CoolBreeze's 2 Things I Didn't Like Tonight Plus 1

[Coolbreeze44]

Well we knew a game like this was coming. The youth and inexperience is going to show up once in a while and I think it got us tonight. There were still bright spots that we can hang on to, but they were not nearly enough tonight. So here is tonight's 2 + 1:

1) Well if you ever needed an example of how important 3 point shooting is in today's NBA, tonight was the night. It's the one thing I don't like about Flip's philosophy. The best teams have multiple players that can hit the 3. It was a huge factor in the loss. You can't trade 2's for 3's and stay in the game against a team as good as the Rockets. Hopefully it's an aspect of the game the Wolves develop over time.

2) I didn't like the demeanor of some of the Rockets players as the game got out of reach. Too much laughing and too much showboating. I hope the Wolves remember it the next we get a chance to bury them. Of course that could be a while but our day is definitely coming.

Plus 1 - I still found some things to be pleased with. The first half was pretty impressive. We demonstrated that we have a lot of guys that can play. We had some nice individual moments from such as the Wiggins and Shabazz dunks. And our effort was outstanding. My plus 1 tonight goes to one of my favorites, Corey Brewer. He brought his usual high energy game but he also finished well and ran the court extremely well. Glad to see he has strung a couple good games together now and hopefully he is adjusting to coming off the bench.


And that's CoolBreeze's 2 things I didn't like tonight Plus 1.

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Agreed the Rockets players were acting like jackasses at the end. I bet when they are losing in the conference semi-finals they won't be smiling as much.

Definitely some things to be happy about in this game. Lavine especially impressed me. He's playing pretty smart for a guy with no experience. And you have to love how fast he is with the ball.

Final thought: the fact that this was a "home game" for us is an absolute joke. There was no indication at all that during this game that we were the home team. Granted Houston wins this game most likely anyway if it's at Target Center, but it would have been tougher. But if anything, why not have the team that is much closer to Mexico be the home team? Dumb.

[mjs34]

I'm wondering why we are playing the game for the second year in a row. Why not have two southern teams play in teh game?

Cool, I have to disagree wth the youth hurting us tonight. It was our veterans that absolutely sucked ass tonight. Both Thad and Pek looked like a couple rookies on both offense and defense. Pek has to be the pound for pound biggest pussy in the league. The guy is 290 lbs, and he can't move Howard. Pek is the poster child for what not to do on a PnR defensively.

I stated this inthe off season, and it is proving to be true. Flip's idea of offense just doesn't work. He thinks he has some great system freeing up shooters for 20 footers, while the other team is actually encouraging it. Did Thad have two or three airballs tonight? I am losing hope for Bennett as well, becasue he justs floats out past hte FT line.

We would be a lot better off if Flip told Zach to attack the basket every play. If someone frees up, get it to them, but lack of efficient offense by our bigs is pathetic.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm wondering why we are playing the game for the second year in a row. Why not have two southern teams play in teh game?

Cool, I have to disagree wth the youth hurting us tonight. It was our veterans that absolutely sucked ass tonight. Both Thad and Pek looked like a couple rookies on both offense and defense. Pek has to be the pound for pound biggest pussy in the league. The guy is 290 lbs, and he can't move Howard. Pek is the poster child for what not to do on a PnR defensively.

I stated this inthe off season, and it is proving to be true. Flip's idea of offense just doesn't work. He thinks he has some great system freeing up shooters for 20 footers, while the other team is actually encouraging it. Did Thad have two or three airballs tonight? I am losing hope for Bennett as well, becasue he justs floats out past hte FT line.

We would be a lot better off if Flip told Zach to attack the basket every play. If someone frees up, get it to them, but lack of efficient offense by our bigs is pathetic.

What a dichotomy.

Houston is "all in" on sabermetrics. Three pointers. Free throws. Shots at the rim. That's it. Nobody shoots fewer mid-range jump shots than Houston.

Can you think of another team that shoots more mid-range shots than Minnesota? Doug Collins was ripped a bit when he was in Philly a couple years back for the same offensive principles. Why not have your guys take 2 steps back for a much more "mathematically" effective shot? Both Collins and Saunders are experienced coaches with a track record of success... pre the modern era of advanced metrics. It's not a coincidence.

Houston's style isn't necessarily more aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes it's downright ugly. And it hasn't led to a title or anything. But, they're trying to bend the system with whatever advantage they can find. They're pushing the envelope. And that's never a bad thing.

A couple of interesting stats to reveal the differences.

Minnesota: (501) 2 pointers. (97) three pointers.
Houston: (358) 2 pointers. (258) three pointers.

That's a significant difference. It's even more remarkable when you consider what kinds of 2 pointers each team is taking. I saw Harden take a couple of step-back long two pointers last night... he was probably chastised for it. Yet, when we see Wiggins do it, it's a sign of hope. But should it be?

_________________________

For this season, it's fine. The Wolves WANT to lose at this point. There's no hope for the playoffs. So, find a way to tank without making it look like you're tanking. Fair enough. We've been down that road before. At least this season we have some legit young pieces to watch. But, the philosophy needs to change at some point. This regime needs to be forward thinkers and push boundaries instead of using 20-year-old principles that are proving to be less effective.

If Saunders remains coach, will he learn to make adjustments?
If he hires a new coach, will he choose an innovator or a follower?


[Note: I am NOT convinced Houston's style is the best one. And I don't think it's fun to watch. And I definitely think when you rely too much on stats, you miss out on so many little things that make basketball so fucking awesome to play/watch... but I do dig that they're not afraid to push the proverbial envelope.]

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Good takes here. Houston has played 6 or 7 games now in Mexico and we're the home team? What a joke. So 6 games in a row on the road. That seems fair. I didn't get to watch the game, but I see Pek had no fouls on Howard. Does Pek know Coward can't shoot free throws? Is AB going the way of Derrick Williams already with limited minutes and floating around? Gee, I hope not.

Agreed also on the 3's. We have a young team that needs a modern philosophy. I think we'll get there, Flip could just be building confidence right now.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Good comments, guys. I agree that:

1) Some of the Houston players (Howard) pissed me off with their clowning last night...disrespectful.
2) Houston's offense is so much more efficient than ours.

We weren't going to win last night. As I pointed out in the game thread, the only game Houston hasn't won by double digits was the one Howard missed, and the T-Wolves without Rubio are just not as good as the teams Houston has been beating...so I see losing by 12 as somewhat of a moral victory. They're way better than us right now. A couple other observations.

Even though Howard is a dick , he effects the game in so many ways. Offensively, he has a much better post game than I remember, and he really highlights Pek's slow-footedness and Deing's lack of bulk. But defensively is where he really shines. Thad and Pek were terrible last night...6 for 20 from the field, even though most of the shots were within 3 feet. But Howard is so dominant on defense that I almost give our bigs a pass...almost. He blocked four shots, but he was in our big guys' heads on every shot. It would have been a good night to use AB more at PF, but it was clear that his knee wasn't going to allow him to play many minutes...he looked slow to me on both ends of the court. It doesn't get much easier Friday with Davis on defense.

We don't expect Zach to be anywhere near Rubio's competency, but again I was pleasantly surprised at how well he played last night. He caught a break with Beverly being out, but I'm not going to diminish 9 assists and only 3 turnovers...one of which was probably Pek's. He looked more aggressive, especially in the first half, and didn't seem as content just to make his first pass a safe pass to a player outside the arc. Still too cautious, but less so this game. His shot selection is poor...too many contested jump shots...he needs to focus on getting to the rim or talking open jumpers. I also echo Tim's comments in the GDT about how well he uses his feet on defense. Zach has already far exceeded my expectations. I think he's going to be a player.

Wiggins showed why I think he is going to be ROY. His game is getting better, while Parker's has stalled. He clearly frustrated Harden in the first half last night...even though he scored 23, he needed 23 shots to get there. Wiggins showed an unbelievable ability to keep Harden in front of him, and he also didn't allow him as many free throws as James usually gets. Offensively, he still relies on too many 20 footers, but at least they were falling. As he continues to gain confidence on offense, I think he can be a consistent 15-point scorer this year...very impressive for a rookie. He needs to start showing up elsewhere in the box score though...1 rebound, no assists and no steals is not acceptable.

I understand that Houston's offense is built for the 3-pointer, but their 13 makes had as much to do with the Wolves' poor defense as Houston's offense. Our wings either gambled on steals or focused too much on doubling inside, and that resulted in wide open threes. Watch any NBA team at halftime, even ours, and you will see that NBA players hit open threes at an 80% rate. It's foolish to let your man go in an attempt to double Howard ineffectively, if you're then allowing open threes over and over. Corey had a great game offensively, but his defense was horrible.

I understand that he only got garbage minutes last night, but Robbie continued his perfect run this season of games with a positive +/-. His 2 for three on 3-pointers is not a fluke...he's one of our best outside shooters...but he hasn't displayed that shooting talent very often. But even when he's not making his shot, he has a positive impact on the court. Watch him on defense...always in the right spot.

Shabazz continued to show that he is a big-time scorer...9 points on 6 shots in only 14 minutes. But there was a lot of Corey in his game last night. Supreme effort on both sides of the court, but constantly out of position on defense. Despite his scoring, his poor defense on the perimeter led to his -11. He doesn't lack effort on defense, but he needs to play smarter.

I'm okay with moral victories until Ricky gets back.

[Monster]

So we lost to statistically one of the best teams in the league and that's proof Flip's offense doesn't work? How about the fact that Lavine in his first 2 NBA starts is averaging 7 assists per game including 9 LAST night. 9 assists in his 2nd NBA start at PG. Flip has to be doing something right. I'm not saying Flip's offense is perfect but the level of criticism seems pretty harsh considering its so early in the season its a young team and we are now playing without the PG that makes everything go. What I see from Flip's offense is getting guys shots in spots that are good for them and that's a good thing. Flip is playing to guy's strengths a lot. I think the Wolves will put up more 3's as the season goes on. People want the Wolves to put up 3's but we all know there just isn't volume 3 point shooters on this team and one of them Bud looks terrible on any jumper right now which hurts the 3 point cause even more. Bazz is finding some spots to get up 3's the last couple games and I expect that to expand along with other players. Give Flip's plan for the offense a chance its far from a finished product.

Lavine continues to impress. He still hasn't face a proven above aveage NBA pg so it will be interesting to see how that goes. Q must have been happy to see him turn that corner and get to the rim. He has trouble finishing but hopefully he can improve. Sure shot selection wasn't great but a lot of the times it was a forced shot because nothing else was happening. He could be more aggressive but I like how he is actually trying to play like a PG and like not being awful overall. I'm floored that he is doing even this well at this point although after watching him in SL I figured he would be able to play this year. And yes his defense is something to be happy about his raw athletic ability and length allow him to do some things most other players can't do.

Hummel can play ball

Bennet has his issues but that block was nice and the 4 rebounds we're pretty good. I hope that knee gets right because all in all he is a pleasant surprise so far because my expectations weren't super high.

[AbeVigodaLive]

So we lost to statistically one of the best teams in the league and that's proof Flip's offense doesn't work? How about the fact that Lavine in his first 2 NBA starts is averaging 7 assists per game including 9 LAST night. 9 assists in his 2nd NBA start at PG. Flip has to be doing something right. I'm not saying Flip's offense is perfect but the level of criticism seems pretty harsh considering its so early in the season its a young team and we are now playing without the PG that makes everything go. What I see from Flip's offense is getting guys shots in spots that are good for them and that's a good thing. Flip is playing to guy's strengths a lot. I think the Wolves will put up more 3's as the season goes on. People want the Wolves to put up 3's but we all know there just isn't volume 3 point shooters on this team and one of them Bud looks terrible on any jumper right now which hurts the 3 point cause even more. Bazz is finding some spots to get up 3's the last couple games and I expect that to expand along with other players. Give Flip's plan for the offense a chance its far from a finished product.

Lavine continues to impress. He still hasn't face a proven above aveage NBA pg so it will be interesting to see how that goes. Q must have been happy to see him turn that corner and get to the rim. He has trouble finishing but hopefully he can improve. Sure shot selection wasn't great but a lot of the times it was a forced shot because nothing else was happening. He could be more aggressive but I like how he is actually trying to play like a PG and like not being awful overall. I'm floored that he is doing even this well at this point although after watching him in SL I figured he would be able to play this year. And yes his defense is something to be happy about his raw athletic ability and length allow him to do some things most other players can't do.

Hummel can play ball

Bennet has his issues but that block was nice and the 4 rebounds we're pretty good. I hope that knee gets right because all in all he is a pleasant surprise so far because my expectations weren't super high.

I don't think it's just about the volume of attempts. It's the philosophy that any open shot is a good shot, including a 22 footer. For those who remember Flip's first tenure with the Wolves, it was the team's lack of aggressiveness taking the ball to the hole (free throws) and its over-reliance on jump shots that was considered problematic when the team needed buckets in the playoffs.

Call it a small sample size. But it seems big enough to indicate that Flip has not completely bought into the new direction of the new NBA. Maybe he will. Or, maybe the NBA will overcorrect itself and a more balanced philosophy will be best and Saunders is ahead of curve.

Of course, it's early. Too early. But there are signs... and rumblings from the very beginning.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

A few thoughts:

- Wiggins was very impressive on defense last night. I'm not sure he could have guarded Harden any better. That early play where Harden had a half-step on Wiggins going to the hoop and then - wham! - he swatted it away. That was cool. Wiggins will be an elite defender before (or even if) he becomes an elite offensive player.

- As LST mentioned, we need Wiggins to grab more rebounds, get more loose balls, take more charges, beat his man down the floor, etc., etc. I'm loving the stout defense, but there is a ton of white space in his game where nothing is happening.

- It was interesting how Houston tested Wiggins early in the game with Harden and after Wiggins very much passed that test, they decided to target Martin. And it worked. Ariza absolutely abused him. Even when Martin is trying hard on defense, he still sucks on that end of the floor.

- LaVine is showing promise. I do like that he looked to attack the basket a bit more and he was definitely making some solid passes. He loves those contested pull-up jumpers, which is great when the shot clock is winding down and we need to get something off; not so great otherwise.

- Right now we are 30th in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game and 1st in giving up the most attempts to our opponent. That is a formula for failure. We're basically playing with one arm tied behind our back.

[mjs34]

Giving up the most 3's, has a lot to do with Pek's horrible PnR defense. He is continually caught in no mans land not guarding the big, but not far enough out to close down the passing lane and stop the ball handlers momentum. Rather than try and fix this, we have decided to run the weakside corner defender at the big, which opened up the corner 3 last night. They would be better off just switching and taking their chances on the guard against Pek. It will open up a lot of mid range shots, but that seems like the lesser of the two evils.

Like Abe, I remember Flip's teams from the past, and how they struggled when shots weren't falling. There is a reason the wolves failed to advance to the second round for seven consecutive years. People need to realize that a lot of Flip's success is similar to Tubby Smith in that he walked into a championship caliber team, when he went to Detroit.

I was impressed with both AW and Zach last night. AW showed some offensive ability and confidence taking Harden to the hole, and overall played Harden about as well as you can. Take away some of the atrocious calls that Harden got, and the wolves might have actually been in that game. Zach's aggressiveness is growing with his minutes, and I think his shot selection will improve as he gets more comfortable with the PG position. Hopefully that won't have to happen much longer though. I see Zach strictly as a SG in the future, being able to run the offense while Rubio is out for stretches, but ultimately looking to score. I think Westbrook's style is a good comparison. I do agree that Zach needs to focus on attacking the basket more though, but I think that will come as he realizes how to utilize his athleticism more.