Thoughts on KAT reintegration

[Q-is-here]

You guys have probably seen Shams' post that KAT actually participated in practice Sunday. I saw him putting up shots, but Shams' post seems to indicate he did more than that. It is starting to sound more and more likely that we may see KAT before the playoffs (maybe Friday against Atlanta?).

With that, I am solidly on board with keeping the starting lineup the way it has been all season when we have been healthy. Yes, Naz has been terrific in KAT's absence, but he can still be maddening on defense. I think his best role is as a 6th man...providing firepower off the bench without having to defend an opponent's starters as much. KAT's return not only restores our elite defensive starting five, but also gives us a bench that I don't think any other team in the playoffs can match.

Agreed FNG. Dane Moore and Britt Robson were debating this issue of how to re-integrate KAT and Britt brought up the political delicacy of it. But Dane made a good point that this offseason may force changes no matter what happens in the post-season, so Finch needs to do whatever it takes, regardless if it pisses off someone. So while it makes sense to get KAT back in the starting lineup, that doesn't mean he has to play 30+ minutes every game. It may even mean benching KAT late in games in favor of Naz or SloMo depending on the situation and how KAT is playing.

The good news is that we are no longer solely dependent on KAT. We can win games he plays poorly in. But for us to win a title, we probably need the best version of KAT. I think it was Dane that said Ant and Rudy help set the floor for this team, but KAT can raise the ceiling if we get the version with minimal stray voltage and quick decisions on offense.

[Carlos Danger]

You guys have probably seen Shams' post that KAT actually participated in practice Sunday. I saw him putting up shots, but Shams' post seems to indicate he did more than that. It is starting to sound more and more likely that we may see KAT before the playoffs (maybe Friday against Atlanta?).

With that, I am solidly on board with keeping the starting lineup the way it has been all season when we have been healthy. Yes, Naz has been terrific in KAT's absence, but he can still be maddening on defense. I think his best role is as a 6th man...providing firepower off the bench without having to defend an opponent's starters as much. KAT's return not only restores our elite defensive starting five, but also gives us a bench that I don't think any other team in the playoffs can match.

FNG - I've read the bolded part this from a few on here. But I still can't get stats to back that up. Kek and I tossed it around a little bit like a month ago. But we agreed to disagree on the how to interpret the data. There are a number of ways to look at this. But I like easy, so I've checked Points Per Game.

In 60 games with Towns this season, the Wolves gave up 107 points per game on defense (rounding up)
In 18 games without Towns, the Wolves gave up 104 points per game (also rounding up)

So, as far as what I'm looking at, Naz isn't hurting this team at all with his defense. In fact, it could be argued, that they are playing better defense (based on Points Per Game).

Now, I'm sure someone will chime in with other stats or ways to evaluate this - which is fine (let's get this board fired up!). But I for one think the whole Naz defensive deficiencies thing is completely overblown. Do I think he's a great defender? Nope. But if people are going to credit Towns with improving his defense (even though it's the Rudy effect), then we should give the same latitude to Naz. Both guys can function just fine as long as Rudy is protecting the rim. In fact, here is another stat I like from NBA.com which shows defended shots percentages. The only filter I use is team so it's just shows the Wolves. You'll see both Towns and Naz have the exact same percentage difference (FG% vs. Defended):
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defen ... _PLUSMINUS

[FNG]

Thanks for those stats, Carlos. Naz is complicated for me, because the eye test doesn't tell me he is a good defender. For more than anyone else on this team, I find myself pausing the replay to try to figure out what he is doing on defense (kind of like what I used to do frequently with Beasley and Russell). But I appreciate your stats which tell me that Naz's impact is better than what I am seeing.

[Q-is-here]

I think where the disagreement comes from (as I'm with Kekgeek on this) is when Naz plays Center without either KAT or Rudy also on the floor. He can get overwhelmed by more physically imposing Centers and has a hard time maintaining position, especially on the defensive glass. Where I think his good defensive stats come from is mostly when he's paired with Rudy or KAT, as Naz does fine as a secondary rim protector and guarding on the perimeter against other PFs and even some wings. But put him on an island as the only big on the floor....not so great.

[Carlos Danger]

I think where the disagreement comes from (as I'm with Kekgeek on this) is when Naz plays Center without either KAT or Rudy also on the floor. He can get overwhelmed by more physically imposing Centers and has a hard time maintaining position, especially on the defensive glass. Where I think his good defensive stats come from is mostly when he's paired with Rudy or KAT, as Naz does fine as a secondary rim protector and guarding on the perimeter against other PFs and even some wings. But put him on an island as the only big on the floor....not so great.

I think we all agree with that. But I don't think the plan was to ever consider Towns or Naz as a traditional Center. That's why they made the Rudy trade.

Ironically, to me, the biggest issue with Towns going down is how it hurt our second unit. Without Naz, the second unit really lacks scoring. In other words, I think Naz filled in fine for Towns (18.9 points and 7.2 rebounds since Towns went down). But we don't have anyone to backfill for losing Naz on the second unit.

[Wolvesfan21]

You guys have probably seen Shams' post that KAT actually participated in practice Sunday. I saw him putting up shots, but Shams' post seems to indicate he did more than that. It is starting to sound more and more likely that we may see KAT before the playoffs (maybe Friday against Atlanta?).

With that, I am solidly on board with keeping the starting lineup the way it has been all season when we have been healthy. Yes, Naz has been terrific in KAT's absence, but he can still be maddening on defense. I think his best role is as a 6th man...providing firepower off the bench without having to defend an opponent's starters as much. KAT's return not only restores our elite defensive starting five, but also gives us a bench that I don't think any other team in the playoffs can match.

FNG - I've read the bolded part this from a few on here. But I still can't get stats to back that up. Kek and I tossed it around a little bit like a month ago. But we agreed to disagree on the how to interpret the data. There are a number of ways to look at this. But I like easy, so I've checked Points Per Game.

In 60 games with Towns this season, the Wolves gave up 107 points per game on defense (rounding up)
In 18 games without Towns, the Wolves gave up 104 points per game (also rounding up)

So, as far as what I'm looking at, Naz isn't hurting this team at all with his defense. In fact, it could be argued, that they are playing better defense (based on Points Per Game).

Now, I'm sure someone will chime in with other stats or ways to evaluate this - which is fine (let's get this board fired up!). But I for one think the whole Naz defensive deficiencies thing is completely overblown. Do I think he's a great defender? Nope. But if people are going to credit Towns with improving his defense (even though it's the Rudy effect), then we should give the same latitude to Naz. Both guys can function just fine as long as Rudy is protecting the rim. In fact, here is another stat I like from NBA.com which shows defended shots percentages. The only filter I use is team so it's just shows the Wolves. You'll see both Towns and Naz have the exact same percentage difference (FG% vs. Defended):
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defen ... _PLUSMINUS

I heard on I think Danes podcast the Wolves were 5th in defensive rating since KAT went out. But they were easily 1st when he was playing. I'm sure that accounts for points per possession versus PPG.

We also have to factor that Naz is pretty good against backups and then think about who is subbing for Naz's minutes as well. Luka is bad, JMac and others also are not great either. So really it's been a trickle down effect. Naz at center has been hit or miss also. He just never looks right to me as a defensive center. He is better on the perimeter using his quickness.

[Phenom]

Towns has been cleared for full contact practice.

I'm honestly bowled over by how this progressed. It would be amazing to have him with some playing time under his belt going into round 1. I was not expecting this.

[Q-is-here]

Towns has been cleared for full contact practice.

I'm honestly bowled over by how this progressed. It would be amazing to have him with some playing time under his belt going into round 1. I was not expecting this.

Yeah, big news indeed. May be he can get into the Atlanta and Phoenix games to wrap up the regular season?

With a top 3 seed guaranteed, everyone being healthy and with fresh legs is more important to me than being the #1 seed, so he shouldn't be rushed into action (i.e. the Denver game) but we also want him to get back into game shape and that doesn't happen unless you actually play a couple games.