Giving Tim a day off for rest- Spurs/Wolves GDT

[60WinTim]

I assume the pundits are correct that Rudy will be suspended for the next game. That poses some interesting rotation discussions:

- Does NAZ get the start?
- Does Beringer get his first rotational minutes?
- Does Rocco get recalled for any "just in case"?
- Or will we see a lot more of Jaden at the 4?
- Which means one or more guards/wings could see more minutes?

Finch is usually pretty damn conservative on his adjustments. Anyone want to speculate?

[Crazysauce]

My gut is we see Jaden move over to the 4. Finch is too damn stubborn with his playing time for the young guys. It's ridiculous that he can't find Beringer any minutes.

[thedoper]

What a game for Randle. He really made Wemby frustrated.

[Leado01]

Abe's well that was unexpected DVR Review:

- Everything is a struggle. Good looks get passed up for worse looks. There's no cohesion. Just fighting it... but I don't really know what the fight's against...

- Wemby and Gobert both were looking for highlights early as both know they'll get extra attention.

- Just a rough rough grind in this one. I don't think it's a lazy wolves game... but something just hasn't clicked. The crowd feels it. They're quiet.

- AND THEN DONTE DIVENCENZO HAPPENED!
It was clear that there was something going on between Donte and the young Spurs guards. Chirping? A little extra physicality? It's like they're challenging him... and he's in a "I'm not a chump" mode. There was real energy there and maybe it was more noticeable because so little of substance was happening elsewhere.

Anyway, I'm starting to see Divencenzo staking claim to being the pulse of this team.

- I went into a time machine in the 3rd quarter... and watched the 34-year-old Anthony Edwards battle vs. the Spurs. He looked a step slow, unable to get past the young spurs guys, and then hesitant on almost everything. He looked unsure... or even injured?

- The energy was building... and then right around 73 - 83, and around the flagrant on Rudy... the intensity level changed completely. One of the crazier, more obvious shifts of energy/intensity/excitement both on the court and off it I can remember.

At one point, I thought to myself that they started playing like a team that knows it's playing the next game without Rudy AND Edwards... while facing a 3-game losing streak just when they started feeling better about themselves...

- We've all sat/stood through a lot of those types of games that fall short. It's part of our mystique in a way. It's always fun when they turn out like tonight.

I thought of the Malik Sealy game for some reason right after the Wolves closed it out...

I think of Malik and that game winner every time we hit a game winner...Donte was our energy for most of this game

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's well that was unexpected DVR Review:

- Everything is a struggle. Good looks get passed up for worse looks. There's no cohesion. Just fighting it... but I don't really know what the fight's against...

- Wemby and Gobert both were looking for highlights early as both know they'll get extra attention.

- Just a rough rough grind in this one. I don't think it's a lazy wolves game... but something just hasn't clicked. The crowd feels it. They're quiet.

- AND THEN DONTE DIVENCENZO HAPPENED!
It was clear that there was something going on between Donte and the young Spurs guards. Chirping? A little extra physicality? It's like they're challenging him... and he's in a "I'm not a chump" mode. There was real energy there and maybe it was more noticeable because so little of substance was happening elsewhere.

Anyway, I'm starting to see Divencenzo staking claim to being the pulse of this team.

- I went into a time machine in the 3rd quarter... and watched the 34-year-old Anthony Edwards battle vs. the Spurs. He looked a step slow, unable to get past the young spurs guys, and then hesitant on almost everything. He looked unsure... or even injured?

- The energy was building... and then right around 73 - 83, and around the flagrant on Rudy... the intensity level changed completely. One of the crazier, more obvious shifts of energy/intensity/excitement both on the court and off it I can remember.

At one point, I thought to myself that they started playing like a team that knows it's playing the next game without Rudy AND Edwards... while facing a 3-game losing streak just when they started feeling better about themselves...

- We've all sat/stood through a lot of those types of games that fall short. It's part of our mystique in a way. It's always fun when they turn out like tonight.

I thought of the Malik Sealy game for some reason right after the Wolves closed it out...

I think of Malik and that game winner every time we hit a game winner...Donte was our energy for most of this game

Back to Donte... I like that it showcased the game within a game. Anyone who still has it on a recording... just watch Divencenzo vs. the Spurs guards for the 1st three quarters. It's really the only entertaining thing about that game until the Wolves late rally.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Just watched the full replay.

Man, what a game.

Lots of guys stepped up in key moments, but--and this is weird to admit--I especially gotta hand it to Randle for his D on Wembanyama. Just not what I was expecting. There were, like, two or three plays down the stretch where he just totally took their best player out of the possession.

If Julius can play D like that more often, then the non-Rudy minutes wouldn't hurt so much on D.

Great win.

[Q-is-here]

Just watched the full replay.

Man, what a game.

Lots of guys stepped up in key moments, but--and this is weird to admit--I especially gotta hand it to Randle for his D on Wembanyama. Just not what I was expecting. There were, like, two or three plays down the stretch where he just totally took their best player out of the possession.

If Julius can play D like that more often, then the non-Rudy minutes wouldn't hurt so much on D.

Great win.

I've seen Julius lock down on switches before where someone tries to iso on him and he gets into a stance and defends. His issue on defense is all the other stuff - getting back quickly in transition, being quick to recover and contest while in rotation, boxing out for the defensive rebound, taking a charge, etc. The nice thing about him and Ant is while they both tend to struggle at times with team defense, neither can be targeted easily.