DNatagal wrote: ↑Tue Apr 15, 2025 8:32 am
Or the Wolves need to play defense like OKC, foul on every play and force the refs to make every call! Throw every body at Luka, play some junk zones, let NAW and Jaden play single man, no help defense and gum things up. At least for a few minutes to keep things interesting. Play the same defense for 12 minutes straight and Luka will pick a team apart.
One of the reasons the Wolves lost to Dallas was they had problems scoring at times which was an issue in the Denver series as well. Dallas had something to do with that but it was a bit of an issue for the Wolves all year. Do they have a better collective group this year plus the Lakers I would assume defensively are nowhere near the Group Dallas had down the stretch and in the playoffs defensively. Some of the Wolves defenders needed to play smarter. Luka was really good but it also felt like they didn't have an answer for Kyrie.
The rub is... the Lakers have LeBron James. All I'm seeing/hearing is Doncic.
LeBron James is going to make NBA 1st team. He's a much better player than Kyrie Irving. And... he'll be well rested with at least two days off between three games in this series.
The Wolves have a decided bench advantage, but will it matter much if the Lakers can play James/Doncic/Reaves for 40+ mpg?
Rudy might be the true X factor in this game. If he can score easy baskets, rebound like he has the past couple weeks, and control the paint, this might be a Wolves win in 7. If Rudy gets played off the floor, Lakers in 5.
Last edited by DNatagal on Wed Apr 16, 2025 1:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DNatagal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 16, 2025 10:08 am
Rudy might be the true X factor in this game. If he can score easy baskets, rebound like he has the past couple weeks, and control the paint, this might be a Wolves win in 7. If Rudy gets paid off the floor, Lakers in 5.
I really don't think he'll be played off the floor defensively. I could see us situationally going small and spreading the floor on offense during crunch time and taking him out then.
DNatagal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 16, 2025 10:08 am
Rudy might be the true X factor in this game. If he can score easy baskets, rebound like he has the past couple weeks, and control the paint, this might be a Wolves win in 7. If Rudy gets paid off the floor, Lakers in 5.
I really don't think he'll be played off the floor defensively. I could see us situationally going small and spreading the floor on offense during crunch time and taking him out then.
I sure hope Finch has a plan for the defensive end that will keep Rudy in the paint. All those easy lob dunks last year by Dallas destroyed the Wolves.
DNatagal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 16, 2025 10:08 am
Rudy might be the true X factor in this game. If he can score easy baskets, rebound like he has the past couple weeks, and control the paint, this might be a Wolves win in 7. If Rudy gets paid off the floor, Lakers in 5.
I really don't think he'll be played off the floor defensively. I could see us situationally going small and spreading the floor on offense during crunch time and taking him out then.
I sure hope Finch has a plan for the defensive end that will keep Rudy in the paint. All those easy lob dunks last year by Dallas destroyed the Wolves.
That depends on the personnel that the Lakers put other there. I personally think they are going to try to play a significant part of the games without a Center or non-shooting forward (like Vando), which means Rudy is going to have to guard someone that is a threat to shoot the 3, but it doesn't mean he can't still go get rebounds. It also means there is less of a lob threat for the Lakers.
I think the Lakers may play more like Boston does, with Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron basically taking turns trying to switch bait and target mis-matches with a spread floor, similar to how Tatum and Brown take turns attacking a spread floor. Jaxson Hayes may play a few minutes to at the start of each half, but otherwise I don't think he will be used all that much. And I think Vando will only be used in brief spurts unless for some reason he is really giving Ant trouble.
DNatagal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 16, 2025 10:08 am
Rudy might be the true X factor in this game. If he can score easy baskets, rebound like he has the past couple weeks, and control the paint, this might be a Wolves win in 7. If Rudy gets paid off the floor, Lakers in 5.
I really don't think he'll be played off the floor defensively. I could see us situationally going small and spreading the floor on offense during crunch time and taking him out then.
Or say behind 10 points late in the 4th and we need to shoot some 3's to catch up. I can see situations that make sense. But I also agree that Rudy is the X factor here. He's got the best matchup to dominate and he HAS ben dominating the last couple weeks too. He looks fully healthy. It's time for him to shut up the naysayers.
Kinda fun to look back on this thread. Reeves had 7 FTs. Edwards had 8 in game 5. Heck NAW had 8 FTs in this series and he is a bench guy not exactly known for drawing fouls. Reeves didn't have a particularly good series and the Wolves defense likely had something to do with it.
Monster wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 8:01 pm
Kinda fun to look back on this thread. Reeves had 7 FTs. Edwards had 8 in game 5. Heck NAW had 8 FTs in this series and he is a bench guy not exactly known for drawing fouls. Reeves didn't have a particularly good series and the Wolves defense likely had something to do with it.
The Wolves just played basketball.
For all the angst we've had over the years watching Towns complain behind the play... or watching Edwards scream and then complain... the team seemed unique in simply putting their heads down and playing the next play throughout the first round. Very business-like. We'll see if it continues in the next round... but I think that mentality played a part in the series victory. It seems like it was a point of emphasis for the squad.
They also don't grift for fouls nearly as much as other teams. And for this... I find them much more likeable. And I don't think it's only because it's the local team and I'm a provincial rube. It's a refreshing look in the modern NBA.
Monster wrote: ↑Thu May 01, 2025 8:01 pm
Kinda fun to look back on this thread. Reeves had 7 FTs. Edwards had 8 in game 5. Heck NAW had 8 FTs in this series and he is a bench guy not exactly known for drawing fouls. Reeves didn't have a particularly good series and the Wolves defense likely had something to do with it.
The Wolves just played basketball.
For all the angst we've had over the years watching Towns complain behind the play... or watching Edwards scream and then complain... the team seemed unique in simply putting their heads down and playing the next play throughout the first round. Very business-like. We'll see if it continues in the next round... but I think that mentality played a part in the series victory. It seems like it was a point of emphasis for the squad.
They also don't grift for fouls nearly as much as other teams. And for this... I find them much more likeable. And I don't think it's only because it's the local team and I'm a provincial rube. It's a refreshing look in the modern NBA.
Good point Abe. Edwards did his usual complain but it was also more of a couple seconds of raising his arms saying stuff then he went back to playing the game. Randle was definitely pretty composed.
Yeah the Wolves don't hunt for fouls a ton in general. This yest they took less FTs than last year but they also fouled the other team significantly less. The Wolves took more FTs in this series although that may have been screwed a bit because they had leads late. LeBron and Luka got to the line but the Wolves barely put anyone else there. The Lakers players not named Luka or James took a total of 20 FTs. The Wolves bench took 26 FTs.
