Corey Brewer is averaging 2.0 rebounds from the SF spot. That is just awful. Kevin Martin is marginally better. So, is Brewer leaking out to the detriment of rebounding? The Wolves have been outrebounded in each of the past 3 games.
I looked at Pekovic and Love and assumed this team could rebound with the best of them. But, it takes more than two guys. And, the lack of any rebounding on the wings might be hurting this club.
Don't we have a SF on the bench that is known for rebounding?
Corey Brewer is averaging 2.0 rebounds from the SF spot. That is just awful. Kevin Martin is marginally better. So, is Brewer leaking out to the detriment of rebounding? The Wolves have been outrebounded in each of the past 3 games.
I looked at Pekovic and Love and assumed this team could rebound with the best of them. But, it takes more than two guys. And, the lack of any rebounding on the wings might be hurting this club.
Don't we have a SF on the bench that is known for rebounding?
Who? Williams? Well, he'd be a 4 masquerading as a 3.
bleedspeed177 wrote:Shabazz was the guy I was thinking about. Didn't they brag how he was hard to keep off the glass in camp.
Corey is a terrible rebounder, and always will be, and there's no question that we are a much better rebounding team with either Derrick or Shabazz at SF. But we need Corey to defend our opponent's starting SF, so he needs to continue to be our starter. Corey also fits well with Love's passing game, both on the full-court pass and on back-cuts. BTW, I would like to see Shabazz get some minutes paired up with Love, because I think he can be effective also leaking out on fast breaks and on back-cuts.
There is no mystery to the Wolves loss last night. Our bench was out-scored 27 to 10 and out-rebounded 23 to 9. We have a bench that can't score, rebound or defend - that can't do the big things or the little things. As for Derrick -- he was 0-6 last night with only 2 rebounds in 20 minutes. And that was against the opposing team's 2nd string. It is astounding that an athletic 230 pound player with a 9'0 overhead reach had only 2 boards in 20 minutes, especially against the opposing team's second string.
Yet, even with the abysmal play of our bench, the Wolves might have won if Pekovic and Brewer had made their shots in the paint. Corey missed three layups in the first 5 minutes of the game. And of course, Pek missed 7 shots in the paint in the shadow of the hoop. Brewer's defense on Thompson in the 4th was pretty bad as well.
We'll see how this team responds against the Mavs Friday night. Unfortunately, what we saw from the Wolves last night against GS was indicative of deeper problems with this team. And it's becoming increasingly clear that these problems will probably not be fixed from within. Budinger's return will help, but his return is at least two months away with a ramp up period after that. And it's uncertain whether he will be 100% and stay healthy. I'll add that, even when 100% healthy, he's never been more than a decent bench player. The fix we need will have to come from outside the current roster, but I don't know who that would be or how we could add what we need given this team's limited tradable assets.
Right now, I'm with those who want to give Shabazz a chance. Williams and Shved have demonstrated they can't be relied upon. Let's see what Shabazz can do. If nothing else, we've heard that he plays with great intensity and can rebound. I'm not sure the word intensity is in Derrick's or Shved's vocabulary. Neither one seems to have a particularly high basketball IQ.
Will Adelman give significant minutes to a rookie? Budinger played significant minutes his rookie season under Adelman. Now it's time to give Shabazz a shot.
Lip, has Muhammad given any glimmer of hope that he's ready or worthy of significant minutes? Since Day One, it's been documented that he's not ready and has serious flaws to work out. Right?
I wonder if Shabazz might be a little down after his fall from the top. I would guess he is trying to please everyone. I would like to see him try and be a little more selfish again. Maybe a trip to the D-league would help him find that again. I think he can be a solid SF off the bench this season.
On another note. I think we missed the boat not drafting the Greek Freak.
There is no mystery to the Wolves loss last night. Our bench was out-scored 27 to 10 and out-rebounded 23 to 9. We have a bench that can't score, rebound or defend - that can't do the big things or the little things. .
Lip, I have to disagree, When our Big Three (Love, Pek, and Rubio) shoot a combined 14-44 (.318%) I have a very hard time blaming the bench. If our team leaders can't do better than that, I think that we have to blame to highest paid guys that are failing to perform. (yes, i know that Ricky is still on his rookie contract, but i think that he wants a big paycheck.)
