Did Dilly Grow? - Wolves at Thunder GDT

[KiwiMatt]

At least we were competitive till the end.

Huge discrepancy in fouls and free throws certainly didn't help. We are 27th in the league this year for FTA's. OKC are 29th yet shot twice as many as us tonight. The ticky tack fouls SGA and J Will were getting were frustrating to watch.

[BloopOracle]

Another Finch disasterclass

[60WinTim]

Well, our 23 TOs to their 9 TOs would be one of the bigger stories. If the players can’t handle Finch’s offense, maybe we need to do something else…

We did win 3 of the 4 quarters. Just couldn’t hold up against that 3rd quarter onslaught.

[Q-is-here]

Wolves 23 TOs to OKC's 9 TOs and that's the ball game. 14 extra possessions for OKC on TO differential alone! Crazy.

But that's what they do. They have a clear defensive identity to apply ball pressure and go for poke aways, strips, and steals all the time.

I think Dillingham is the right kind of PG for this team ultimately. We really need a ball handling wizard that can shoot, score, and distribute. A "game manager" plus some secondary ball handlers isn't enough against the top tier of the NBA. Now whether Dilly ever grows into a legit starting PG is a different question, but I agree with Connelly's logic.

[BloopOracle]

Call a fucking timeout

[FNG]

I can't feel too bad about this loss. OkC is very good and even better at home...before tonight only one of their wins at home was by single digits. We hung with them despite a sloppiness with the ball you just can't get away with against this exceptional defensive team.

-the wolves had 21 assists and 23 turnovers, the thunder had 25 assists and only 9 turnovers! How did we keep this one close?

-We win most games when Rudy gets 7 or more shots, and lose most games when he doesn't...only 6 tonight.

-I thought both Jaden and NAW played good defense against SGA, but he still went 15 for 23. He also had 4 steals. He's incredible and my pick for MVP.

-Although his stat line was modest, I thought this was Ant's least ball stopping game of the year. Maybe the light bulb might still turn on?

-I wonder if Donte is becoming our barometer for winning...our chance of winning games decreases if he's not making his 3's.

Boston squeaked out a close one tonight, edging out Toronto by 54 points. Guess who we get next .

[DNatagal]

We need Ant to get doubled more often! Forced the ball to move.

Please, no more Point Randle. If you want him to initiate the offense, post him up and then get some movement. His handle is so loose.

[FNG]

We need Ant to get doubled more often! Forced the ball to move.

Please, no more Point Randle. If you want him to initiate the offense, post him up and then get some movement. His handle is so loose.

I mostly agree, D'. But shouldn't Ant have more than 2 assists if opponents are running two guys at him? Anyway, 105 points against this Thunder defense is fine. The turnovers killed us, but other than that, I found our offense more watchable than usual.

[DNatagal]

Ant won't have multiple assists when doubled due to the hockey assist swing for a better shot.

[Lipoli390]

The Wolves scored 105 points last. That’s not going to win many games in the NBA. We can talk about the turnovers, the flopping, etc. But when the smoke clears, it’s the same core problem - i.e., this team doesn’t score at the level necessary to be a legitimate championship contender. Last I looked, the Wolves were 23rd of 30 teams in points per game.

SGA had 40 points on 65% FG shooing. There’s simply no way Jaden can be praised for his defense in this game. Meanwhile, he scored only 7 points on 1-5 shooting from behind the arc with 6 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals and 3 turnovers. Jaden has turned from one of this team’s great hopes to one of its main problems. I love watching Donte play, but he was 3-10 from the field in this game. That’s unacceptable for a guy whose main value is shooting.