Let's keep it goin'- Raptors/Wolves GDT

[Phenom]

20 straight losses in one city is crazy

[60WinTim]

This Randle-Gobert thing could kill the entire season…

[kekgeek]

The wolves have had one of the easiest schedules in the NBA, this team is just not good

[BloopOracle]

Everything is fine, everyone is happy, nothing to see here please move along

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's stupid DVR Review thing:

- Funny thing about expectations... I've watched the Timberwolves since 1989. Religiously. I've seen more bad basketball during that time than virtually... EVERY OTHER NBA FAN! (and I'm joined by a few here). We're only 15 games in... and the Wolves having a winning record is a very rare thing... but I have not "enjoyed" a full game of hoops yet. Even the Toronto game I went to and sat near Lip's sweet seats... I tried to take a video of Edwards for my kids. He had three straight horrific possessions. It was probably a sign of what to expect.

It's amazing that even a fan of so much bad basketball is entirely bored with a winning team. That's how bad it's been.

- Naz Reid is perfect as the "backup QB" type. He was shielded from games like this because he was Towns' backup. A guy on the cusp of making $30+ million can't have those types of games. Especially because he's terrible defensively every game. Imagine the criticism of Towns if he had that sort of game. 2 points. 5 fouls. 2 turnovers.

- Edwards played an atrocious first half. I imagine he'll take blame and say he'll be better. Rinse. Repeat.

- A lot of missed bunnies early. A "bad team" that wanted it more than a "good team" late. Rinse. Repeat.

- "The incident." The game was 95 - 95. Minnesota had the ball. Randle looked off Gobert... who was already camped for 3+ seconds. Gobert deliberately took that three-second call. Then, he deliberately fouled the Raptors when they were in the bonus. The Raptors then went on a 10-1 run. Game over. (I shut it off).

A lot of players played poorly. But that loss is on Gobert.

- Randle is a tough watch. And I imagine he's a tough teammate on the court, too. Not... great.

- Dillingham was -14 in 10 minutes. -5 in 5 minutes last game. -2 in 3 minutes the previous game. -13 in 9 minutes before that. That's -34 in his last 27 minutes on the court. I know it's a noisy stat... but add it to the eye test... and he's simply not ready for the NBA. By how much teammates are constantly talking to him out there... it appears that every teammate knows it, too.

- This is the 4th atrocious loss. 5th bad loss. Meanwhile, they're lucky to have won some of the other games. This team is fortunate to be 8 - 7. Things could get much worse...

- Gross.




[Note: At the same time, this is what makes sports so fascinating. Get rid of the analytics. Get rid of all the stats. Sometimes, it just comes down to chemistry, fit, personality, et al. A lot of people might scream about the silliness of such a thing... but every person who's stepped on the court in any halfway meaningful way knows it's a real thing. This might be one of those seasons that happens in sports, when it just "doesn't work." That's why it's so important to strike when it does work... see last year. You never know when you'll find it again.]

[Wolvesfan21]

I actually feel more confident about beating the C's versus beating the Raps. Just because we half ass it against "bad" teams. These are still NBA players and everyone can play to some extent or simply get a hot shooting night. You can't just half ass your way to victory. Hustle, just simply playing hard is half the battle. Talent loses to hustle and toughness all the time! Got to show up for every game. It is an annoying trait that is tough to root for (the Wiggins type).

Lets see if this team starts to enjoy winning more then they dislike losing.

Too predictable. Now watch them beat the Celtics.

[DNatagal]

They are not a fun team to watch. They do not excel at any one portion of the game that is exciting.
Tough watch as a super "deep" bench doesn't actually get on the court when the starters are struggling.
As Abe pointed out, we all watch the Wolves through thick and thin, but I almoat miss those teams that had no chance to win on a nightly basis, at least they tried and were just overmatched on most nights.

[FNG]

Abe's stupid DVR Review thing:

- Funny thing about expectations... I've watched the Timberwolves since 1989. Religiously. I've seen more bad basketball during that time than virtually... EVERY OTHER NBA FAN! (and I'm joined by a few here). We're only 15 games in... and the Wolves having a winning record is a very rare thing... but I have not "enjoyed" a full game of hoops yet. Even the Toronto game I went to and sat near Lip's sweet seats... I tried to take a video of Edwards for my kids. He had three straight horrific possessions. It was probably a sign of what to expect.

It's amazing that even a fan of so much bad basketball is entirely bored with a winning team. That's how bad it's been.

- Naz Reid is perfect as the "backup QB" type. He was shielded from games like this because he was Towns' backup. A guy on the cusp of making $30+ million can't have those types of games. Especially because he's terrible defensively every game. Imagine the criticism of Towns if he had that sort of game. 2 points. 5 fouls. 2 turnovers.

- Edwards played an atrocious first half. I imagine he'll take blame and say he'll be better. Rinse. Repeat.

- A lot of missed bunnies early. A "bad team" that wanted it more than a "good team" late. Rinse. Repeat.

- "The incident." The game was 95 - 95. Minnesota had the ball. Randle looked off Gobert... who was already camped for 3+ seconds. Gobert deliberately took that three-second call. Then, he deliberately fouled the Raptors when they were in the bonus. The Raptors then went on a 10-1 run. Game over. (I shut it off).

A lot of players played poorly. But that loss is on Gobert.

- Randle is a tough watch. And I imagine he's a tough teammate on the court, too. Not... great.

- Dillingham was -14 in 10 minutes. -5 in 5 minutes last game. -2 in 3 minutes the previous game. -13 in 9 minutes before that. That's -34 in his last 27 minutes on the court. I know it's a noisy stat... but add it to the eye test... and he's simply not ready for the NBA. By how much teammates are constantly talking to him out there... it appears that every teammate knows it, too.

- This is the 4th atrocious loss. 5th bad loss. Meanwhile, they're lucky to have won some of the other games. This team is fortunate to be 8 - 7. Things could get much worse...

- Gross.




[Note: At the same time, this is what makes sports so fascinating. Get rid of the analytics. Get rid of all the stats. Sometimes, it just comes down to chemistry, fit, personality, et al. A lot of people might scream about the silliness of such a thing... but every person who's stepped on the court in any halfway meaningful way knows it's a real thing. This might be one of those seasons that happens in sports, when it just "doesn't work." That's why it's so important to strike when it does work... see last year. You never know when you'll find it again.]

Stellar report, Abe...I agree with all of your bullet points except one. I have actually enjoyed watching this team this year despite their inconsistency...until tonight. This one really left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Rudy incident was inexcusable. By my count it cost us 6 critical points in a 5 point loss. The 4 we didn't get on the offensive end with his 3-second pout and subsequent turnover when Randle felt he had to force the ball into him, and the two free throws he awarded Barnes by stupidly hip checking him. We're not likely to beat Boston this weekend anyway, so Finchie needs to bench him for a game and give Luka the start. Consequences.

I probably criticize Ant as much as anyone here, but I liked him getting in Rudy's face after his immature act...somebody needed to do it.

I've been saying it over and over...two things can be true at once: I like the Dillingham pick, and he is far from ready for meaningful NBA minutes in close games. Yes, +/- is a noisy stat, but he consistently costs us more than a point a minute whenever Finchie puts him out there. It's difficult to put up a -14 in only 10 minutes! Good on Finchie for realizing we can't play man defense with Rob out there, but unfortunately our zone defense just hasn't been effective this year. Rob is quick and he works hard out there, but he generally looks completely lost. Nobody needs regular G League minutes more than him.

[FNG]

There was a former poster here who many thought had some good takes...I thought his tunnel vision generally led to some of the worse takes on this board. If he loved someone, that player could do no wrong...and just the opposite if he hated someone.

He hated Mike Conley because he never forgave him for replacing the player he loved most. After it was announced NAW would be replacing an injured Conley, he tweeted that we just got better. Really? We're better with NAW (one of my favorite players, by the way) starting at PG over Conley???

Mike has now missed two games this season, and they have arguably been our two worst games of the year:

Portland: 16 assists, 13 turnovers, 39.4% shooting, 8 point loss to a bad team
Toronto: 16 assists, 17 turnovers!, 41.3 % shooting, 5 point loss to a very bad team.

The Wolves average over 26 assists when Mike plays (10 more than when he doesn't), and we shoot almost 48%.

It's kind of sad that we are so dependent on a 37-year-old PG. And no, we are not better when NAW starts for him at PG. Come on...

[AbeVigodaLive]

There was a former poster here who many thought had some good takes...I thought his tunnel vision generally led to some of the worse takes on this board. If he loved someone, that player could do no wrong...and just the opposite if he hated someone.

He hated Mike Conley because he never forgave him for replacing the player he loved most. After it was announced NAW would be replacing an injured Conley, he tweeted that we just got better. Really? We're better with NAW (one of my favorite players, by the way) starting at PG over Conley???

Mike has now missed two games this season, and they have arguably been our two worst games of the year:

Portland: 16 assists, 13 turnovers, 39.4% shooting, 8 point loss to a bad team
Toronto: 16 assists, 17 turnovers!, 41.3 % shooting, 5 point loss to a very bad team.

The Wolves average over 26 assists when Mike plays (10 more than when he doesn't), and we shoot almost 48%.

It's kind of sad that we are so dependent on a 37-year-old PG. And no, we are not better when NAW starts for him at PG. Come on...

As noted by someone else... Tyus Jones would be so good for this team.

Heck, Tre Jones would be a huge get for this team.

As for the Gobert stuff... yes... his antics cost the team the game. That shouldn't mask just how bad of a fit Randle looks like out there. Stone hands or not... that's the one time you have to throw the ball to Gobert. He had Barnes under the basket and he was stationary. He'll catch those passes.