It’s the Offense, Stupid!

[Lipoli390]

I’m paraphrasing the political strategist, James Carville, who captured the essence of what drives elections when he famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid!”

The Wolves scored 104 points and gave up 115 against the Kings Wednesday night. I noticed that 12 of the 14 winning teams Wednesday night scored at least 115 and 11 of those teams scored more than 115, many of them over 120.

There are 11 teams ahead of the Wolves in the Western Conference standings and 9 of those teams have averaged more points per game than the Wolves while only 5 have given up fewer points per game. Looking at the entire League, only 8 teams in the entire 30-team League have given up fewer points per game than the Wolves.

We can all lament the decline in the Wolves defense from last season. We can complain about Randle’s poor defense and pull our hair out over the stretches when Ant doesn’t appear to be giving an all-out effort on the defensive end. But this season is just a typical one in the modern NBA, which means it’s about the offense. There’s no doubt the Wolves would be better defensively with KAT instead of Randle. But the main reason the Wolves are lottery bound is because they’re not a good offensive team in a predominately offensive-oriented League. So while basketball purists pine for a return to the Wolves stifling defense from last season, it’s time to accept that’s not going to happen and acknowledge that’s not where the League is at. More importantly, we need to recognize that the Wolves defense is not the main reason this team is currently lottery bound.

That we are offensively challenged shouldn’t be surprising. Only two of our five starters are above average scorers and both of them, Ant and Randle, are best suited to scoring in the paint. I know Ant has been very good from behind the arc this season, but that’s not optimal for him offensively. Among other things, it means he doesn’t get to the line much. It also means he’s not disrupting the defense and creating opportunities for others the way he would if he were driving the lane as much as he should be. There are other issues offensively too. But bottom line is that this team is not nearly good enough offensively to be a contender.

[Wolvesfan21]

I’m paraphrasing the political strategist, James Carville, who captured the essence of what drives elections when he famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid!”

The Wolves scored 104 points and gave up 115 against the Kings Wednesday night. I noticed that 12 of the 14 winning teams Wednesday night scored at least 115 and 11 of those teams scored more than 115, many of them over 120.

There are 11 teams ahead of the Wolves in the Western Conference standings and 9 of those teams have averaged more points per game than the Wolves while only 5 have given up fewer points per game. Looking at the entire League, only 8 teams in the entire 30-team League have given up fewer points per game than the Wolves.

We can all lament the decline in the Wolves defense from last season. We can complain about Randle’s poor defense and pull our hair out over the stretches when Ant doesn’t appear to be giving an all-out effort on the defensive end. But this season is just a typical one in the modern NBA, which means it’s about the offense. There’s no doubt the Wolves would be better defensively with KAT instead of Randle. But the main reason the Wolves are lottery bound is because they’re not a good offensive team in a predominately offensive-oriented League. So while basketball purists pine for a return to the Wolves stifling defense from last season, it’s time to accept that’s not going to happen and acknowledge that’s not where the League is at. More importantly, we need to recognize that the Wolves defense is not the main reason this team is currently lottery bound.

That we are offensively challenged shouldn’t be surprising. Only two of our five starters are above average scorers and both of them, Ant and Randle, are best suited to scoring in the paint. I know Ant has been very good from behind the arc this season, but that’s not optimal for him offensively. Among other things, it means he doesn’t get to the line much. It also means he’s not disrupting the defense and creating opportunities for others the way he would if he were driving the lane as much as he should be. There are other issues offensively too. But bottom line is that this team is not nearly good enough offensively to be a contender.

With defense you are only as good as your weakest link. That is Randle and probably Naz as a 5 (Dilly doesn't play enough yet to really effect the stats). Teams pass the ball till the weak link fails to do his job and the chain of defense is broken (JR in the starting lineup).

You replace JR with a good defender and all of a sudden everyone can raise their game. RIght now great defense from Rude, NAW, Ant or Jaden usually doesn't matter. Because the opposing team simply passes/screens off of them till a rotation is missed.

So sure. As long as our weak links are wink links. We will be avg on defense at best.

[Lipoli390]

I’m paraphrasing the political strategist, James Carville, who captured the essence of what drives elections when he famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid!”

The Wolves scored 104 points and gave up 115 against the Kings Wednesday night. I noticed that 12 of the 14 winning teams Wednesday night scored at least 115 and 11 of those teams scored more than 115, many of them over 120.

There are 11 teams ahead of the Wolves in the Western Conference standings and 9 of those teams have averaged more points per game than the Wolves while only 5 have given up fewer points per game. Looking at the entire League, only 8 teams in the entire 30-team League have given up fewer points per game than the Wolves.

We can all lament the decline in the Wolves defense from last season. We can complain about Randle’s poor defense and pull our hair out over the stretches when Ant doesn’t appear to be giving an all-out effort on the defensive end. But this season is just a typical one in the modern NBA, which means it’s about the offense. There’s no doubt the Wolves would be better defensively with KAT instead of Randle. But the main reason the Wolves are lottery bound is because they’re not a good offensive team in a predominately offensive-oriented League. So while basketball purists pine for a return to the Wolves stifling defense from last season, it’s time to accept that’s not going to happen and acknowledge that’s not where the League is at. More importantly, we need to recognize that the Wolves defense is not the main reason this team is currently lottery bound.

That we are offensively challenged shouldn’t be surprising. Only two of our five starters are above average scorers and both of them, Ant and Randle, are best suited to scoring in the paint. I know Ant has been very good from behind the arc this season, but that’s not optimal for him offensively. Among other things, it means he doesn’t get to the line much. It also means he’s not disrupting the defense and creating opportunities for others the way he would if he were driving the lane as much as he should be. There are other issues offensively too. But bottom line is that this team is not nearly good enough offensively to be a contender.

With defense you are only as good as your weakest link. That is Randle and probably Naz as a 5 (Dilly doesn't play enough yet to really effect the stats). Teams pass the ball till the weak link fails to do his job and the chain of defense is broken (JR in the starting lineup).

You replace JR with a good defender and all of a sudden everyone can raise their game. RIght now great defense from Rude, NAW, Ant or Jaden usually doesn't matter. Because the opposing team simply passes/screens off of them till a rotation is missed.

So sure. As long as our weak links are wink links. We will be avg on defense at best.

Interesting take, WolvesFan. I think you’re making a good point, but I’m not sure I entirely agree. MJ’s Bulls were a great defensive team even with Steve Kerr and Luke Longley. Those are two really weak links defensively. But they had three stellar defenders in MJ, Pippen and Rodman. Denver won a championship even though their two best players, Jokic and Murray were subpar defenders. Having said that I agree that Randle really drags down our defense and that’s a problem for the Wolves this season. But the fact that nine teams ahead of us in the standings are averaging more points per game troubles me far more. And honestly, our defense should be good enough with Rudy, Jaden and Ant.

I agree, however with those who say this team can’t have both Randle and Naz. I think it’s a no-brainer to go with Naz over Randle. Note that, because we’re over the 2nd apron, we can’t trade Randle or Naz after the season because we can’t do sign-and-trade deals. That means our time frame for trading one or the other is now until the February trade deadline. We’d obviously get more in return for Naz, but I see Naz as a much better fit for Wolves 2.0 with Ant going forward because he won’t clog the lane like Randle, moves better than Randle and still has upside and a trajectory age-wise that fits Ant. We just might need to let Randle walk and take advantage of the positive cap impact that would have.

[Wolvesfan21]

I’m paraphrasing the political strategist, James Carville, who captured the essence of what drives elections when he famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid!”

The Wolves scored 104 points and gave up 115 against the Kings Wednesday night. I noticed that 12 of the 14 winning teams Wednesday night scored at least 115 and 11 of those teams scored more than 115, many of them over 120.

There are 11 teams ahead of the Wolves in the Western Conference standings and 9 of those teams have averaged more points per game than the Wolves while only 5 have given up fewer points per game. Looking at the entire League, only 8 teams in the entire 30-team League have given up fewer points per game than the Wolves.

We can all lament the decline in the Wolves defense from last season. We can complain about Randle’s poor defense and pull our hair out over the stretches when Ant doesn’t appear to be giving an all-out effort on the defensive end. But this season is just a typical one in the modern NBA, which means it’s about the offense. There’s no doubt the Wolves would be better defensively with KAT instead of Randle. But the main reason the Wolves are lottery bound is because they’re not a good offensive team in a predominately offensive-oriented League. So while basketball purists pine for a return to the Wolves stifling defense from last season, it’s time to accept that’s not going to happen and acknowledge that’s not where the League is at. More importantly, we need to recognize that the Wolves defense is not the main reason this team is currently lottery bound.

That we are offensively challenged shouldn’t be surprising. Only two of our five starters are above average scorers and both of them, Ant and Randle, are best suited to scoring in the paint. I know Ant has been very good from behind the arc this season, but that’s not optimal for him offensively. Among other things, it means he doesn’t get to the line much. It also means he’s not disrupting the defense and creating opportunities for others the way he would if he were driving the lane as much as he should be. There are other issues offensively too. But bottom line is that this team is not nearly good enough offensively to be a contender.

With defense you are only as good as your weakest link. That is Randle and probably Naz as a 5 (Dilly doesn't play enough yet to really effect the stats). Teams pass the ball till the weak link fails to do his job and the chain of defense is broken (JR in the starting lineup).

You replace JR with a good defender and all of a sudden everyone can raise their game. RIght now great defense from Rude, NAW, Ant or Jaden usually doesn't matter. Because the opposing team simply passes/screens off of them till a rotation is missed.

So sure. As long as our weak links are wink links. We will be avg on defense at best.

Interesting take, WolvesFan. I think you’re making a good point, but I’m not sure I entirely agree. MJ’s Bulls were a great defensive team even with Steve Kerr and Luke Longley. Those are two really weak links defensively. But they had three stellar defenders in MJ, Pippen and Rodman. Denver won a championship even though their two best players, Jokic and Murray were subpar defenders. Having said that I agree that Randle really drags down our defense and that’s a problem for the Wolves this season. But the fact that nine teams ahead of us in the standings are averaging more points per game troubles me far more. And honestly, our defense should be good enough with Rudy, Jaden and Ant.

I agree, however with those who say this team can’t have both Randle and Naz. I think it’s a no-brainer to go with Naz over Randle. Note that, because we’re over the 2nd apron, we can’t trade Randle or Naz after the season because we can’t do sign-and-trade deals. That means our time frame for trading one or the other is now until the February trade deadline. We’d obviously get more in return for Naz, but I see Naz as a much better fit for Wolves 2.0 with Ant going forward because he won’t clog the lane like Randle, moves better than Randle and still has upside and a trajectory age-wise that fits Ant. We just might need to let Randle walk and take advantage of the positive cap impact that would have.

You make good points with those Bulls teams. Maybe Kerr and Longley were "decent" enough or simply active enough to support the other three or simply knew what to do in their system. Randle stands around (sometimes) or is slow to react. Naz doesn't have the skill or size to defend the rim. Check out a recent youtube video Howls and Growls. He does a nice breakdown on Randle on defense. I don't think it's cherry picking either. As we all see it.

I think Randle can play decent defense. He lacks the intensity or will to do so. Naz I think simply lacks the size and skill as a 5. He is better as a 4 and can be effective.

So I think in the end if the player first has the skill to play defense, then has the intensity and energy to do it I think we'd be fine. Randle just needs to man up and play harder.

Also don't forget Ron Harper. That dude was lockdown. Also when MJ is your lead dog, you're not relaxing on D.

I think our team lacks some chemistry. You can blame the trade timing and lack of an MJ or possibly great coach, not sure. Also Randle is known for being a lazy defender at times. So this isn't new for him. It could be he is just a stat stuffer, non winning player.

[Lipoli390]

With defense you are only as good as your weakest link. That is Randle and probably Naz as a 5 (Dilly doesn't play enough yet to really effect the stats). Teams pass the ball till the weak link fails to do his job and the chain of defense is broken (JR in the starting lineup).

You replace JR with a good defender and all of a sudden everyone can raise their game. RIght now great defense from Rude, NAW, Ant or Jaden usually doesn't matter. Because the opposing team simply passes/screens off of them till a rotation is missed.

So sure. As long as our weak links are wink links. We will be avg on defense at best.

Interesting take, WolvesFan. I think you’re making a good point, but I’m not sure I entirely agree. MJ’s Bulls were a great defensive team even with Steve Kerr and Luke Longley. Those are two really weak links defensively. But they had three stellar defenders in MJ, Pippen and Rodman. Denver won a championship even though their two best players, Jokic and Murray were subpar defenders. Having said that I agree that Randle really drags down our defense and that’s a problem for the Wolves this season. But the fact that nine teams ahead of us in the standings are averaging more points per game troubles me far more. And honestly, our defense should be good enough with Rudy, Jaden and Ant.

I agree, however with those who say this team can’t have both Randle and Naz. I think it’s a no-brainer to go with Naz over Randle. Note that, because we’re over the 2nd apron, we can’t trade Randle or Naz after the season because we can’t do sign-and-trade deals. That means our time frame for trading one or the other is now until the February trade deadline. We’d obviously get more in return for Naz, but I see Naz as a much better fit for Wolves 2.0 with Ant going forward because he won’t clog the lane like Randle, moves better than Randle and still has upside and a trajectory age-wise that fits Ant. We just might need to let Randle walk and take advantage of the positive cap impact that would have.

You make good points with those Bulls teams. Maybe Kerr and Longley were "decent" enough or simply active enough to support the other three or simply knew what to do in their system. Randle stands around (sometimes) or is slow to react. Naz doesn't have the skill or size to defend the rim. Check out a recent youtube video Howls and Growls. He does a nice breakdown on Randle on defense. I don't think it's cherry picking either. As we all see it.

I think Randle can play decent defense. He lacks the intensity or will to do so. Naz I think simply lacks the size and skill as a 5. He is better as a 4 and can be effective.

So I think in the end if the player first has the skill to play defense, then has the intensity and energy to do it I think we'd be fine. Randle just needs to man up and play harder.

Also don't forget Ron Harper. That dude was lockdown. Also when MJ is your lead dog, you're not relaxing on D.

I think our team lacks some chemistry. You can blame the trade timing and lack of an MJ or possibly great coach, not sure. Also Randle is known for being a lazy defender at times. So this isn't new for him. It could be he is just a stat stuffer, non winning player.

I agree completely with your takes on Randle and Naz defensively. I also agree there’s a chemistry issue on this team. We don’t have that player at the top of the hierarchy like MJ who sets the example, demands total commitment and forges chemistry. Ant’s not that guy yet and he may never be. But in fairness to Ant, even MJ had help in that department early with Cartwright and he didn’t make the NBA finals until he was in his late 20s. Stockton had Malone. Kobe had Shaq. Magic had Worthy and Kareem. Curry had Green and Thompson. Tatum has Brown, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford. He used to have Keith Smart. Holiday and Horford are true experienced, veteran leaders in word and deed. Unfortunately, Ant has Rudy who whined about the home crowd booing, sulks when he doesn’t get the ball and had to be called out by Kyle Anderson for lack of effort. Randle certainly isn’t going to fill that role and neither he nor Rudy gives Ant a model for that role.

So it’s up to the barely 23 year old Ant. We don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. I would hope that TC and Finch are challenging Ant to be that guy in deeds as well as words. He’s the only player on this team producing consistently at a high level on the offensive end. NAW is the only guy producing consistently on the defensive end while also helping us offensively. Ant needs to be better defensively and dominate more offensively. He can’t demand defensive intensity from his teammates if he’s not consistently intense and effective on that end of the floor. But again, to be fair, look at the players Ant has around him. Ant’s surrounded by the lane-clogging defensively challenged Randle, stone-hands Rudy, a regressing Jaden, an aging Conley and the Donte before his anomalous career season. As you said, Naz can’t defender the C position. He needs to play PF and only PF next to a good defensive center.

Losing a player like KAT, for all his flaws, exposes a lot of weaknesses.

[Coolbreeze44]

Lip, I don't think Jaden is regressing. How could he at his age? He's shooting terribly and the fouls keep coming, but once he breaks out of the slump I don't see any reason why he's not a top 75 player again.

[thedoper]

3 of our 5 starters are giving us nothing offensively. Conley has been more than a bit of a regression. It may even be the time to ask whether he is done completely which is sad. He is shooting 32%. Jaden is producing at career lows. He had zero points last game. Its definitely the offense and it is by team construction. Even a coaching change wont inherently fix the slumps for Conley and Jaden. I think the best thing may be to give DDV Jaden's starting spot at this point and let Jaden mix with Naz and ideally Dillingham in the 2nd unit. Give Mike as much rest as possible and get this offense on track. We will see but there could still be some minor shakeups to at least address what seems to be an obvious gap in our offense.

[Q-is-here]

I might have to start another "Lip was right" thread, as I did not long after our first season after the Rudy trade.

If the goal this offseason was to get a little worse on defense in order to get better on offense, we're actually worse at BOTH!

[Lipoli390]

Lip, I don't think Jaden is regressing. How could he at his age? He's shooting terribly and the fouls keep coming, but once he breaks out of the slump I don't see any reason why he's not a top 75 player again.

Hey Cool, regressing might have been a bit too strong, although I think his defense has taken a step back this season. On the other hand, my theory is that Jaden’s defense appears worse because of KAT’s absence. I think having both KAT and Rudy out there made others better defensively. My main concern with Jaden is his lack of improvement. He hasn’t take a leap offensively and his rebounding continues to be subpar for his size and position. I hope you’re right about him eventually breaking out of his slump. This team could really use a Jaden McDaniels playing up to his full potential.

[Q-is-here]

Lip, I don't think Jaden is regressing. How could he at his age? He's shooting terribly and the fouls keep coming, but once he breaks out of the slump I don't see any reason why he's not a top 75 player again.

Hey Cool, regressing might have been a bit too strong, although I think his defense has taken a step back this season. On the other hand, my theory is that Jaden’s defense appears worse because of KAT’s absence. I think having both KAT and Rudy out there made others better defensively. My main concern with Jaden is his lack of improvement. He hasn’t take a leap offensively and his rebounding continues to be subpar for his size and position. I hope you’re right about him eventually breaking out of his slump. This team could really use a Jaden McDaniels playing up to his full potential.

Jaden would be less problematic if he didn't share the frontcourt with Randle and Rudy. Now we have three starters who either don't need to be guarded at all at the 3-point line (Rudy) or only need a soft closeout (Randle and Jaden). The result is a clogged lane for Ant and less space for Rudy as a roller.