Is Point Randle a Thing? Wolves at Rockets GDT

[DNatagal]

Can Minott be the McDaniels replacement?

[Lipoli390]

Nice win, which keeps the Wolves in contention for a playoff spot. It was also nice to see this team, which is 23rd in PPG score 113 points. But most of the same problems with this team were evident tonight. Jaden can’t be counted on to make a positive difference offensively or on the boards and shows no sign of progressing. Mike Conley remains a shadow of his former self. Rudy’s game is limited and not worth the money he’s paid. Randle continues to play a far too dominant role in the team’s offense.

If I were TC, I’d be exploring trade interest in Jaden and Rudy as well as Randle for the long term.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's I spoiled it for myself by looking at the box score with 7 minutes left DVR Review...

- Sorta need two recaps... one for the first 44 minutes and one for the final 4 minutes.

- Houston is a tougher, better... more entertaining... team. Amen Thompson is like Vanderbilt x87. The Wolves fanbase would go apeshit for a guy like that.

- Gobert vs. Towns + Sengun...
10 points / 13 rebounds (-55)
vs.
70 points / 32 rebounds (26-37 fg)

- Best game for Divincenzo this season. Very nice. Reid was atrocious until his last stint where he was great. But he was even way way off when arguing calls in this one. Yikes.

- Mike Conley just isn't an NBA caliber PG right now. He's more Kevin Ollie than he is Mike Conley right now.

- Tough loss for Houston. Good win for Minnesota... albeit another one with a bit of a caveat. Just keep stacking as many as possible until the team starts to figure things out, I guess.

[Phenom]

I was traveling in the car all day. How was Ant in the clutch?

[kekgeek]

Over the last 20 NBA regular seasons, 1,192 times has a team been:

down by 15+ points
under 5:00 left in 4th quarter
on the road
facing a team with a .700+ win pct

That team lost the game in 1,191 of the 1,192 instances.

All except the @Timberwolves tonight.

[FNG]

I was traveling in the car all day. How was Ant in the clutch?

Ha, he did it...what a shot!

But to me it further demonstrates the enigma that is Ant. I was also traveling in the car finishing up a 2-day drive back from Tucson listening to the Warriors game earlier this month, and my honey and I were screaming in the car as Ant missed five shots and had a key turnover in the final minutes of that loss. And tonight he makes two clutch shots to win the game! Further, he starts out the game playing under control and making everything, then disappears largely for most of three quarters only to show up big time when we needed him. He won the game in the end, but is it too much for us to want him to be more consistent like a guy who is actually a year younger...Sengun? Sengun was outstanding from start to finish, and never disappeared. That's what I want from Ant, night in and night out.

But speaking of clutch and referring back to that Warriors loss again, how about NAW in the clutch? Ant would not have been in a position to lose the Warriors game and win the Rockets game without some clutch play by NAW to get us back into two games that looked like lost causes...10 points on 4 for 4 shooting to bring us back in the Warriors game, and two key 3-pointers and terrific defense down the stretch to bring us back last night. Could NAW actually be our best clutch player?

Anyway, what a surprising and fun win! Like Kiwi, we were about to turn the game off but instead were lazily checking emails on our phones as the Wolves chipped away. Unbelievable shot by Ant and comeback win...and what a devastating loss for a very good Houston team!

[FNG]

Over the last 20 NBA regular seasons, 1,192 times has a team been:

down by 15+ points
under 5:00 left in 4th quarter
on the road
facing a team with a .700+ win pct

That team lost the game in 1,191 of the 1,192 instances.

All except the @Timberwolves tonight.

Kek, you're on fire tonight with some great data! This win felt unusually special, and you showed us just how unique it was! And in another thread you gave us some Ant stats from the Dallas series that compared very favorably to Tatum and Brown. Nice job!

[BeenLurkin]

Holy crap. That was amazing.

The steal and outlet skip to DDV at 8:49 in the second!?!? Cause I just watched the replay and said wow outloud. That was sick

[thedoper]

Holy crap. That was amazing.

The steal and outlet skip to DDV at 8:49 in the second!?!? Cause I just watched the replay and said wow outloud. That was sick

I actually wrote that after the Thompson dunk where DDV fouled him. But Minott showed some skill in that game that makes me absolutely believe he needs to be on the floor more, including that play and the 3 he hit after that. We have depth that could be an advantage for us.

[Q-is-here]

Holy crap. That was amazing.

The steal and outlet skip to DDV at 8:49 in the second!?!? Cause I just watched the replay and said wow outloud. That was sick

I actually wrote that after the Thompson dunk where DDV fouled him. But Minott showed some skill in that game that makes me absolutely believe he needs to be on the floor more, including that play and the 3 he hit after that. We have depth that could be an advantage for us.

It's just crazy that we have probably been one of the healthiest teams in the NBA this season. It's kind of a double-downer in that you'd expect us to have more to show for it since staying healthy is such a big determinant of regular season success. Yet at the same time it's deprived us from seeing some of the potential on the back-end of our roster, i.e. Dillingham, Minott, Shannon, etc.