@ Phoenix GDT

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Meh. Fifteen games left. Now is not the time to get "out tanked". Sam did a great job :-).

#1 - Philly. 9 wins and 1-9 in last ten.
#2 - Lakers. 14 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#3 - Suns. 18 wins and 4-6 in last ten.
#4 - Nets. 18 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#5 - Wolves. 21 wins and 3-7 in last ten
#6 - Pelicans. 24 wins and 2-8 in last ten.
#7 - Kings. 25 wins and 1-9 in last ten.

The Kings are making a big push for more lotto balls. We need to do the same. Let's lose the next 15 and see if we can get the #3 seed!

Normally I'm with you and can accept focussing on 'the bigger picture', but I reckon we have our core in place. I want to see that develop. Besides, I seem to recall that the oracle Cool has guaranteed we move up to the top 3 this year.

If it weren't for a coaching decision this offseason, I'd be ok with losing a spot or two in the draft to get the young guys some wins. However, the coaching decision is even more critical than how many ping pong balls we end up with, so I'm all for enough losing so Sam can't tell Glen we ended on a strong note to keep the job. Besides, I like that LaVine and Dieng are cementing themselves as starters and I like how our starters are starting to gel together, its the bench that needs a complete overhaul.

[MikkeMan]

Meh. Fifteen games left. Now is not the time to get "out tanked". Sam did a great job :-).

#1 - Philly. 9 wins and 1-9 in last ten.
#2 - Lakers. 14 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#3 - Suns. 18 wins and 4-6 in last ten.
#4 - Nets. 18 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#5 - Wolves. 21 wins and 3-7 in last ten
#6 - Pelicans. 24 wins and 2-8 in last ten.
#7 - Kings. 25 wins and 1-9 in last ten.

The Kings are making a big push for more lotto balls. We need to do the same. Let's lose the next 15 and see if we can get the #3 seed!

Kings have been actually making a push to just keep their pick. They will lose it to Chicago if is not in top10.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

We gave up 19 offensive boards, yikes!

Phoenix sports a big front line with Len, Chandler, and Tucker. Those guys had something like 35 rebounds and beat the hell out of our front line.

Adding size and strength to the front line needs to be a priority this offseason. A healthy Pekovic would be the perfect antidote. Unfortunately, he's a shell of his former self, even when able to play.

[bleedspeed]

We have such a bad bench we can have our cake and eat it too. The starters can play good enough to win and the bench is so bad we have no chance. I would like to see us trying to sign a D-leaguer wing to give Princes minutes too.

[AbeVigodaLive]

A few notes:

- As noted, the bench is awful right now. It's just a bad mix of guys. Other than Muhammad, who's a one-trick scoring pony, nobody else can score even near NBA backups level. Heck, they also can't rebound at that level. Or pass. Or play defense. That will be the root cause for more losses down the stretch. Just think about how much better (professional) a career journeyman like John Leuer looked compared to the Wolves players.
- Will Garnett face any scrutiny at some point? He signed the decent-sized contract, but has effectively decided to stop playing two straight seasons.
- The time for playing for ping pong balls is over. That's a loser's mentality. It's embarrassing and insulting if this team is still soft tanking. The Wolves have 3 of the more promising super young players in the entire league. The foundation is there. TEACH THEM HOW TO WIN.
- The Dieng not playing... playing small for defense... has been discussed. It's silly. Sam was wrong. Even with going small... was it effective? Teletovic was still the difference hitting threes against the smaller lineup.
- Typical Rubio game. Gritty defense. Terrible shooting. And some of the best passes we'll see all season. Hell, until Phoenix engaged defensively, 20 assists seemed like a sure thing.
- Phoenix is not a good team. Unfortunately, neither are the Wolves... yet. Seriously, that bench is just so bad right now.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

A few notes:


- Will Garnett face any scrutiny at some point? He signed the decent-sized contract, but has effectively decided to stop playing two straight seasons.

I said it at the time, but this deal for Garnett was a total joke. How can those of you that respect KG still respect him the way he has completely shut down the last 2 years. If he really wanted to be playing, he would be playing. Even if the organization is soft-tanking, I would want KG (as the supposed leader) to say to hell with that, and to make some noise and demand to keep playing in order to instill some grit in these guys. Could you ever imagine if a team like San Antonio had a down season, that you would see Duncan just taking DNP after DNP? No freakin way! I never liked him as a premier Wolves player for various reasons (respect his talent immensely....just don't like the player), but now I simply can't stand even seeing him on the bench. Seems like the only thing he has proven to these youngsters is that when things aren't going your way, just slink away and find a comfortable chair to collect you millions.

[Coolbreeze44]

Meh. Fifteen games left. Now is not the time to get "out tanked". Sam did a great job :-).

#1 - Philly. 9 wins and 1-9 in last ten.
#2 - Lakers. 14 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#3 - Suns. 18 wins and 4-6 in last ten.
#4 - Nets. 18 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#5 - Wolves. 21 wins and 3-7 in last ten
#6 - Pelicans. 24 wins and 2-8 in last ten.
#7 - Kings. 25 wins and 1-9 in last ten.

The Kings are making a big push for more lotto balls. We need to do the same. Let's lose the next 15 and see if we can get the #3 seed!

Normally I'm with you and can accept focussing on 'the bigger picture', but I reckon we have our core in place. I want to see that develop. Besides, I seem to recall that the oracle Cool has guaranteed we move up to the top 3 this year.

Yep, doesn't matter where we finish

[Carlos Danger]

Meh. Fifteen games left. Now is not the time to get "out tanked". Sam did a great job :-).

#1 - Philly. 9 wins and 1-9 in last ten.
#2 - Lakers. 14 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#3 - Suns. 18 wins and 4-6 in last ten.
#4 - Nets. 18 wins and 3-7 in last ten.
#5 - Wolves. 21 wins and 3-7 in last ten
#6 - Pelicans. 24 wins and 2-8 in last ten.
#7 - Kings. 25 wins and 1-9 in last ten.

The Kings are making a big push for more lotto balls. We need to do the same. Let's lose the next 15 and see if we can get the #3 seed!

Normally I'm with you and can accept focussing on 'the bigger picture', but I reckon we have our core in place. I want to see that develop. Besides, I seem to recall that the oracle Cool has guaranteed we move up to the top 3 this year.

Yep, doesn't matter where we finish

I hope you are right again. But I'm all for playing the percentages. I get why some people say we need to establish a winning attitude. That sounds nice to say. But deep down I know everyone realizes it means NOTHING! They had 60 games to establish a winning attitude and they sucked at it. We determined through those 60 games that this team was still too young, not deep enough and lacked a good coach/system.

We only have five pieces: Towns, Wiggins, LaVine, Rubio and Dieng. Those guys have enough of a track record that these last games won't move the needle anymore for evaluation purposes.

We have three other guys who fall into the "maybe" pile: Tyus, Bazz and Euro MVP. I'd like to see those guys play a lot down the stretch so we have more data on them.

Then we have the reject pile: Pek, KG, Rudez, Payne, Prince and Smith. Pek and KG just can't get on the court anymore. Rudez and Payne don't belong on the court. And Smith is nothing but roster filler.

We need to sign two, good free agents and hit the lotto jack pot again. Out of 15 roster spots, we only have 5 guys we can count on.

[bleedspeed]

We need to sign two, good free agents and hit the lotto jack pot again. Out of 15 roster spots, we only have 5 guys we can count on.

Amen

[Monster]

A couple things on Sam going small

It seems at times Sam has given Bazz a shot at crunch times minutes in spots that could benefit him. Him matched up with Tucker ain't too bad even though Tucker had a good night at least Bazz probably helps keep Tucker off the boards better than someone like Wiggins. A lot of the season we haven't seen Bazz get opportunities and personally I would like to see him get some chances to see what he can do especially with some competent players next to him. When he is with the bench scrubs I think sometimes he reverts to bad habits and even when he does good things teams can basically just load up on him.

Wiggins also was asked to play crunch time defense on a big that is basically a perimeter scorer. He needs to be able to do that.

I am not defending Sam really but I can see some rationale as to why he would make the moves he did but as usual Sam says something that makes you pissed off at him even though it makes a little bit of sense but less sense than what I SPECULATE is his actual thinking. It's bizarre how he defends certain moves.

Tyus was really aggressive at times on defense. He was pushing Knight around some of the time. Getting in front of Booker in transition was actually pretty impressive even if it was a block that was a pretty good play.

Rubio was fantastic

Wiggins can be maddening but his passing and ability to get near the tim and finish is pretty special especially with the physical gifts he has.

Lavine has been so good lately.

Devin Booker wow that dude is a baller. I thought the Suns were getting a steal in him but he is way ahead of schedule and his upside looks higher than I was expecting.

I know Leuer isn't wildly exciting but he has nice size and looks like he can play. I wouldn't mind bringing him in as a depth guy depending on the price. He could be one of those solid bench guys you can play a few minutes and are likely to get something solid. We could use a couple guys like that.

It was too bad we lost but there of course is a possible higher draft slot as a bright side. Overall I thought the Wolves played well and other than some ugly stretches it was a fun game to watch. The Wolves offensively are a completely different team lots of passing racing up the court etc. this is the type of team many of us were expecting. There were some good possessions on defense but nothing wildly sustained obviously.