Kekgeek grades G68 vs Jazz

[kekgeek]

Conley: C-
Ant: A
Mcdaniels: C+
Slow Mo: A
Naz: A-
Naw: B
Jmac: A+
Morris B+
Garza: D+
Warren: D+

Finch: A+

[Phenom]

I think Jaden's defense and scrappiness gets him into the Bs at least.

[Lipoli390]

Conley: C-
Ant: A-
Mcdaniels: C-
Slow Mo: A
Naz: A-
Naw: B
Jmac: A+
Garza: D+
Warren: D+

Finch: A+

Well done, kek. I’ve always had minor quibbles with you on a grade or two, but this time I can’t come up with a single quibble. This team is being tested and we’re seeing some impressive resilience. Can’t say enough positive things about JMac. He’s almost always a positive difference maker. And let’s not forget that the Wolves would not have won this game without Ant’s 32 points. His three-point shooting wasn’t on but he put up over 30 points to go with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He’s clear this team’s MVP for the season.

[kekgeek]

I think Jaden's defense and scrappiness gets him into the Bs at least.

I actually agree. I’m going to give him a C+. His offense was a killer but he did so many small things.

[Coolbreeze44]

I think Jaden's defense and scrappiness gets him into the Bs at least.

I actually agree. I’m going to give him a C+. His offense was a killer but he did so many small things.

He led the team in rebounds, how often can you say that?

[FNG]

I think Jaden's defense and scrappiness gets him into the Bs at least.

I actually agree. I’m going to give him a C+. His offense was a killer but he did so many small things.

He led the team in rebounds, how often can you say that?

Not often. But while I'm still not going to label Jaden a good rebounder, he's a different player when the situation forces him to defend at the 4 like he did last night. Rather than chasing his man around the perimeter, he's near the basket in more of a rebounding position. He also gets to be the low man on defense, and he showed off last night what a terrific weak side shot blocker he can be in that role. He's shooting poorly (now 33.7% on threes), but he is so valuable on defense.

[Carlos Danger]

Not going to lie...I went to bed after Q1 and was assuming I'd wake up to reading about an upset. Looks like they really locked it down after a shit start.

Sucks about Naz and Rudy. I doubt this would happen, but if ever there was a time to take a scheduled loss - maybe tonight's the time? Let our main guys rest and give: Miller, Minott, Nix, Garz, WMJ their first ever significant minutes? Again - that will never happen. But I just think it's going to be tough to win tonight. Prove me wrong Finch.

Regarding McDaniels...I've been more down on this guy than anyone this season. But I am encouraged by two recent trends:
1.) He seems to have upped his shooting volume a little bit. I'm ok with that. Yes, his shot is not falling. But he's gotta shoot. And his career FG% indicates he'll be fine long term. Keep shooting!

2.) His rebounding is up a lot since Towns went down. We needed that from him.

This is going to be a down year for him - He can't change that with only 14 games left. But I'm hoping he can snap out of whatever funk he's been in all year (offensively) and have a successful post season.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I wanted to mention this after Saturday, but felt 5 games wasn't enough time. Well, now we're at 6 games. Eventually, we'll need to determine whether it's real or just an anomaly.

TJ Warren looks washed.

On Saturday, he struggled with an advantage in one-on-one situations on the break. TWICE. NBA players shouldn't struggle with that. It was noticeable, and possibly very telling.

He's 5 - 21 fg (0 - 6 3fg) over the past 4 games. What's even worse, he hasn't shot a free throw. It's a sign that he's not very aggressive even when he gets shots up.

To make things even worse, he seems lost on defense. This one is more puzzling, but not totally unusual. Guys who lose it suddenly seem to make more mental mistakes, too, even though you'd think savvy veterans would make fewer mistakes. Maybe it's just a thing where they no longer have the juice to make up for miscues.

[kekgeek]

I wanted to mention this after Saturday, but felt 5 games wasn't enough time. Well, now we're at 6 games. Eventually, we'll need to determine whether it's real or just an anomaly.

TJ Warren looks washed.

On Saturday, he struggled with an advantage in one-on-one situations on the break. TWICE. NBA players shouldn't struggle with that. It was noticeable, and possibly very telling.

He's 5 - 21 fg (0 - 6 3fg) over the past 4 games. What's even worse, he hasn't shot a free throw. It's a sign that he's not very aggressive even when he gets shots up.

To make things even worse, he seems lost on defense. This one is more puzzling, but not totally unusual. Guys who lose it suddenly seem to make more mental mistakes, too, even though you'd think savvy veterans would make fewer mistakes. Maybe it's just a thing where they no longer have the juice to make up for miscues.

Agreed, outside of game one he has been bad. It just shows how little they trust Minott

[FNG]

I'm going to take a shot at Naz's A- grade. While he clearly had an A first half on offense, I can give him no better than a D- on defense. I watched a late night replay with my honey, and time after time she made me rewind after she asked "WTF is Naz doing?" I don't fault his effort (although I'm not sure why he almost never has his arms up...such a simple thing to do), but over and over he looks completely lost on defense. You would think a guy who is so effective in running the pick and roll on offense would at least have a clue how to defend it!

When NAW started the second half instead of Naz, my honey said "I love Naz, but we're going to win the game now". And sure enough, we gave up 14 fewer points in the second half while scoring 8 more, and won the game. It's not completely out of the question to say that we won the game because Naz got hurt. Defense wins games, so I can give him no more than a C.