Nuggets/Wolves GDT

[WildWolf2813]

I bring it up a ton so I apologize. The nuggets scored on 31 of 39 possessions Rudy sat tonight. This is not even to defend Rudy this is we need to figure it out because they can’t get any stops.

Ryan Kalkbrenner was there at 31.


Sigh.

[kekgeek]

I bring it up a ton so I apologize. The nuggets scored on 31 of 39 possessions Rudy sat tonight. This is not even to defend Rudy this is we need to figure it out because they can’t get any stops.

Ryan Kalkbrenner was there at 31.


Sigh.

That is a fair critique. I’m a pretty big Connolly defender but his draft classes not looking great with only TSJ and Clark as legit rotation pieces

[KiwiMatt]

Also, let's keep it a buck.

Everyone thought Donte was the prize of the KAT trade and he simply never makes the shot when we need him to.

The value that Donte was supposed to bring just doesn't seem to be there now.

Yep I question his fit. He takes too many questionable shots and simply doesn’t make enough of them. He was bad defensively tonight as well.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe’s 1st ever All-Thumbs-on-his-phone Streaming Service Review:

- no computer access… so you get old man phone typing.

- too many national tv games. I like our local broadcast… and I can watch on my beloved DVR when it’s on there. I missed a good chunk of the 1st because I didn’t realize it wasn’t on FanDuel again.

- Jaden McDaniels… fun to watch him expand his game. It’s a learning process though as we saw him struggle late trying to figure out just how much he can generate offensively.

- Jaden McDaniels… terrible to listen for on-court interviews. I think he only spoke in tired sports cliches in the halftime interview. I thought it was a parody. Some of the cliches weren’t even relevant. LOL.

- Randle continues to be very sharp offensively

- Conley continues to miss bunnies and floaters. He can’t get to the rim anymore… but we’re in year 2 of him being arguably the worst finisher at the rim in the league.

- Tim hardaway beat divincenzo off the dribble 2x in a row. Yuck. That can’t happen.

- A hot Jamal Murray makes Denver a very good team. He was incredible. To be fair, the wolves defense was awful again. Yikes.

- Naz getting closer on offense

- 52 minutes combined for Conley, bones and Dillingham. 18 points on 16 shots. 3 rebounds. 7 assists. 5 TOs. They’re all closer to waiver wire fodder than legit NBA rotation players. Too small on D… too bleh on offense.

[Lipoli390]

I bring it up a ton so I apologize. The nuggets scored on 31 of 39 possessions Rudy sat tonight. This is not even to defend Rudy this is we need to figure it out because they can’t get any stops.

No apology necessary. Many keep writing about the PG situation, which is an issue. Wildwolf pointed out Donte’s failings and he’s not wrong. But none of those issues is as serious as our disproportionate reliance on Rudy defensively. It’s an absolutely huge problem that is far more problematic than the other issues.

We can adequately address the PG situation by no longer playing Mike Conley. There’s almost nothing left in his tank. He doesn’t have the legs to consistently hit perimeter shots, get to the rim or finish at the rim as he used to. And he can’t defend anymore. Mike was a decent defender in his prime even though he’s about the same size as Dilly but when you’re small and you lose your quickness you quickly become a major defensive liability. Bones defended well against Indiana and was OK offensively. Dilly is still an unknown but his young legs and quickness should make him better for us that Conley once he gets come consistently playing time to get a feel for things. It’s not ideal, but we should be able to succeed with a combo of Shannon, Dilly and Bones as Ant’s backcourt mate. And we’ll have to rely on those three in various combinations while Ant is out.

Donte does some good things on the court and I love his hustle. But his defense is suspect and he just isn’t very consistent offensively. I think he’s more valuable right now as a trade asset than a player for us. Some, myself included, have talked about trading Donte for a starting PG. That could make sense. But maybe we should consider trading him for a defensive big to address our biggest problem - i.e., the defensive drop-off when Rudy sits.

Maybe our defensive drop off issue can be addressed through coaching — more aggressive defense at the point of attack for example. So maybe we’re missing NAW more than some of us thought we would. To that end, perhaps we should trade Donte for a really good parameter defender - PG or SG.

Bottom line is that we have to find a way to defend effectively when Rudy isn’t on the court. I think that should be our #1 priority. I didn’t think so a year ago, Kek, when you were harping on this point. But I have to concede you’ve been right all along.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I bring it up a ton so I apologize. The nuggets scored on 31 of 39 possessions Rudy sat tonight. This is not even to defend Rudy this is we need to figure it out because they can’t get any stops.

No apology necessary. Many keep writing about the PG situation, which is an issue. Wildwolf pointed out Donte’s failings and he’s not wrong. But none of those issues is as serious as our disproportionate reliance on Rudy defensively. It’s an absolutely huge problem that is far more problematic than the other issues.

We can adequately address the PG situation by no longer playing Mike Conley. There’s almost nothing left in his tank. He doesn’t have the legs to consistently hit perimeter shots, get to the rim or finish at the rim as he used to. And he can’t defend anymore. Mike was a decent defender in his prime even though he’s about the same size as Dilly but when you’re small and you lose your quickness you quickly become a major defensive liability. Bones defended well against Indiana and was OK offensively. Dilly is still an unknown but his young legs and quickness should make him better for us that Conley once he gets come consistently playing time to get a feel for things. It’s not ideal, but we should be able to succeed with a combo of Shannon, Dilly and Bones as Ant’s backcourt mate. And we’ll have to rely on those three in various combinations while Ant is out.

Donte does some good things on the court and I love his hustle. But his defense is suspect and he just isn’t very consistent offensively. I think he’s more valuable right now as a trade asset than a player for us. Some, myself included, have talked about trading Donte for a starting PG. That could make sense. But maybe we should consider trading him for a defensive big to address our biggest problem - i.e., the defensive drop-off when Rudy sits.

Maybe our defensive drop off issue can be addressed through coaching — more aggressive defense at the point of attack for example. So maybe we’re missing NAW more than some of us thought we would. To that end, perhaps we should trade Donte for a really good parameter defender - PG or SG.

Bottom line is that we have to find a way to defend effectively when Rudy isn’t on the court. I think that should be our #1 priority. I didn’t think so a year ago, Kek, when you were harping on this point. But I have to concede you’ve been right all along.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Divincenzo moved...

Statistically... he's had one "pretty good" season (2024 in NY). Otherwise, this is who he's always been. He looks the part. He does several things reasonably well, or really well at times. But in the end... he's a slightly above average player.

And he's 29. This is who he is. If it's not good enough, find a team who thinks what he does is good enough.

[FNG]

Donte seems to have moved into "whipping boy" status, and I get it to some extent. But with Ant out, this team needs 3-point shooting, and he's been one of the few bright spots this season in that area. Last night he was 3 for 8, and the only TWolf who made over 33% of his treys. And his 38.5% on the season makes him one of only 4 players over 30% (the others being Ant, Ju and TJ). He's been right around 40% each of the prior 3 years, so he is a legitimate 3-point threat.

All that said, I think some of our shooters (like Mike, Jaden, and Naz) are going to progress to their means, and when Ant returns, our 3-point shooting will be adequate again. And we do seem to have a lot of players who can play SG other than him (Ant, Clark, TJ, even Bones and Mike). Trading him for a serviceable defensive center or PG could be a good move.

[Wolvesfan21]

I bring it up a ton so I apologize. The nuggets scored on 31 of 39 possessions Rudy sat tonight. This is not even to defend Rudy this is we need to figure it out because they can’t get any stops.

No apology necessary. Many keep writing about the PG situation, which is an issue. Wildwolf pointed out Donte’s failings and he’s not wrong. But none of those issues is as serious as our disproportionate reliance on Rudy defensively. It’s an absolutely huge problem that is far more problematic than the other issues.

We can adequately address the PG situation by no longer playing Mike Conley. There’s almost nothing left in his tank. He doesn’t have the legs to consistently hit perimeter shots, get to the rim or finish at the rim as he used to. And he can’t defend anymore. Mike was a decent defender in his prime even though he’s about the same size as Dilly but when you’re small and you lose your quickness you quickly become a major defensive liability. Bones defended well against Indiana and was OK offensively. Dilly is still an unknown but his young legs and quickness should make him better for us that Conley once he gets come consistently playing time to get a feel for things. It’s not ideal, but we should be able to succeed with a combo of Shannon, Dilly and Bones as Ant’s backcourt mate. And we’ll have to rely on those three in various combinations while Ant is out.

Donte does some good things on the court and I love his hustle. But his defense is suspect and he just isn’t very consistent offensively. I think he’s more valuable right now as a trade asset than a player for us. Some, myself included, have talked about trading Donte for a starting PG. That could make sense. But maybe we should consider trading him for a defensive big to address our biggest problem - i.e., the defensive drop-off when Rudy sits.

Maybe our defensive drop off issue can be addressed through coaching — more aggressive defense at the point of attack for example. So maybe we’re missing NAW more than some of us thought we would. To that end, perhaps we should trade Donte for a really good parameter defender - PG or SG.

Bottom line is that we have to find a way to defend effectively when Rudy isn’t on the court. I think that should be our #1 priority. I didn’t think so a year ago, Kek, when you were harping on this point. But I have to concede you’ve been right all along.

I actually think we could start integrating Joan right now. I'm sure there will be growing pains for sure near term, But I'll take it if he's able to more quickly develop by the end of the season. They probably don't think he's ready, and they're likely right, but I'm willing to potentially lose a few more with the possibility of higher returns later on.

We certainly missed Clark last night too. Him in the starting 5 isn't really that bad an idea when Ant gets back. Sure he's a liability as a passer and dribbler, but just let Ant and Ju take the load.

The issue too with our "offensive" guys is (Conley/DDV/Dilly/TJ), when they don't do well shooting/scoring then we suck. Clark could at least be a floor raiser on defense and provide turnovers to easy buckets.

I guess I'm not giving up on DDV that he can reach a higher height then he's shown since the trade here, but he's been a little underwhelming overall. Hoped for more and still do. He should have a few more hot games where he takes over (5 or 6 threes in a game), especially with Ant out.

[Coolbreeze44]

I bring it up a ton so I apologize. The nuggets scored on 31 of 39 possessions Rudy sat tonight. This is not even to defend Rudy this is we need to figure it out because they can’t get any stops.

No apology necessary. Many keep writing about the PG situation, which is an issue. Wildwolf pointed out Donte’s failings and he’s not wrong. But none of those issues is as serious as our disproportionate reliance on Rudy defensively. It’s an absolutely huge problem that is far more problematic than the other issues.

We can adequately address the PG situation by no longer playing Mike Conley. There’s almost nothing left in his tank. He doesn’t have the legs to consistently hit perimeter shots, get to the rim or finish at the rim as he used to. And he can’t defend anymore. Mike was a decent defender in his prime even though he’s about the same size as Dilly but when you’re small and you lose your quickness you quickly become a major defensive liability. Bones defended well against Indiana and was OK offensively. Dilly is still an unknown but his young legs and quickness should make him better for us that Conley once he gets come consistently playing time to get a feel for things. It’s not ideal, but we should be able to succeed with a combo of Shannon, Dilly and Bones as Ant’s backcourt mate. And we’ll have to rely on those three in various combinations while Ant is out.

Donte does some good things on the court and I love his hustle. But his defense is suspect and he just isn’t very consistent offensively. I think he’s more valuable right now as a trade asset than a player for us. Some, myself included, have talked about trading Donte for a starting PG. That could make sense. But maybe we should consider trading him for a defensive big to address our biggest problem - i.e., the defensive drop-off when Rudy sits.

Maybe our defensive drop off issue can be addressed through coaching — more aggressive defense at the point of attack for example. So maybe we’re missing NAW more than some of us thought we would. To that end, perhaps we should trade Donte for a really good parameter defender - PG or SG.

Bottom line is that we have to find a way to defend effectively when Rudy isn’t on the court. I think that should be our #1 priority. I didn’t think so a year ago, Kek, when you were harping on this point. But I have to concede you’ve been right all along.

I actually think we could start integrating Joan right now. I'm sure there will be growing pains for sure near term, But I'll take it if he's able to more quickly develop by the end of the season. They probably don't think he's ready, and they're likely right, but I'm willing to potentially lose a few more with the possibility of higher returns later on.

We certainly missed Clark last night too. Him in the starting 5 isn't really that bad an idea when Ant gets back. Sure he's a liability as a passer and dribbler, but just let Ant and Ju take the load.

The issue too with our "offensive" guys is (Conley/DDV/Dilly/TJ), when they don't do well shooting/scoring then we suck. Clark could at least be a floor raiser on defense and provide turnovers to easy buckets.

I guess I'm not giving up on DDV that he can reach a higher height then he's shown since the trade here, but he's been a little underwhelming overall. Hoped for more and still do. He should have a few more hot games where he takes over (5 or 6 threes in a game), especially with Ant out.

I like your points here. I would start Clark to improve our perimeter defense and I would also start working Joan into the rotation. It would probably cost NAZ some minutes, but our defense with Rudy on the bench is a joke. The sooner Joan can be a contributor the better.

[Lipoli390]

Donte seems to have moved into "whipping boy" status, and I get it to some extent. But with Ant out, this team needs 3-point shooting, and he's been one of the few bright spots this season in that area. Last night he was 3 for 8, and the only TWolf who made over 33% of his treys. And his 38.5% on the season makes him one of only 4 players over 30% (the others being Ant, Ju and TJ). He's been right around 40% each of the prior 3 years, so he is a legitimate 3-point threat.

All that said, I think some of our shooters (like Mike, Jaden, and Naz) are going to progress to their means, and when Ant returns, our 3-point shooting will be adequate again. And we do seem to have a lot of players who can play SG other than him (Ant, Clark, TJ, even Bones and Mike). Trading him for a serviceable defensive center or PG could be a good move.

I’m not blaming Donte for our team’s struggles early this season and I’m still a Donte fan. I just think he’s more valuable to us as a trade asset right now given what he does for us, who we have on our roster and the possible need to change things up a bit. That said, I’m not anxious to trade him and I see where we might miss his three-point shooting. For now, I’d go with who we have. We just need to guard better at the point of attack, especially when Rudy’s sitting. What I’ve noticed is that our defenders are allowing opposing shooters to get their feet set far too often. If a good shooter gets his feet set, closing out and getting a hand in the shooter’s face isn’t very effective. We need a Nolan Richardson 40 minutes of hell defensive effort for 48 minutes every game for this team to be good defensively and successful overall. So far, all I’ve seen is a maybe 10 minutes of heck. I’ll accept mistakes but I can’t accept failure to fight through screens or lazy closeouts on players who never should have been able to get their feet set in the first place. I still think we can be a good defensive team even with Rudy on the bench, but not if Jaden, Conley, Donte and others give space to the guys they’re guarding.

I’ll add that we were pretty good defensively when we won 46 games before Rudy arrived. We were relentlessly aggressive defending the perimeter that season with guys like Vanderbilt and Beverley. Let’s get Clark and Shannon on the court and get Jaden to step up his perimeter defense. I thought Bones played well defensively against the Pacers. In fact, he seemed like the only defender on our team who effectively stopped shooters from getting their feet set. So let’s give him a bigger role in the rotation.