Game Report - Game 4

[Lipoli390]

I’m finally back in action after back surgery. Last night was my first game in a long time. Great to be off the DL and what a game to be at last night. Target center was deafening. I couldn’t see a single empty seat in the arena and also could barely hear my wife yelling in my left ear. Great atmosphere!

Until the very end, this looked like a game we were destined to lose. Ant and Jaden got off to slow starts while Randle kept us in the game. We gave the Lakers too many good three-point looks and of course Luka can hit incredible shots even when defended perfectly. Meanwhile, we were missing some easy shots and some free throws. The Lakers seemed to be in control with the Wolves making mini runs to avoid a route and keep the game reasonably close. But neither the Wolves nor the crowd ever gave up. And we all know how it ended.

Now a few more specific thoughts and observations, starting with the negatives:

1. Officiating — Last night’s game was a reminder that free-throw disparities don’t always tell much about officiating balance. The Wolves had more free-throw attempts than the Lakers last night, but the officiating bias in favor of the Lakers last night was absolutely disgusting and perhaps the worst I’ve ever seen in person. I don’t have the long list of examples cataloged in my head, but I can recall a few. There was the no call on the Lakers when a Laker player (can’t remember who) wrapped his arms around Randle and tackled him as Julius was trying to save a ball headed out of bounds. There was the foul call on Randle when he was literally mugged by two Laker players and struck in the face by one of them. They called a foul on Randle but should have called it on the Lakers and it probably should have been a flagrant. There was the goal-tend call on Jaden that was no more of a goal-tend than LeBron’s “block.” There was the questionable offensive goal tend on Rudy. There were a lot of touch foul calls on the Wolves that were ignored when the Lakers did the same. There were two occasions when LeBron was in an official’s face, shadowing and screaming at him. Ant would have been called for two technicals and tossed if he had done the same. LeBron should have at least been called for a tech the second time he did it. And of course, there was that last foul by LeBron that never should have required a challenge. It was such an obvious foul and the official was standing right in front of it.

The fact that Redick and others are complaining about the officiating is something from an alternative universe. That so-called “trip” of Luka by Jaden at center court was Luka stepping on Jaden’s foot. It takes a lot of gall to spin that as a foul and complain about it. What about all the times Luka pushed off with his left hand with no call. Luka pushes off constantly. He also repeatedly slips and flops, often putting him on the foul line when he doesn’t deserve to be there. For LeBron to suggest that his foul at the end of the game was the back of the hand and therefore legal contact is ridiculous. The officials reviewed the slow-motion replay, which clearly showed that LeBron hit Ant’s arm. It also shows LeBron making contact with his other hand on Ant’s back. Only LeBron, with his sense of entitlement, would whine about that call after the fact. And how about the Laker fans calling for an investigation? Spoiled brats. I’d welcome an investigation. Let’s look at Luka pushing off repeatedly with his left hand but not getting called. Let’s look at the light touch fouls that got Luka to the line. Let’s compare Jaden’s goal-tend to LeBron’s block. Let’s watch LeBron screaming at an official twice with no technical and think about what would have happened if Ant had done the same.

2. Finch Head Coaching — I thought Finch’s coaching last night was pretty bad. The offense had no off-ball movement and was stagnant the entire game. I know that’s been pretty typical all season but at this point it’s inexcusable and responsibility falls on Finch. My wife commented that Edwards wasn’t passing the ball. My response was that no one was moving, cutting or getting open and she agreed. In any event, Edwards is a scorer doing what elite scorers are supposed to do. In contrast, the Lakers were moving the ball beautifully on offense with players moving and cutting. Finch kept leaving Rudy on the floor and bringing him back in when every one of the 20,000 fans in attendance knew Rudy was a huge negative for the Wolves on both ends last night. Finch was way late calling a time out when the Lakers pulled ahead early in the 3rd quarter. Fans in my area were screaming for a timeout well before Finch finally called one.

3. Rudy and Mike — They were both bad - Rudy worse than Mike. In Rudy’s case I’m not sure how much of it is the matchup versus playoff style basketball - perhaps a big of both. Rudy has never been a good playoff player. My sense is that playoff basketball ball becomes much more physical as officials let guys play and that exposes Rudy’s lack of strength and toughness. The Lakers were dominating him physically last night as I saw it. And of course, he doesn’t have the athleticism or quickness to stay with the smaller players the Lakers have on the court.

4. NAW — Not terrible but not good either. He’s not the same positive force in this series that I remember him being in the playoffs last year.

Some positive observations:

1. Edwards — He started slow but then took over when he had to, attacking the basket, hitting big shots and scoring 43 points including clutch free throws in the 4th. He also added 9 rebounds, 6 assists (led the team in assists), 1 block with only 1 turnover. Ant wasn’t going to let the Wolves lose last night and did what superstars do.

2. Julius Randle — I can’t say enough positive things about the way Randle played last night. First of all, he carried us with his scoring in the 1st quarter, single-handily keeping us from getting blown out early. After that it was his hustle, intensity and defense, yes his defense, that contributed mightily to the Wolves win. Julius was all over the court, chasing down loose balls and defending. His defense on Luka in the 4th was stellar and a huge key to the Wolves win. I love his energy, which was infectious. And here’s perhaps my favorite Randle stat from last night — zero turnovers!

3. Jaden McDaniels — I’d call Jaden the unsung hero for the Wolves last night. He started slow but got it going in the 2nd half. He was great defensively as usual. But he also had critical buckets on his way to 16 points last night. And note he was our leading rebounding last night with 11.

4. Naz Reid — Naz was terrible in the 1st half. But when he got it going in the 2nd half, especially the 4th quarter, he was perhaps the main catalyst for the win. He had three plays in a row that I believe changed the course of the game in our favor. The first was a drive that resulted in a 2-point bucket with his left hand. The next was a great defense stop on Luka. He then followed up on the next offensive possession with a 3-pointer on a pass out from Edwards. Naz, Julius, Jaden and Ant all took turns making life difficult for Luka, especially in the 4th quarter.

5. Donte - His shooting was terrible, ending up 3-11 from the field and 1-4 from behind the arc. But his energy and disruptive defense were significant contributors to last night’s win. I wasn’t surprised to see he had 5 steals when I got home and looked at the box score. The phrase, “he does the little things” is often overused to to overstate the value of a player who doesn’t really contribute much. But that phrase applies well to Donte.

6. TSJ — Let’s not forget what TSJ did in his short 3 minute stint in the 1st. I’ll confess I was surprised when Finch suddenly inserted him into the game. Interesting that he chose TSJ over Clark. In any event, TSJ had 4 rebounds and 1 assist in those 3 minutes. He showed great hustle and smarts during every second of those three minutes and in what turned out to be a 3-point margin of victory, you can’t overlook the contribution TSJ made at a time when Naz was really struggling.

Some off-the-court observations:

1. Lots of folks connected to the Wolves organization sitting in our vicinity. Matt Lloyd was sitting right in front of us and in front of him was Elston Turner’s wife who my wife and I got to know a little in Vegas Summer League. Luka Garza’s dad and girlfriend were across the aisle from us along with a lot of player friends and family.

2. It was great to watch Rob Dillingham on the bench. He was in street cloths but his intensity, focus and attention to bench huddles were as if he was an active part of last night’s active roster. At one point, Clark wanted to joke around with him but Rob just quickly glared at him then turned away and listened in on the huddle. Miller and Minott were also serious and attentive. Nice to not have Wes Johnson or Moore antics on the bench.

3. It was interesting to see Wolves players jawing at each other. It’s not all peace and love among the Wolves players and that’s OK.

Next Game

As much as I’d enjoy going to a game 6 against the Lakers I want the Wolves to close out the series in LA on Wednesday night. Our guys should step into Staples Center and dominate. Give the the Lakers 48 minutes of hell on the defensive end and attack on the offensive end. The media bias in favor of the Lakers, the officiating bias, the whiny LA fans and players — all those things should have our guys fired up to not just beat the Lakers Wednesday night but crush them.

[BloopOracle]

Please elaborate on point 3 Lip!

[Coolbreeze44]

Was hoping we would get your thoughts from inside the arena Lip, great job. Glad your back is better, hope to hear more from you going forward.

[kekgeek]

Welcome back Lip.

[Lipoli390]

Please elaborate on point 3 Lip!

Throughout the game I saw some Wolves players talking impatiently and in an animated way to some of their teammates. It wasn’t constant and it wasn’t everyone but I’ve never seen it like that before. The stakes are high now and it’s good to see they guys obviously taking it very seriously. No arguments; just some players getting after teammate a bit on where they should be on the court or getting on a teammate a bit after a mistake. Not a big deal, but noteworthy I thought.

[kekgeek]

Please elaborate on point 3 Lip!

Throughout the game I saw some Wolves players talking impatiently and in an animated way to some of their teammates. It wasn’t constant and it wasn’t everyone but I’ve never seen it like that before. The stakes are high now and it’s good to see they guys obviously taking it very seriously. No arguments; just some players getting after teammate a bit on where they should be on the court or getting on a teammate a bit after a mistake. Not a big deal, but noteworthy I thought.

What players out of curiosity. I actually don’t think that is a bad thing either.

[Lipoli390]

Please elaborate on point 3 Lip!

Throughout the game I saw some Wolves players talking impatiently and in an animated way to some of their teammates. It wasn’t constant and it wasn’t everyone but I’ve never seen it like that before. The stakes are high now and it’s good to see they guys obviously taking it very seriously. No arguments; just some players getting after teammate a bit on where they should be on the court or getting on a teammate a bit after a mistake. Not a big deal, but noteworthy I thought.

What players out of curiosity. I actually don’t think that is a bad thing either.

Ant, Julius and NAW.

[thedoper]

For all Finch’s faults his challenge won the game. Always a mixed bag with him. I would say Julius and DDV adapting to this team quickly has been a positive Finch point.

[Monster]

Great to hear your report Lip and I'm glad you are doing well after your surgery!

[FNG]

What a great game you were able to see, Lip! Sorry about the back though, and sorry your wife was yelling at you during the game...did you deserve it ?

Very good report. I couldn't agree more about how much better the Lakers' offense looked than ours with all the ball movement and players moving without the ball. Such a contrast to our style of 4 guys standing around. But fortunately we had our two high scorers having great games, and a far superior defense...and that was enough to beat a team gasping for air in the 4th.

Let's go win the next one in LA...you'll get a chance to see another home game in the next series!