Phenom's_Revenge wrote:I agree Camden. I'm not sure why everyone is negative with Brewer. Derrick CANNOT take his minutes and SHOULD NOT. Corey opens up the floor for everyone with his constant movement. He is a much smarter player and doesn't take plays off. The best part is that he is the 5th option on the floor, he knows it, and he still plays harder than most players.
As for his defense, I thought it was exceptional. His ability to get through screens and recover on his man has skyrocketed since he last played here. It is night and day. Afflalo may have had 28 points; that's not really the issue. The reality is that over the course of a game, players are going to get theirs but Brewer stepped up his D when it really counted. He has ferocity when chasing around his man. They can score 40 points for all I care but if Corey makes them work hard the whole game and gets the stop at the end and the Wolves win, I'll take it every game.
Brewer late in game trying to stop Afflalo? Good.
Afflalo draining jumper after jumper after jumper in the 3rd quarter on Brewer and Rick doing nothing about it for even change's sake? Not good.
That is a good point WW. This team keeps talking about team defense needing to be a strength and Rick needs to make a defensive adjustment to assure the ball goes somewhere else.
Well, I do think DWill should have gotten back up minutes at either SF or PF. Dante was pretty good tho, but I really hate Shved. I love how DW can go high above the rim for rebounds can hit 3s and we know how he can get open for ally oops from Rubio. I think he'd be infinitely better than Shved. But it looks like he's playing for the wrong team with the wrong coach for him right now. He has to be on his way out.
Mstermisty wrote:A few thoughts. First off, great win. Why great? Because they should have lost, and didn't. At the same time, they should have blown the Magic out. If this team is going to be good, they are going to have to put these type of games away. They got lucky last night, but I''ll take it.
As far as D-Will goes, this pretty much sums it up: after the game I turned to my buddy and said "did D-Will play tonight?" And he said "I don't know." The guy has talent, and I think he can at the very least be a solid role player on an NBA team, but I just don't think it's this team. Also we have a problem at the 2 guard right now. Shved is Shved, I just don't see him becoming more than he is. We need another guy coming off the bench for Martin. I still say if the Turner for D-Will swap is on the table you do it. As long as you don't have to give up much else.
That was a pretty good breakdown. Williams I don't have high hopes for him but I don't want to just give him up for a fringe nba player. Yep if you can get Williams for Turner I would do that and if I had to throw in a random 2nd rounder thats fine but nothing else. Shved I honestly think is a more actually talented basketball player than Williams but he is pretty erratic. I know his isn't young like Williams but he is in the 2nd year coming from europe and so I sill think there is a chance he could improve. Besides he seems capable of at least being an interesting player that comes off the bench and can play 3 positions and he ain't making that much money. The expectations for him are lower so he is more likely to reach them. If we have just one young player out of Shved Williams Dieng Hummel and Shabazz step up into some sort of meaningful role that might be a success when it seems like all we have gotten out of young guys lately is Rubio and Love developing into something meaningful. The bar is set pretty low besides those guys... Sigh
First game of the season guys, too early to draw conclusions.
I thought Brewer played well, he brings energy and passion, and his transition game is great, something we sorely lacked last season. Love and Rubio outlets to Brewer are going to translate in to a lot of easy hoops this season. That is why I don't mind him in the starting lineup
Although we don't have any great defensive players on this roster, Brewer and Rubio are going to wreck havoc in the passing lanes and Pek and Love's size and defensive rebounding skills will allow them to hold their own. People are exaggerating how bad this team is defensively. IMO they are no worse defensively then half the teams in this league. Kevin Martin is the only really awful defender on this roster but even then I'd prefer him matching up against an opposition wing than Luke Ridnour.
Love is looking great, Rubio shot will start to fall and Pek will find his feet shortly. Fear not Wolves fans!
Thought Love looked like a top ten player again, and Rubio played well all game. The unfortunate thing with Ricky is that his shot is unchanged, and that is mind boggling. Don't the wolves have him working with a shooting coach. I don't expect changes overnight, but the arc on his shot is non-existent.
What was really disappointing to me was how much this team resembles the wolves teams in the late nineties. This team is going to live and die by the jump shot and that doesn't bode well if they make the PO's.
I am unsure why Adelman is still coaching. He clearly has no interest in developing players, and seems content to watch this team continually struggle. What does it take to actually get Rick to make a few substitutions when the momentum has swung completely in the other teams favor. What was with the small lineup? They were getting roasted out there, and Rick calmly sat by watching happen.
Rick said Brewer played terrific, but I have hard time believing that when Afflalo goes off for 28 pts, and 9 rebs while shooting 50% from he field.
I don't hold Williams accountable for any of his actions going forward with this team. If I was in DW's spot, I would do everything I could to force a trade to a team that might actually give me a chance. I find it interesting that Love is the one giving Williams the look. If Love had actually come into camp last season in shape, we may have made the PO's.
What I like about the anecdote about Love and Williams on the bench is that in his first couple years, that could've been Love not paying attention to the game because he was upset he wasn't playing. That's not quite the same as not taking it seriously like Williams apparently was. I might have cut Williams some slack if it was the 50th game and we weren't in the running for the playoffs, but this was the first game of the season. Meanwhile, it's a bit of a sign that Love has become less of a selfish pouter and more of a leader. And that's always what we've been needing from him beyond the stats. We need a guy who acts like a leader, and ideally that's your best player. If Love can step up and really improve the culture on this team this year (I also loved that he was getting the fans on their feet after he hit that 3), then that is way more valuable than anything Derrick Williams will contribute.
SJ, at least now we have an owner and a VP who are in it for the long haul. Last year, all three of the organizational leaders were short timers. So that should help in at least keeping some focus on developing our young players.
I can't go as far as you did in saying DWill shouldn't be accountable for his actions, but he has every right to be pissed. After being one of our best players down the stretch last year and coming into camp in great shape, he deserves far better. It's been apparent for quite some time but St. Rick just doesn't like him. There is just something inherently wrong in that. There is no reason he can't be one of our top 10 guys. And your point about Love is 100% spot on.
Cool -- I partially agree but partially disagree with you. I agree that, having come to camp in fantastic shape and based on his play late last season, Derrick deserves a legitimate chance at being part of the starting lineup or at least in this team's rotation. But I disagree with you and SJ on the comparison to Love. As Drew pointed out, Love could have been faulted for selfishness or occasional lapses in all-out effort on the court at certain points in his career. But he could never be accused of not caring. Furthermore, Love's numbers before last season speak for themselves, including his tremendous rebounding numbers - an effort stat. Finally, I'm focused on evaluating based on the present. Love showed leadership and greatness last night and throughout the preseason. Derrick didn't show much of anything in the preseason and I suspect he hasn't shown much in practice either. What he showed on the bench last night was unacceptable and I'm glad Love gave him that glare.
There are different kinds of character issues that are neither comparable nor equivalent. The "I'm too cool to care" attitude is by far the worst and least forgivable. It is also the one with the greatest negative impact on a player's performance and development. We all clearly saw that issue with Wes. Wes Johnson always came to camp in shape. He was considered very coachable and he had a lot of talent. But the motor wasn't there. We could see that in his play but more clearly in his smiling face and frivolity on the bench. He seemed to be more interested in just being in the NBA than excelling in the League. Derrick Williams looks all too much the Wes Johnson type. You might remember some inside information I posted last season that the entire coaching staff, not just Adelman, thought that Derrick seemed more interested in the NBA lifestyle than in the game itself. The more you watch him -- his showboat dunk attempts that all too often result in embarrassing misses, his casual strut on the court in games and shoot-around, and his demeanor on the bench -- the more you see what has been bothering the coaching staff. And recently we had Flip publicly criticize Derrick's motor. So it isn't just Adelman. Eventually you see enough smoke to know there's a fire.
So while Derrick deserved a chance when he came to camp this year, he may have blown that chance already in ways we haven't been able to see since we haven't seen him in practice every day and haven't seen him interact with his teammates behind the scene. But based on what we've seen from Derrick on the bench and on the court live at Target Center, and hearing Flip publicly echo concerns about Derrick that people I trust have attributed to the entire coaching staff last season, I'm inclined to side with Adelman here. Derrick's attitude on the bench last night in overtime was pathetic and yet another sobering sign that this guy just doesn't get it.
I was off the grid for a few days in the Grand Canyon, so it was nice to get back yesterday and read everyone's take on the opener.
Lip, your Williams/Love anecdote is very telling, and your last post couldn't be any more right on in my opinion. Williams is blessed with enormous athletic ability and seems to be a likable guy, but he seems to lack that intangible personal quality that makes great NBA players. It's that personal quality that creates that intangible that we call "motor". It can't be coached and players don't change over time, because it is innate. Adelman has watched him in practice and games for over two years now, and he knows this. He had to play Williams last year because the rash of injuries left him no other options, but this year is different. Derrick's DNP-CD in the opener was partially due to Rick's reacting to Orlando's three guards, so I do think Derrick will get some minutes this year (tonight for instance), but barring another wave of injuries, I still think Derrick will have a hard time finding the court after Bud returns.
I have been pulling for Williams since we drafted him, and would get excited when he would tease us with flashes of brilliance (like his 28 points against the Clips 2 years ago), but I am gradually catching up to what Rick has known from the start. Williams is what he is...an enormous underachiever who will never be an effective starter in the NBA. Hopefully Flip can get something for him in trade, but my expectations are much lower than someone like Turner in return.
