Wolves vs Rockets ~ No Mo Edition

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The last play was drawn up for Bud. Lavine didn't even look Thad's way off the screen and Bud had Terry guarding him coming off a screen. That was the look Flip wanted. Even so, at that point in the game drawing up a jumper for either Bud or Thad was the worst option Flip had on the floor because neither are shooting the ball well at all right now. There was so much time left that I don't get why we didn't put Bazz in for Bud and post up Terry. He would have had time for a couple dribbles to get position. Even giving Wiggins that jumper would have been nice because of how high he can jump to stabilize his body and get off a good look over Ariza. Bud was off balance because of how quick he tried to get the shot off. I thought with the way Wiggins fought down the stretch and kept us in the game (even gave us the lead at one point) would be enough to earn the last shot, but maybe next time.

I thought Bennett did ok against Donatas, but he still shouldn't have been in the game as the C in OT when we were running no offense through him and Adrien was the better defensive matchup. If you aren't going to give Bennett those mid-range jumpers over Thad, he didn't serve much of a useful purpose out there. Also, Thad was not good down the stretch. He hit one key shot, but I don't think that was worth keeping him on the floor. He missed a lot of free throws and his confidence just looked shot with everything he tried to do. Bennett wasn't shooting great either, but his shot at least didn't look broken like Thad's. I would have gone Lavine/Bazz/Wiggins/Bennett/Dieng for that last shot and swapped Bazz for Corey in OT.

I think Flip is either afraid to go super young (young guys in all 5 spots) in these situations even if the young guys are better options at the time or he is seeing something in practice that is keeping some guys out. He is playing vets over young guys in some weird spots during the games and not playing the young guys even when some of them appear to earn it. Then it always come out post game that he kept so and so out to teach them a lesson when in this case it probably cost us the game with the Bud in over Bazz and not taking Thad off the floor in OT for Bennett and Adrien. I don't see at this point what our vets have done to earn his trust more than his young guys because outside of Corey right now I can't find anyone who deserves the minutes more than their young counterpart based on play. How long you've been in the league shouldn't be the only clear reason why some guys have been out there more than others.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Lots of blame for Flip's play for Bud here, but I think it was more of a mistake not to double Harden earlier in the game. Brewer with a couple nice defensive plays there against a guy who is really tough to guard. His block and 3 pointer were huge for us.

Nice to see the guys make a run at the end of regulation, but the youth showed down the stretch. Bad D by Dieng, LaVine with a bad pass, questionable shot, and loose D, Wiggins missing the chance to really just pound that little guy guarding him down and get multiple layups until they doubled him or got a bigger guy to guard him.

Still, all three of those young guys showed some nice moments in the game, and Bazz with another nice game. Shame we couldn't pull out a win, but at least we got our guys some playing time in crunch time. That's how you learn. They've definitely got some tape they can look at to figure out how to get better.

Ugh, all Wiggins had to do was turn baseline. The little guy was hedging so hard to the middle that a quick drop step or spin baseline would have been an easy layup. Wiggins just didn't recognize it.

I KNOW, right?! With his height, quickness, and athleticism, there's no reason that matchup shouldn't have ended in a quick drop, pivot and a dunk, not just free throws, but a dunk. Sometimes he forces the issue dribbling into traffic, but sometimes with his back to the basket it's like he doesn't realize the mismatch his athleticism gives him. It's like a young predator learning to hunt and not realizing the advantage he has over his prey so he plays it safe. I hope he watches the video of that and dedicates himself to learning that drop step and going up hard off two feet for the dunk. It'll either be two free throws or an and one every time against opponents like that. Then he'll draw double teams and hopefully we'll have guys on the three point line ready for the kick out.

[Carlos Danger]

I think Flip is either afraid to go super young (young guys in all 5 spots) in these situations even if the young guys are better options at the time or he is seeing something in practice that is keeping some guys out. He is playing vets over young guys in some weird spots during the games and not playing the young guys even when some of them appear to earn it. Then it always come out post game that he kept so and so out to teach them a lesson when in this case it probably cost us the game with the Bud in over Bazz and not taking Thad off the floor in OT for Bennett and Adrien. I don't see at this point what our vets have done to earn his trust more than his young guys because outside of Corey right now I can't find anyone who deserves the minutes more than their young counterpart based on play. How long you've been in the league shouldn't be the only clear reason why some guys have been out there more than others.

This is actually interesting for me to watch. I don't get it either and would love to know the real reasons. I'm sure there is a method to the madness. For instance, I for one, thought that adding another PG would be smart when Rubio went down because I'm not seeing LaVine as ever being a PG in the NBA. However, maybe Flip's logic is that playing PG now will help LaVine's development as a ball handler and understanding his offense. I don't know. I guess at the end of the day, it's pretty clear winning games is not the top priority this year. We probably won't really be able to tell how all the pieces might fit together until we are healthy again. Until then, this is the new normal.

[shahidi124 [enjin:6591729]]

Anyone notice the poor body language from Bazz? He was yelling at Chase multiple times when Chase would drive and didn't dish to Bazz and would pout other times when guys made mistakes. I understand the frustration but you just have to play through it and get back on D. On the Rockets final bucket of the 3rd, he got frustrated with the outcome on the offensive end and didn't get back on D.

I'm only halfway through the 4th right now, but it sounds like he didn't get minutes late and that may be a reason.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Yeah, I noticed that too. As much as I love his effort, he doesn't seem like particularly great teammate. Complains if guys don't pass him the ball and blames other guys for mistakes that come with the territory. I always hated playing with guys like that. F'ing deal with it. Sometimes guys don't pass you the ball and sometimes guys make mistakes. Yelling at them ain't gonna solve the problem.

[bleedspeed]

In Bazz's defense Bud sucks.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

In Bazz's defense Bud sucks.

And Bud's been getting minutes over Bazz since we drafted him. I'd be pissed too. Bud's done absolutely nothing, other than suck at NBA basketball, to warrant the playing time he's received when "healthy". Whereas Bazz has been a positive contributor and has much better numbers than Bud to support him. In Bazz's eyes, fuck Chase.