Hornets at Wolves GDT

[Q-is-here]

Wow. That was definitely a vintage Wolves performance. I saw Finch's post game comments, I read between the lines and feel it was a situation where it was Towns getting his and not making the right play (or playing defense). Here is Town's 4th quarter:

11:45 - Karl-Anthony Towns misses 23-foot three point jumper'
10:56 - Karl-Anthony Towns makes 9-foot driving floating jump shot (Jordan McLaughlin assists)
10:26 - Karl-Anthony Towns misses 24-foot three point jumper
09:48 - JT Thor blocks Karl-Anthony Towns 's 5-foot driving layup
09:06 - JT Thor blocks Karl-Anthony Towns 's 4-foot two point shot
08:37 - Karl-Anthony Towns misses 22-foot jumper
06:05 - Karl-Anthony Towns turnover
05:37 - Karl-Anthony Towns makes driving layup (Kyle Anderson assists)
04:03 - Karl-Anthony Towns misses two point shot
00:05 - Leaky Black blocks Karl-Anthony Towns 's 5-foot driving layup
00:01 - Karl-Anthony Towns misses 29-foot three point jumper

I count 11 possessions for him with the following results:
* 2 made shots (4 points total)
* 5 missed shots
* 3 of his shots blocked
* 1 offensive foul/turnover
* Oh - and I'm assuming stellar defense

Way to put us on your back Karl

Wow, thank you I guess for laying that out for us Carolos, LOL. What a disaster.

I know some of the "immaturity" that's been referred to is KAT hunting for numbers, but seriously, who else was going to score for us? Conley was on the bench, Gobert had bobble-hands, and Ant refused to engage for the most part.

So I think this was less about being immature and more about KAT choking, not sure which is worse! One of those layups KAT missed was wide open and he just flubbed it. He also missed some critical FTs which is crazy considering how hot he had been.

[FNG]

I couldn't watch this one, so I'll offer some pithy knee-jerk comments:

You are what your record says you are, and currently we have the best record in the West.

We also have the best defense on the West...by far.

But, Mike Conley has played in almost all of the games that created those stats.

KAT is a tremendous shooter.

Ant is an exciting elite scorer, who can't be counted on in the clutch

Rudy remains a defensive force to be reckoned with.

We have blown two 4th quarter leads in the past two games, but our most important player (Mike Conley) was not there for either of them...he missed last night's game for rest, and had an uncharacteristically horrible game against OkC.

Forget the talk about whether this is KAT's or Ant's team. Maybe one day one of them might have the pedigree to have it be "their team", but the last two games have made one thing perfectly clear...this is Mike Conley's team. If he can stay healthy, I have seen nothing in the first 43 games of this season that tells me we can't win an NBA championship this season. But when he doesn't play, or has a rare bad game, we are nothing more than an average team.

[Carlos Danger]

Wow, thank you I guess for laying that out for us Carolos, LOL. What a disaster.

I know some of the "immaturity" that's been referred to is KAT hunting for numbers, but seriously, who else was going to score for us? Conley was on the bench, Gobert had bobble-hands, and Ant refused to engage for the most part.

So I think this was less about being immature and more about KAT choking, not sure which is worse! One of those layups KAT missed was wide open and he just flubbed it. He also missed some critical FTs which is crazy considering how hot he had been.

You are correct in that there wasn't much help on the offensive side based on looking at the box/logs. I haven't watched the game (and probably won't knowing the result). Here's what I found in the game log for Q4 from the other guys:

Gobert: 3 points. 1 for 1 (a put back) and 1 of 2 in free throws
NAW: 5 points. 1 for 2 in 3 pointers plus 2 for 2 in free throws.
Edwards 4 points. 1 for 4 shooting plus 2 for 2 in free throws
JMac 0 points. 0-1
Shake 0 points. 0-2
McDaniels 0 pts. 0-1
SloMo 0 points. No shots (1 turnover)

I think part of why Finch was mad is that we reverted to "old Timberwolves". This team is not built for outscoring people. We are built to defend. And it looks like that went out the window last night. From the log, I count that the Hornets made 15 of 22 shots in the fourth quarter including 5 straight to set the tone in the 4th.

Regarding offense, (easy for me from my ivory tower) assuming the other team is clamping down on KAT after he scored 50 plus, then the smart play is to get the ball to other (open) shooters. When I see he had three of his shots blocked, that tells me he's not the open man and shouldn't be shooting. And I've watched enough of KAT over the years to know that when his shot doesn't go down, he's complaining vs. sprinting back on defense. Ugh. It's unfathomable to be complaining about a guy who just scored a franchise record 62 points. But here I am.

Regarding Edwards, I see he's getting some heat. Some of that possibly deserved as he's a main guy. But I see he had 11 assists and was a +9 even on a bad night of shooting. So, to me, maybe he wasn't as big of a problem - IDK.

[FNG]

Some good points, Carlos (from another guy who didn't watch the game)...we are definitely built to defend, not outscore other teams, and it clearly looks like we abandoned that strategy last night. And I also agree that despite his poor shooting night, we have to tip our hats to Ant for 11 assists and only 1 turnover.

The Wolves are no longer undefeated when they have more than 26 assists, but we are still undefeated when we have at least 8 steals. Defense.

I'm reading some reports that Finchie yanked KAT out of the game in the 4th quarter because he was pissed at him. True? Was it his defense? Forced shots? If it's true, I'm fairly confident this is the first time in NBA history an angry coach has benched a player with more than 60 points.

Okay, on to the next one. I predict that if Conley returns healthy, the gloom and doom here will disappear.

[kekgeek]

Yes. That’s what I’ve been saying all season even as we’re been sitting atop the Western Conference. This teams isn’t designed to win an NBA champion in 2023. Maybe in 1985, but not 2023.

Idk our “star” guard is literally shooting 0% when we are losing in clutch situations this year under 2 minutes. 0!!!!!!

I won't disagree with the fact that Ant has not been good in clutch situations - facts are facts. But do you know the sample size of this particular metric? Is he 0 for 3 for example? Which is a lot different than 0 for 9 or 0 for 10.

Fair response so I looked it up. He is 0 for 4 when trailing by 3 or less and 1 for 6 when leading by 4 or less.

So 1 for 10 in clutch situations under 2 minutes. Small sample size, is a fair response.

He shot 30% last year on 13 attempts when trailing last year

He shot 16% 2 years ago on only 6 attempts (Dlo took the shots)

He shot 20% (2 for 10) in clutch situation in the grizzlies series.

Was better in Nuggets series shooting 40% (2 for 5)

[kekgeek]

Some good points, Carlos (from another guy who didn't watch the game)...we are definitely built to defend, not outscore other teams, and it clearly looks like we abandoned that strategy last night. And I also agree that despite his poor shooting night, we have to tip our hats to Ant for 11 assists and only 1 turnover.

The Wolves are no longer undefeated when they have more than 26 assists, but we are still undefeated when we have at least 8 steals. Defense.

I'm reading some reports that Finchie yanked KAT out of the game in the 4th quarter because he was pissed at him. True? Was it his defense? Forced shots? If it's true, I'm fairly confident this is the first time in NBA history an angry coach has benched a player with more than 60 points.

Okay, on to the next one. I predict that if Conley returns healthy, the gloom and doom here will disappear.

They did an offensive to defensive sub. Now Kat played sub par defense this game and was hunting shots. (Ant was hunting assists). I don’t think he got benched because he was mad, played the last 3 offensive possessions. The defense was not great but man the hornets made some hard shots

[FNG]

Some good points, Carlos (from another guy who didn't watch the game)...we are definitely built to defend, not outscore other teams, and it clearly looks like we abandoned that strategy last night. And I also agree that despite his poor shooting night, we have to tip our hats to Ant for 11 assists and only 1 turnover.

The Wolves are no longer undefeated when they have more than 26 assists, but we are still undefeated when we have at least 8 steals. Defense.

I'm reading some reports that Finchie yanked KAT out of the game in the 4th quarter because he was pissed at him. True? Was it his defense? Forced shots? If it's true, I'm fairly confident this is the first time in NBA history an angry coach has benched a player with more than 60 points.

Okay, on to the next one. I predict that if Conley returns healthy, the gloom and doom here will disappear.

They did an offensive to defensive sub. Now Kat played sub par defense this game and was hunting shots. (Ant was hunting assists). I don’t think he got benched because he was mad, played the last 3 offensive possessions. The defense was not great but man the hornets made some hard shots

I sort of get the offense/defense thing in the final minute. But KAT was also benched from the 3:53 mark until 1:44 (a very critical 2 minutes) and again from 1:07 until .12. Seems like a long time for a 63-point scorer to be on the bench in a close game. I can't remember where I read Finchie was pissed at KAT, but I'll try to find it.

[Q-is-here]

Some good points, Carlos (from another guy who didn't watch the game)...we are definitely built to defend, not outscore other teams, and it clearly looks like we abandoned that strategy last night. And I also agree that despite his poor shooting night, we have to tip our hats to Ant for 11 assists and only 1 turnover.

The Wolves are no longer undefeated when they have more than 26 assists, but we are still undefeated when we have at least 8 steals. Defense.

I'm reading some reports that Finchie yanked KAT out of the game in the 4th quarter because he was pissed at him. True? Was it his defense? Forced shots? If it's true, I'm fairly confident this is the first time in NBA history an angry coach has benched a player with more than 60 points.

Okay, on to the next one. I predict that if Conley returns healthy, the gloom and doom here will disappear.

They did an offensive to defensive sub. Now Kat played sub par defense this game and was hunting shots. (Ant was hunting assists). I don’t think he got benched because he was mad, played the last 3 offensive possessions. The defense was not great but man the hornets made some hard shots

I sort of get the offense/defense thing in the final minute. But KAT was also benched from the 3:53 mark until 1:44 (a very critical 2 minutes) and again from 1:07 until .12. Seems like a long time for a 63-point scorer to be on the bench in a close game. I can't remember where I read Finchie was pissed at KAT, but I'll try to find it.

Keep in mind that he had been in the game since the 2:04 mark of the 3rd period, so it could have also been Finch trying to ensure KAT got a bit of a breather heading into the final couple minutes, at which point he did the offensive/defensive subbing.

For those that didn't watch, Charlotte went small all game and it required KAT and Gobert to play out on the perimeter quite a bit and contest shots. KAT still logged 38 minutes, which is a lot by today's standards.

[Q-is-here]

Idk our “star” guard is literally shooting 0% when we are losing in clutch situations this year under 2 minutes. 0!!!!!!

I won't disagree with the fact that Ant has not been good in clutch situations - facts are facts. But do you know the sample size of this particular metric? Is he 0 for 3 for example? Which is a lot different than 0 for 9 or 0 for 10.

Fair response so I looked it up. He is 0 for 4 when trailing by 3 or less and 1 for 6 when leading by 4 or less.

So 1 for 10 in clutch situations under 2 minutes. Small sample size, is a fair response.

He shot 30% last year on 13 attempts when trailing last year

He shot 16% 2 years ago on only 6 attempts (Dlo took the shots)

He shot 20% (2 for 10) in clutch situation in the grizzlies series.

Was better in Nuggets series shooting 40% (2 for 5)

Well, your larger point stands. You add up each of these small samples across multiple seasons and the cumulative sample size is big enough to make a fair statement that he isn't good in the clutch.

[FNG]

Good research guys...pretty clear Ant is not yet someone we can count on in the clutch.

Also thanks for the insight on KAT and Rudy having to defend the perimeter and probably being exhausted in the 4th. I saw some video of Rudy completely locking down wings on the perimeter...it's amazing to me how quick he is with all that size.

Finchie said our performance was disgusting and immature. I didn't see the game. Whom in particular was he calling out, and for what behavior?