Lip was right

[Q-is-here]

Man, this is the first time I can remember disagreeing with a Q take so much. I guess you can point to his time on the Jazz, but there is really no evidence that the wolves can't make a deep playoff run when Gobert has multiple great players around him. I don't see why he can't play most of the game in the playoffs and then they take him out for the last 6 minutes if necessary. Is that ideal? Hell no, but if it leads to wins, who cares!

Ha, healthy disagreements are welcomed here!

I can see the scenario you posit on Rudy's next contract when he's older and starts slowing down a bit. But given his contract size, ego, and Finch's determination to make the 2-big system work, I just don't see Rudy getting benched in crunch time minutes while he's on his current deal.

[FNG]

I have sources in Pennsylvania that tell me Q has been checking this forum every day, paralyzed with fear that someone would bump this thread! But it's time to reexamine the premise. In all fairness, Q wrote this the morning after we had been demolished by a Suns team that ran us off the court, and Rudy was terrible with his -25. But Finchie read Q's post to the team during the Saturday practice, and it motivated them so much they won 9 of the next 10 games! And here we are still in first place with only 29 games to go.

Again in all fairness, nobody knew that the twin towers plan was going to work as well as it has. Even the most optimistic posters here couldn't have imagined that KAT and Rudy would both be capable of jumping out to defend the perimeter so well...I know I couldn't. But seeing what we did last night to a very good Clippers team is more evidence that we need a "TC was right" thread. It was fun to listen to the evolution of the Clippers-loving announcers last night. In the first half, they are excited about the Clippers, and as someone here mentioned, didn't even know the names of some of the Wolves. I have to admit that I was thinking it was going to be a Wolves loss during the first half, but the announcers were sure of it. But then the defense happened, and for a while the announcers couldn't believe what they were seeing. But after a while, disbelief turned to respect. I honestly think they hadn't really watched the Wolves much this season if at all, but they ended up as true believers. This team can defend inside and out better than almost any team I ever ever seen, and I think we have just enough firepower on offense to overcome Rudy's limitations...but also, let's not overlook the positive impact Rudy's elite screening has on our offense.

This is a fun thread to re-read as we bask in the glory of the past two huge wins. Also, special recognition to you guys who talk about picking up Monte Morris in this thread...more evidence of the basketball wisdom of this group.

[Carlos Danger]

The only one that was right in this thread was KG4Ever as he predicted the Shake for Monte Morris trade months before it happened.

[Lipoli390]

Just want all of you to know that Lip was still right. I was right that the Wolves would play in the NBA these season and that all their regular season home games would be at Target Center. So I hope no one is contemplating a separate “Lip was Wrong” thread.

[Q-is-here]

Lip may not be right, but he's not wrong yet either! This team can still fall flat on its face in the playoffs. In the meantime, they are making it hard on us skeptics.

[FNG]

Lip may not be right, but he's not wrong yet either! This team can still fall flat on its face in the playoffs. In the meantime, they are making it hard on us skeptics.

I fully expect this thread to be bumped when we get upset in the first round of the playoffs by the Warriors with Rudy averaging 5 muffed passes per game .

[Q-is-here]

Just bumping this thread to keep it top of mind as we head against what on paper looks like a nightmarish matchup against our two-big lineup.

I thought that there were a few times in the regular season where teams went small against us and we truly did figure it out and came out on top. But Phoenix is a different beast entirely. No team can field as many great shooters in one lineup as they can.

[Wolvesfan21]

Just bumping this thread to keep it top of mind as we head against what on paper looks like a nightmarish matchup against our two-big lineup.

I thought that there were a few times in the regular season where teams went small against us and we truly did figure it out and came out on top. But Phoenix is a different beast entirely. No team can field as many great shooters in one lineup as they can.

This is the worst/hardest matchup for the Wolves defense in the NBA. Their ability to be quick, hit 3's at a high clip AND also tear up the midrange is a perfect storm. No other team has this firepower and skill. The good news is if you do beat the Suns, the path might just get easier matchup wise (not homecourt though). I'd rather face any other team in the league. So beat down these bitches and we can go on a run.

[FNG]

Just bumping this thread to keep it top of mind as we head against what on paper looks like a nightmarish matchup against our two-big lineup.

I thought that there were a few times in the regular season where teams went small against us and we truly did figure it out and came out on top. But Phoenix is a different beast entirely. No team can field as many great shooters in one lineup as they can.

No question that the Suns are a matchup that scares the crap out of most of us here. Great ball movement and multiple shooters is a difficult scenario for any team to defend, but perhaps even more difficult if you have two 7 footers on the floor. I'm not sure I was alone in feeling a bit uneasy going into yesterday's game...3 decisive losses during the regular season can do that to a guy. But at least we can now say we passed the first test and showed that the Twin Towers experiment could work in the playoffs. Now, can they keep it up?

The narrative that "Rudy will get played off the floor in the playoffs" reached the conclusive stage that June night in 2021 when Utah collapsed in an elimination Game 6 because Rudy wouldn't leave the paint to defend Terrence Mann. But I think Jon K nailed it back in January when it became clear that the Wolves had by far the best defense in the Association with his article in the Athletic: "Rudy hasn't gotten better on defense, he's just gotten better teammates". Rudy has surprisingly quick feet for such a big man, but he seemed unwilling to leave the paint back in his Utah days. But watching him jump out yesterday to defend the perimeter made me recall Jon's hypothesis...he doesn't have to worry about leaving the paint, when big men like KAT, Jaden, SloMo and even Naz are back there as low men to protect the rim. Our defensive rotations yesterday were outstanding all game. I'm not sure I agreed with Finchie going zone when the Suns went 5 out with no center, but even that seemed to work okay.

But the main thing we get with the Twin Towers lineup is rebounding dominance. The Wolves outrebounded the Suns 52-28 yesterday. 52-28! And they only allowed 3 harmless offensive rebounds, while collecting 13 themselves. We are simply too big for the Suns to compete with us on the boards when Rudy and Towns are healthy and on the court together. Doesn't hurt when Ant decides to use his strength and athletic advantage to add 9 rebounds himself. If we can keep rebounding like that, we will win this series.

The other concern about Rudy in the playoffs was that his bad hands and poor free throw shooting will force him off the court. But yesterday he passed that test too with 6 for 7 free throw shooting and only 1 turnover. I don't think we are going to consistently get those results from Rudy, but when you can win by 25, you can afford a couple more turnovers and missed free throws.

So TC's Experiment has at least won round one. Let's see if we can keep it up Tuesday night.

[Q-is-here]

The initial thesis of this thread was less about Rudy being played off the floor defensively and more about the offense with Rudy...that teams will go small and bait the Wolves to force feed him the ball inside only for him to fumble it away, clog driving lanes, miss free throws, etc. Obviously that didn't happen yesterday, so in that sense, Rudy has held up his end of the bargain on both ends of the court by willingly contesting perimeter shooters on defense and being secure with the ball and hitting his FTAs yesterday.

(there was that one very clumsy high pick and roll where Ant made the pass to Rudy and it promptly got stolen from him. It was probably one of the more robotic pick and roll passes I've seen, as Ant just struggles so much with making clean interior passes to a rolling Rudy).