Detroit at Wolves GDT A real tough test

[Phenom]

Not sure how I feel about this one. On the negative side, Ant again showed us how indifferent he is when our opponent is undermanned...this one was going in the same direction of the Pelicans and Pacers losses until the fight woke us up. But on the positive side, we won a game we needed to win. And we showed some toughness. But unfortunately likely suspensions to Naz and Donte plus Ant being on the precipice of another suspension if he gets another tech could hurt us in future games.

Those who are promoting the narrative that Mike Conley is "washed" and a shell of his former self need to rewatch this game...we don't win it without him. Nobody was able to guard Beasley until Finchie made the odd (but successful) move of putting Mike on him. He fought through screens and made life miserable for Beas. And when he needed a blow, Clark did a fine job also. Mike has one of the five best net ratings in the league since mid January, and you could see why in last night's game.

And the late season resurgence of Rudy has been fun to watch. I liked Ju and Ant finding him for dunks on the first two possessions of the night...getting Rudy off early helps him at both ends of the court. And it shouldn't be too difficult for either of them to find Rudy for dunks when they get doubled in the lane.

Wasnt the Conley narrative from November when he was playing awful from every standpoint? Credit to Mike as he turned it around, significantly.

[Coolbreeze44]

Abe's Next Day "I spent last night in the ER for an injury suffered at the game while sitting in the front row" DVR Review:

- Less than weeks ago... I wrote that Zion Williamson was punking the Timberwolves. Multiple players shied away from contact with him. The Wolves were being punked again last night by a very physical Detroit team... until...

Donte Divincenzo decided to push back. This isn't about the fight. It's about the fight he showed for the 5+ minutes before the fight. He pushed back figuratively vs. the uber aggressive Pistons. He dug in on defense, including with another blocked shot, and moved the ball on offense.

- Rudy Gobert obviously deserves love, too. An incredible game from him, shortly after saying he needs to bring that sort of effort every game.

- Randle started off incredibly slow. A. Thompson cooked him on offense... and Randle struggled with his own offense. Obviously, he rebounded from the tough start. Edwards did the same.

- Anyone watching that game could feel the tension. Yes, Beasley was playing to the crowd with his antics, but nobody really wondered whether he was going to shoot 12 - 18 on threes. But Isaiah Stewart. The man has a reputation... because he's earned that reputation. Just watching him exclusively during the 2nd quarter after the first dustup... and it was obvious he wanted something more to develop. He really really really wants to make a name for himself as the current tough guy/bad boy of the league. It almost seems a bit fabricated.

- Jim Pete was all over Conley's defense last night. We all know he can be rolled up defensively because of his size. But he's just so savvy on defense. His hot shooting this month gets a lot of attention, but I think his defense (at this age) might be just as impressive.

- Hopefully, the suspensions aren't for too long. And, hopefully, Edwards stays away from the next technical. He had no business picking that one up yesterday... it was very easily avoidable.

Really like what you said about Donte. Sometimes you have to take a stand and punch the bully in the mouth. Others need to do the same. What he did is going to pay dividends moving forward.

[Wolvesfan21]

Abe's Next Day "I spent last night in the ER for an injury suffered at the game while sitting in the front row" DVR Review:

- Less than weeks ago... I wrote that Zion Williamson was punking the Timberwolves. Multiple players shied away from contact with him. The Wolves were being punked again last night by a very physical Detroit team... until...

Donte Divincenzo decided to push back. This isn't about the fight. It's about the fight he showed for the 5+ minutes before the fight. He pushed back figuratively vs. the uber aggressive Pistons. He dug in on defense, including with another blocked shot, and moved the ball on offense.

- Rudy Gobert obviously deserves love, too. An incredible game from him, shortly after saying he needs to bring that sort of effort every game.

- Randle started off incredibly slow. A. Thompson cooked him on offense... and Randle struggled with his own offense. Obviously, he rebounded from the tough start. Edwards did the same.

- Anyone watching that game could feel the tension. Yes, Beasley was playing to the crowd with his antics, but nobody really wondered whether he was going to shoot 12 - 18 on threes. But Isaiah Stewart. The man has a reputation... because he's earned that reputation. Just watching him exclusively during the 2nd quarter after the first dustup... and it was obvious he wanted something more to develop. He really really really wants to make a name for himself as the current tough guy/bad boy of the league. It almost seems a bit fabricated.

- Jim Pete was all over Conley's defense last night. We all know he can be rolled up defensively because of his size. But he's just so savvy on defense. His hot shooting this month gets a lot of attention, but I think his defense (at this age) might be just as impressive.

- Hopefully, the suspensions aren't for too long. And, hopefully, Edwards stays away from the next technical. He had no business picking that one up yesterday... it was very easily avoidable.

Really like what you said about Donte. Sometimes you have to take a stand and punch the bully in the mouth. Others need to do the same. What he did is going to pay dividends moving forward.

I wish KAT would have started a fight with Butler after he was traded especially with how many stories were coming out. I would have respected him, versus being kind of a soft bitch. I get it you don't want to get suspended, be a pro, etc.... But in the early to mid season it would have set a tone for how the KAT era was going to go from then on. He got piled on from others too like the Embiid "rivalry" (which was EMbiid dominating KAT). He was too much of a bitch though, they did sort of have a wrestling match one time I guess.

[FNG]

I agree with the sentiment here that Donte's toughness was impressive...I don't think we win the game without the fight, and I was cheering him on last night. But today I'm not as positive about it. I'm hearing that he will probably get a 3-game suspension (likely just one for Naz), and that could impact our chances against Denver (winnable), Brooklyn and Philly (must win games). And if Ant gets another tech Tuesday night, he'll also be suspended. Playing Brooklyn without our two most prolific 3-point shooters would be a challenge.

[Q-is-here]

Not sure how I feel about this one. On the negative side, Ant again showed us how indifferent he is when our opponent is undermanned...this one was going in the same direction of the Pelicans and Pacers losses until the fight woke us up. But on the positive side, we won a game we needed to win. And we showed some toughness. But unfortunately likely suspensions to Naz and Donte plus Ant being on the precipice of another suspension if he gets another tech could hurt us in future games.

Those who are promoting the narrative that Mike Conley is "washed" and a shell of his former self need to rewatch this game...we don't win it without him. Nobody was able to guard Beasley until Finchie made the odd (but successful) move of putting Mike on him. He fought through screens and made life miserable for Beas. And when he needed a blow, Clark did a fine job also. Mike has one of the five best net ratings in the league since mid January, and you could see why in last night's game.

And the late season resurgence of Rudy has been fun to watch. I liked Ju and Ant finding him for dunks on the first two possessions of the night...getting Rudy off early helps him at both ends of the court. And it shouldn't be too difficult for either of them to find Rudy for dunks when they get doubled in the lane.

Wasnt the Conley narrative from November when he was playing awful from every standpoint? Credit to Mike as he turned it around, significantly.

The Rudy-Conley player pairing now have a net rating of +8.9, which is the best of any pair that has played more than 900 minutes together for the Wolves. The Ant-Jaden pairing is a +3.3, the second worst among the 16 different pairings that have played more than 900 minutes together. The Ant-Randle pairing is +3.4, the third worst.

So while it's encouraging to see Mommy and Daddy stepping up, it's pretty discouraging to see how dependent we still are on them to play great basketball (versus good basketball). And let's face it, both Rudy and Conley can potentially be played off the floor in certain playoff matchups.

[FNG]

Not sure how I feel about this one. On the negative side, Ant again showed us how indifferent he is when our opponent is undermanned...this one was going in the same direction of the Pelicans and Pacers losses until the fight woke us up. But on the positive side, we won a game we needed to win. And we showed some toughness. But unfortunately likely suspensions to Naz and Donte plus Ant being on the precipice of another suspension if he gets another tech could hurt us in future games.

Those who are promoting the narrative that Mike Conley is "washed" and a shell of his former self need to rewatch this game...we don't win it without him. Nobody was able to guard Beasley until Finchie made the odd (but successful) move of putting Mike on him. He fought through screens and made life miserable for Beas. And when he needed a blow, Clark did a fine job also. Mike has one of the five best net ratings in the league since mid January, and you could see why in last night's game.

And the late season resurgence of Rudy has been fun to watch. I liked Ju and Ant finding him for dunks on the first two possessions of the night...getting Rudy off early helps him at both ends of the court. And it shouldn't be too difficult for either of them to find Rudy for dunks when they get doubled in the lane.

Wasnt the Conley narrative from November when he was playing awful from every standpoint? Credit to Mike as he turned it around, significantly.

The Rudy-Conley player pairing now have a net rating of +8.9, which is the best of any pair that has played more than 900 minutes together for the Wolves. The Ant-Jaden pairing is a +3.3, the second worst among the 16 different pairings that have played more than 900 minutes together. The Ant-Randle pairing is +3.4, the third worst.

So while it's encouraging to see Mommy and Daddy stepping up, it's pretty discouraging to see how dependent we still are on them to play great basketball (versus good basketball). And let's face it, both Rudy and Conley can potentially be played off the floor in certain playoff matchups.

So true, Q. And even further, the lineup of Mommy, Daddy, and 3 subs (Naz, Naw and DiVo) has our best 5-man net rating. Ant is our future, but it's discouraging that he and Jaden are not part of our best lineup. Dane talked about it this yesterday on his podcast, mentioning that most teams' stars (Jokic, SGA, etc.) are part of the best lineups from a net rating standpoint. We have kind of a unique situation, and I think the answer is defense. Ant has shown the ability to be an elite defender, but I have found his defense to be mostly indifferent and ineffective this season, and that hurts our team. Mike is small and can be targeted on defense. But he is also cagey, and more importantly, he has Rudy to help him when he finds himself overmatched after a switch. Rudy helps him become a plus defender, and it's a big part of the magic of their pairing.

But there is a silver lining to Ant not being a plus player during the regular season, and the silver lining is that "Playoff Ant" may be a real thing. Ant gets up for big games during the regular season, but tends to take games off when the opposition is not as strong, and that is a big reason why many of us think we have underperformed relative to our talent this season. But every game is a big game in the playoffs, and we saw Ant take his game to a different level in the playoffs last season. We would love it if Ant could bring the intensity he brings in the playoffs consistently during the regular season, but it doesn't seem to be in his nature. But if he brings the same level of intensity to this year's playoffs that he did last year (and we are healthy), there's no series that we don't have at least some chance of winning.

[Wolvesfan21]

Wasnt the Conley narrative from November when he was playing awful from every standpoint? Credit to Mike as he turned it around, significantly.

The Rudy-Conley player pairing now have a net rating of +8.9, which is the best of any pair that has played more than 900 minutes together for the Wolves. The Ant-Jaden pairing is a +3.3, the second worst among the 16 different pairings that have played more than 900 minutes together. The Ant-Randle pairing is +3.4, the third worst.

So while it's encouraging to see Mommy and Daddy stepping up, it's pretty discouraging to see how dependent we still are on them to play great basketball (versus good basketball). And let's face it, both Rudy and Conley can potentially be played off the floor in certain playoff matchups.

So true, Q. And even further, the lineup of Mommy, Daddy, and 3 subs (Naz, Naw and DiVo) has our best 5-man net rating. Ant is our future, but it's discouraging that he and Jaden are not part of our best lineup. Dane talked about it this yesterday on his podcast, mentioning that most teams' stars (Jokic, SGA, etc.) are part of the best lineups from a net rating standpoint. We have kind of a unique situation, and I think the answer is defense. Ant has shown the ability to be an elite defender, but I have found his defense to be mostly indifferent and ineffective this season, and that hurts our team. Mike is small and can be targeted on defense. But he is also cagey, and more importantly, he has Rudy to help him when he finds himself overmatched after a switch. Rudy helps him become a plus defender, and it's a big part of the magic of their pairing.

But there is a silver lining to Ant not being a plus player during the regular season, and the silver lining is that "Playoff Ant" may be a real thing. Ant gets up for big games during the regular season, but tends to take games off when the opposition is not as strong, and that is a big reason why many of us think we have underperformed relative to our talent this season. But every game is a big game in the playoffs, and we saw Ant take his game to a different level in the playoffs last season. We would love it if Ant could bring the intensity he brings in the playoffs consistently during the regular season, but it doesn't seem to be in his nature. But if he brings the same level of intensity to this year's playoffs that he did last year (and we are healthy), there's no series that we don't have at least some chance of winning.

The only thing I would add is that context matters also for lineup combos. Typically Naz, NAW and DDV (3 excellent bench players for sure) will also be playing against several backup NBA players, so it can make a big difference versus playing against starters. Stats don't always tell the whole story.

I think the story is really how great our bench and depth are, versus Ant not being the "man".