FNG grades G19 vs. Clippers

[FNG]

Lip and Q, I agree with your assessment that Ant is not playing at all like a top 10 player yet. But with the talent he has, the question is "why not?". I don't think it's because of the personnel next to him...in fact, I think Rudy's screening is a major factor in Ant's 28 PPG scoring. His athleticism, shooting prowess and ability to guard one-on-one should add up to a top 3 player. But when Q does his 20 game analysis after tonight's game (which should be an easy win against a tired Lakers team missing 3 rotation players), we will again see how his deep stats are middle of the pack on this Wolves squad. I attribute it to inconsistency and occasional indifference, both of which limit his ability to influence the game in the positive way a true superstar might. It shows up in two key areas:

Defense: we saw what Ant can do on defense when he was motivated last game after his tech...he could be an elite defender. But whether it's due to indifference or exhaustion, he's just as likely to be invisible or ineffective on defense. Imagine how impactful he could be if he could put in NAW-type effort.

Passing: Great facilitators make the right pass at the right time in the right place...Ant does none of these. Ant has a scorer's mentality, and it seems to me that he only passes as a last resort...an opportunity to score isn't there, so he gets rid of the ball with little intention. But while facilitators like Conley, DiVo and even Randle deliver the ball chest high to give their teammate the best chance to score, Ant's passes are too often lazy...at the teammate's feet or wide left. It's not that he doesn't have the ability to consistently deliver passes that result in baskets, it's more like he doesn't care. With 2 or 3 defenders often draped on him, a talented athlete like Ant could have close to double digit assists every game. But he doesn't care.

Add elite defense and facilitating to his 28 PPG, and Ant becomes a top 5 player...and we compete for a chip. But he's far from adding those two aspects.

[Q-is-here]

Lip and Q, I agree with your assessment that Ant is not playing at all like a top 10 player yet. But with the talent he has, the question is "why not?". I don't think it's because of the personnel next to him...in fact, I think Rudy's screening is a major factor in Ant's 28 PPG scoring. His athleticism, shooting prowess and ability to guard one-on-one should add up to a top 3 player. But when Q does his 20 game analysis after tonight's game (which should be an easy win against a tired Lakers team missing 3 rotation players), we will again see how his deep stats are middle of the pack on this Wolves squad. I attribute it to inconsistency and occasional indifference, both of which limit his ability to influence the game in the positive way a true superstar might. It shows up in two key areas:

Defense: we saw what Ant can do on defense when he was motivated last game after his tech...he could be an elite defender. But whether it's due to indifference or exhaustion, he's just as likely to be invisible or ineffective on defense. Imagine how impactful he could be if he could put in NAW-type effort.

Passing: Great facilitators make the right pass at the right time in the right place...Ant does none of these. Ant has a scorer's mentality, and it seems to me that he only passes as a last resort...an opportunity to score isn't there, so he gets rid of the ball with little intention. But while facilitators like Conley, DiVo and even Randle deliver the ball chest high to give their teammate the best chance to score, Ant's passes are too often lazy...at the teammate's feet or wide left. It's not that he doesn't have the ability to consistently deliver passes that result in baskets, it's more like he doesn't care. With 2 or 3 defenders often draped on him, a talented athlete like Ant could have close to double digit assists every game. But he doesn't care.

Add elite defense and facilitating to his 28 PPG, and Ant becomes a top 5 player...and we compete for a chip. But he's far from adding those two aspects.

You are wishing for Ant to evolve in ways that may not happen at this point. He's young in age, but not NBA experience. If I were the Wolves front office, I would take the approach that Ant's current strengths and weaknesses are pretty much set at this point and then determine how to best lean into his strengths while finding compliments to his weaknesses. And if he keeps improving, then that's just gravy.

Offensively, he is best utilized in a spread offense surrounded by shooters. He's not a pick and roll ball handling wizard like Doncic or prime Harden that can thread perfect passes in tight spaces or hit the guy in the corner right in the pocket. He will never be at their level as combo scorers/play makers. He's more of a pure scorer.

I think Jayson Tatum is a great comparator to Ant. Granted, Tatum is bigger and is more of a forward, but he's similar to Ant in that he isn't a passing wizard and prefers to play iso-ball. He's been a fringe MVP candidate for a few years now and has a title. Yet Ant clearly out-played him in the Olympics and is far more dangerous going down hill in my opinion. So why has Tatum had much more individual and team success? Look at all the space he has to operate in! He is almost always out there with 3 or 4 guys that are elite shooters when left wide open, so they have to be guarded. He drives, collapses the defense, and makes simple kick out passes to guys that can actually make open 3s. Thus he generates more assists than Ant.

Connelly needs to surround Ant with guys that can reliably shoot and space the floor. Gobert is the one exception because he is such a great screen setter and is basically the key to our defense.

[Lipoli390]

Lip and Q, I agree with your assessment that Ant is not playing at all like a top 10 player yet. But with the talent he has, the question is "why not?". I don't think it's because of the personnel next to him...in fact, I think Rudy's screening is a major factor in Ant's 28 PPG scoring. His athleticism, shooting prowess and ability to guard one-on-one should add up to a top 3 player. But when Q does his 20 game analysis after tonight's game (which should be an easy win against a tired Lakers team missing 3 rotation players), we will again see how his deep stats are middle of the pack on this Wolves squad. I attribute it to inconsistency and occasional indifference, both of which limit his ability to influence the game in the positive way a true superstar might. It shows up in two key areas:

Defense: we saw what Ant can do on defense when he was motivated last game after his tech...he could be an elite defender. But whether it's due to indifference or exhaustion, he's just as likely to be invisible or ineffective on defense. Imagine how impactful he could be if he could put in NAW-type effort.

Passing: Great facilitators make the right pass at the right time in the right place...Ant does none of these. Ant has a scorer's mentality, and it seems to me that he only passes as a last resort...an opportunity to score isn't there, so he gets rid of the ball with little intention. But while facilitators like Conley, DiVo and even Randle deliver the ball chest high to give their teammate the best chance to score, Ant's passes are too often lazy...at the teammate's feet or wide left. It's not that he doesn't have the ability to consistently deliver passes that result in baskets, it's more like he doesn't care. With 2 or 3 defenders often draped on him, a talented athlete like Ant could have close to double digit assists every game. But he doesn't care.

Add elite defense and facilitating to his 28 PPG, and Ant becomes a top 5 player...and we compete for a chip. But he's far from adding those two aspects.

You are wishing for Ant to evolve in ways that may not happen at this point. He's young in age, but not NBA experience. If I were the Wolves front office, I would take the approach that Ant's current strengths and weaknesses are pretty much set at this point and then determine how to best lean into his strengths while finding compliments to his weaknesses. And if he keeps improving, then that's just gravy.

Offensively, he is best utilized in a spread offense surrounded by shooters. He's not a pick and roll ball handling wizard like Doncic or prime Harden that can thread perfect passes in tight spaces or hit the guy in the corner right in the pocket. He will never be at their level as combo scorers/play makers. He's more of a pure scorer.

I think Jayson Tatum is a great comparator to Ant. Granted, Tatum is bigger and is more of a forward, but he's similar to Ant in that he isn't a passing wizard and prefers to play iso-ball. He's been a fringe MVP candidate for a few years now and has a title. Yet Ant clearly out-played him in the Olympics and is far more dangerous going down hill in my opinion. So why has Tatum had much more individual and team success? Look at all the space he has to operate in! He is almost always out there with 3 or 4 guys that are elite shooters when left wide open, so they have to be guarded. He drives, collapses the defense, and makes simple kick out passes to guys that can actually make open 3s. Thus he generates more assists than Ant.

Connelly needs to surround Ant with guys that can reliably shoot and space the floor. Gobert is the one exception because he is such a great screen setter and is basically the key to our defense.

I agree completely with Q on this. Ant isn’t a Doncic or Harden. That doesn’t mean Ant isn’t or can’t be a great player, possibly the best player, on a championship team. Tatum is an excellent contemporary comparison. Great past players who are also good comparisons for Ant include Kobe, Drexler and even MJ. None of those past three greats were expected to set up their teammates. MJ was certainly better with the ball than Ant, but remember that he had Pippen actually facilitating the offense. There are no perfect comparisons, but bottom line is that Ant’s being placed in a role that doesn’t optimize his value to the team. He’s being asked to do things that don’t play to his strengths with a team around him that constrains his ability to do what he does best - namely attack the paint.

It would also help if Ant had another great player and elite scorer with him in the lineup. Tatum has Jaylen Brown. Donovan Mitchell has Darius Garland. Doncic has Kyrie Irving. SGA has Jalen Williams. For those who might have raised eye brows at the notion of Jalen Williams as an elite offensive player, note that he’s averaging 21.5 points, 5.2 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals while shooting 39.4% from behind the arc and 50.5% from the field. The only teammate of Ant who is scoring anything close to 20+ points per game is Randle and he’s nothing close to a great player when you consider the rest of his game and limitations. Last season Ant had KAT and we won 56 games. He didn’t have KAT two seasons ago because of injury when we won only 42 and he doesn’t have KAT this season as we’re on track to win around 39 games. So it’s no mystery what happens when Ant doesn’t have a player of KAT’s caliber with him. Ant needs another elite scoring guard or wing with ball skills - someone like Jaylen Brown, Jalen Williams, Kyrie Irving, Darius Garland, Klay Thompson in his prime, etc or even KAT. Until he does, we need to be measured in how much we hold Ant responsible for how bad the Wolves are this season.

We can and should deploy the players we have differently by swapping Naz for Randle in the starting lineup. That will help. Donte’s shooting should improve, which will also help. But that can’t overcome a flawed roster. Right now, Ant is a great player on a fundamentally flawed roster.