don't understand the rim protection argument for Taj, at 54.5%. I'll add, I'm not great at sifting through the NBA.com stats as there is tons to look at. But this isn't Taj from 4 years ago we are talking about.

Talk about his close out ability, fine. Talk about his familiarity with this defense and the "magic mentor potion", fine. But this idea that he is some savant at the rim and is perfect next to KAT is quite a carried away stretch.

What is the rim protection stat you are looking at? G gave up 60% from less than 6ft to Taj's 53% when I looked it up on nbadotcom. That's a massive difference. Taj isn't Gobert, but his 53% is significantly better than Towns' 59% and G's 60%.

Better than Gorgui or the 21-year old KAT isn't the standard I'd use. Truth is, rim protection is not Gibson's strong suit and he's not fairly described as a rim-protector, especially at this point in his career. I think that's all Future was saying and I agree. That doesn't take away from Gibson's many strengths -- his toughness, his overall defense, his efficient inside scoring, his mentoring and his decent rebounding.

How can you say that first line and post how you didn't think we needed a 4 this offseason? "G and Towns aren't good defensively, but I would rather have kept them together than bring in a solid defender to shore up the frontcourt defense." G's just been in the league too long to use youth as any kind of excuse for lack of performance. He's consistently been a bottom tier rim protector since he started playing starter minutes. He just doesn't work next to KAT unless KAT magically turns into a plus defender which is too big a leap to count on in one offseason. Gibson is a great defensive compliment to both of them. I think you are way too hung up on blocks when it comes to rim protection. We need to bring the opposing team's FG% down and that's Gibson's defensive specialty. We just got 7% better at defending close to the basket. That's huge.

Well he was going off my uninformed post. Remember most of us are average joes at traversing the stat depths!

[Papalrep]

Which album was playing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVlLTPa0_l8

[Papalrep]

Which album was playing?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVlLTPa0_l8

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Robson analyzes the offseason in his inimitable fashion:

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2017/07/nobody-should-be-surprised-way-tom-thibodeau-has-remade-timberwolves

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I don't understand the rim protection argument for Taj, at 54.5%. I'll add, I'm not great at sifting through the NBA.com stats as there is tons to look at. But this isn't Taj from 4 years ago we are talking about.

Talk about his close out ability, fine. Talk about his familiarity with this defense and the "magic mentor potion", fine. But this idea that he is some savant at the rim and is perfect next to KAT is quite a carried away stretch.

What is the rim protection stat you are looking at? G gave up 60% from less than 6ft to Taj's 53% when I looked it up on nbadotcom. That's a massive difference. Taj isn't Gobert, but his 53% is significantly better than Towns' 59% and G's 60%.

Yeah, like I said I'm not exactly a stat guy. Especially nba.com. Basketballreference is so much easier for the regular joe to look at. I was trying to revise my comment because now I see that he is near or in the top 20. I originally thought he was closer to top 50, but half those guys on the first page are guards who see little action or guys who rarely played. That's quite comforting. He ranks ahead of the likes of Howard, McGee, A. Davis, P. gasol, and plenty more. Wow.

Disregard my previous uninformed post, but still an overpay! :dead:

Wow, great stat about Taj's rim protection, Khans.

I lived in Chicago for years so I've seen a lot of Bulls games, and I've been going back and watching stuff now that we signed him, and what I like about Taj's defense is that he recognizes that a lot of rim protection happens below the waist.

Guys like Towns seem to get up on their toes because they want to jump up and swat everything. This not only means they get moved off their base more easily, it also means they rely on timing a lot for shot blocking. Their hand is up and down, up and down, so a smart shooter can time the shot right.

Watching Taj, he consistently does a good job getting a wide base and avoiding getting off his feet for fakes, which allows him to keep a hand up more consistently, which is better for shot intimidation and making shots difficult. His hand isn't as high as Gorgui's or Towns' but it's consistently there. He's just a fundamentally sound player.

That's a great fit for Gorgui and KAT because as much talent as those two have, they are not the most fundamentally sound players. If they can learn to practice the things Gibson does regularly with their length and skill, they could both improve quite a bit.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Here's another reason I'm looking forward to this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mclvMZo7fjY

This is the kind of attitude we've lacked for too long. Plays defense with pride, under control but aggressive, super competitive, doesn't shy away from conflict. I love it.

[TAFKASP]

I looked forward to the 2005 season. And the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons. You'll have to forgive me if i'm more than just a little bit pessimistic!

[Monster]

Robson analyzes the offseason in his inimitable fashion:

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2017/07/nobody-should-be-surprised-way-tom-thibodeau-has-remade-timberwolves

I listened to his latest podcast and the biggest thing ai took from it was this. When they were discussing The defense of the PGs Rubio and Teague and his partner said Teague couldn't guard a traffic cone etc Britt became pretty emphatic and said Teague is not a terrible defender. To be honest that's a pretty good vote of confidence coming from Britt who values defense even more than LST and seems to really have an eye for it. It seemed pretty clear Britt didn't think Teague was a worthless guy on that end and he has no issue ripping guys that are. The first time I remember reading an article years ago where he did just that spending some time breaking down why Ridnour was very poor on that end although saying he was being asked to do to much. It was harsh but well thought out.

Jim Peterson Was on ESPN 1500 and had some comments about Teague's defense. He said aspects espcially pick and roll defense was very bad last year as he was watching film. He went back and watched film from his Atlanta days and said he was much much better. He said he thought the situation in Indiana was not good for him in that area. He also said Paul George is flat out not a leader but a terrific basketball player. He also had a lot of praise for Gibson although he would have liked the fit of Patterson. He said one thing people don't realize is that Gibson is such a smart player and good offensive rebounder you have to account for him which in some ways will create some space even though he isn't a 3 point shooter. Britt actually mentioned some of the same stuff about offensive rebounding and suggested Towns may be the best offensive rebounder in the league.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Robson analyzes the offseason in his inimitable fashion:

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2017/07/nobody-should-be-surprised-way-tom-thibodeau-has-remade-timberwolves

I listened to his latest podcast and the biggest thing ai took from it was this. When they were discussing The defense of the PGs Rubio and Teague and his partner said Teague couldn't guard a traffic cone etc Britt became pretty emphatic and said Teague is not a terrible defender. To be honest that's a pretty good vote of confidence coming from Britt who values defense even more than LST and seems to really have an eye for it. It seemed pretty clear Britt didn't think Teague was a worthless guy on that end and he has no issue ripping guys that are. The first time I remember reading an article years ago where he did just that spending some time breaking down why Ridnour was very poor on that end although saying he was being asked to do to much. It was harsh but well thought out.

Jim Peterson Was on ESPN 1500 and had some comments about Teague's defense. He said aspects espcially pick and roll defense was very bad last year as he was watching film. He went back and watched film from his Atlanta days and said he was much much better. He said he thought the situation in Indiana was not good for him in that area. He also said Paul George is flat out not a leader but a terrific basketball player. He also had a lot of praise for Gibson although he would have liked the fit of Patterson. He said one thing people don't realize is that Gibson is such a smart player and good offensive rebounder you have to account for him which in some ways will create some space even though he isn't a 3 point shooter. Britt actually mentioned some of the same stuff about offensive rebounding and suggested Towns may be the best offensive rebounder in the league.[/quote]

lol just in time for the league to basically abandon offensive rebounding because transition defense suffers too much when you commit to offensive rebounds.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Teague has been on a top 5 defense in Atlanta as recently as a couple years ago and even Indiana was 16th in defensive rating last year, despite having a very young big in Myles Turner starting along with Thad Young and Monta Ellis, two guys fairly short for their position.

While I don't think Teague is the disruptor Rubio is on defense, he's not a sieve either. He's obviously capable of being a part of an elite defensive starting 5.

Thibs' working theory is that Butler and Taj bring the dog out in KAT and Wiggins defensively. That is by far the most important key to our success next season, followed by manufacturing more open 3's for guys.