FNG Made Me Do It - Thunder at Wolves GDT

[WildWolf2813]

Man, a healthy Kyrie on this team, and we don't lose.

I'll settle for Ayo and TC buying low on someone like Devin Carter who hasn't done anything either.

[60WinTim]

The nice win helps put TC in a stronger position at the trade deadline — he can say he’s not desperate to make a move.

[WildWolf2813]

That was a well played game (besides the end of the bench guys). Did not expect that after these last couple weeks.

the rollercoaster continues

More ups than downs though. We're now 30-19.

While it was an impressive win, OKC missing Ajay Mitchell and JDub is like us missing Randle and Naz or something close to that. Oh, and I forgot about Caruso, whose defense makes Jaylen Clark look like a sieve. OKC is still THE team to beat when they are full strength. Still, I loved how our guys really brought it tonight.

ho hum. 30 wins before the all star break.


Remember when 30 wins meant the future was bright?

[Crazysauce]

Finch after the game speech was..... what the hell was that? Did someone die or did we just win a big game? Someone else had to see that right?

[AbeVigodaLive]

Finch after the game speech was..... what the hell was that? Did someone die or did we just win a big game? Someone else had to see that right?

Didn't see it. I assume he was very chill?

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's "I wonder if the Wolves show so much energy that we'll really start questioning their lousy efforts in other games" DVR Review:

- Yeah. They tried in this one. This is who this team could be.

- Speaking of which... was it a collective effort to try to keep the team together? It sorta worked, right? Trade Dillingham for Tyus Jones and a 2nd (or somehow two 2nds) and call it a day. And then hope they decide to play with effort in the playoffs.

- Bones and Dilly combined for 8 TOs and only 1 assist in 26 minutes. That's one reason why Mike Conley still gets run.

- The Wolves played a physical style that reminded me of the 2024 playoffs vs. Denver. The officials let them play... and that's good for both teams over the long haul. OKC put the clamps on with about 3 minutes left in the first half.

- L. Dort bothers Edwards. I'm sorry, I mistyped. L. Dort fouls Edwards.

- Another gritty game from Divencinzo. A quality player most games even without hitting shots.

- For reals though... SGA is sorta insane in how smooth he is in the mid-range and on crafty (non-flopping) drives to the hoop. Amazing player.

- That was one of Edwards' best all-around games this season. He took a couple of ill-advised shots and didn't rotate on a couple of threes on D, but he got off the ball pretty well and actually tried on defense most of the time.

[FNG]

I can't figure out how to record games on Prime so had to miss this one, so I appreciate the comments in this thread to give me some context about this terrific win. I was able to listen to the 4th quarter in the car driving home...I'm not fond of Alan Horton on TV, but he is a really good radio play by play guy.

A quick look at the box score doesn't resonate "Wolves win" to me. 26 assists and 19 turnovers, 61% free throw rate, and 6 more fouls than OkC sounds like a prescription for a loss. But then I looked at some hustle stats, and the reason for the win became evident: 12 steals, 7 blocks and 15 offensive rebounds tells me that we brought maximum effort. Oh, and 47% 3-point shooting helped a lot too.

Abe talked about Ant working hard at both ends in this game, and I still maintain consistent effort by Ant is critical to this team's success. Nice to see him with a team-leading +24. He's a top 5 player when he works hard, but not even in my top 10 when he doesn't. The good news? His effort in the playoffs is generally high.

I'm not complaining at all about Finchy going with an 8-man rotation in this one...he really wanted to win. It's unusual for a team to have such a short rotation on the 4th game in 5 nights, and even more unusual for a team to play so hard in their 4th game in 5...tip of the hat. I know posters here want to see more Joan, but as I said in the last GDT, I think we are only going to see him play meaningful minutes in games against G League teams and if Rudy is out. We don't outrebound OkC 46-36 if Joan is in the rotation. And with Mike out, Finchy had no choice but to play 8. I will predict this though...I think TJ will get some minutes in games like this if he comes back healthy.

So the Wolves beat up a very good Thunder team, and spirits are brighter on this board this morning, And we're now just a half game behind the Rockets for 4th place, and just 3 out of second place. I know this 17 game stretch started out really bad, but I still think we have a good chance of finding ourselves in second place when we face the hottest team in the Association in late February...the Clippers! We get the slumping Grizzlies in the next two games, and get afford to let up.

[FNG]

I found a replay of the game on the net and watched the first half...glad I did. A few comments:

Man, the team of Eagle, Van Gundy and Nash is really good,

Ant said post game that we puts in the effort on defense, it inspires the entire team to defend. I found the comment both on point and frustrating. Rudy, Jaden and Donte are going to bring it every night...it's Ant and Ju who are the wild cards on defense. But they were both locked in on the defensive end, and it did bring the other three starters to an even higher level. Now, why not every night?

Loved the play by Clark where he missed the 3-pointer but flew in for the rebound and layup. He's such an unorthodox player, but his ball instincts are outstanding.

Jaden was 5 for 5 from deep and is now 9th in the league in percentage...in addition to being an elite defender and a menace in the open court and paint. Any talk of including him in a deal for an oft-injured 31 year old player is pure folly in my opinion. He's going to keep getting better.

I love Timberwolves fans...they're passionate and smart. But I don't understand the boos every time SGA touches the ball. He's an elite player and seems like a really good guy. Really stupid to boo him.

Hyland hit some big shots, but I thought he played very poorly in the first half. Some head scratching moments on defense, very few assists, and too many turnovers. But his shots were timely.

We out-OkCed OkC...beat them at their own game. Played physical and tough and turned them over a lot. I don't want to say these two teams don't like each other, because there is a lot of mutual respect...but they sure seem to get up for playing each other. I think they are destined to face each other at some point in the playoffs, and that is going to be fun.

[Q-is-here]

I love Timberwolves fans...they're passionate and smart. But I don't understand the boos every time SGA touches the ball. He's an elite player and seems like a really good guy. Really stupid to boo him.

Fans have every right to boo him and I love it. I agree that he's an elite player and low-key great leader/good guy. But he taints it with the foul baiting, flopping, crumpling to the floor, push offs, and shoving his arms into defenders. No one on any level of basketball plays like this....except in the NBA. You don't see it in AAU, High School, NCAA, Euroleague. Hell, I don't even see it in the G-League. The foul grifting is exclusive to the NBA and it taints the player and the product.

So I think the fans are booing the NBA and refs for letting him (and others in the past like Harden, Trae, and Embiid) get away with it as much as they are booing SGA himself. (which by the way, I don't think he did it as much last night because it was officiated more like a playoff game and Jaden is getting to know his tricks).

[FNG]

I love Timberwolves fans...they're passionate and smart. But I don't understand the boos every time SGA touches the ball. He's an elite player and seems like a really good guy. Really stupid to boo him.

Fans have every right to boo him and I love it. I agree that he's an elite player and low-key great leader/good guy. But he taints it with the foul baiting, flopping, crumpling to the floor, push offs, and shoving his arms into defenders. No one on any level of basketball plays like this....except in the NBA. You don't see it in AAU, High School, NCAA, Euroleague. Hell, I don't even see it in the G-League. The foul grifting is exclusive to the NBA and it taints the player and the product.

So I think the fans are booing the NBA and refs for letting him (and others in the past like Harden, Trae, and Embiid) get away with it as much as they are booing SGA himself. (which by the way, I don't think he did it as much last night because it was officiated more like a playoff game and Jaden is getting to know his tricks).

We definitely have different booing strategies, Q. i like booing, but I save it for the real a-holes in the league...and there are a few of those! I don't get booing someone just because they are very good at doing something...even if it's something we don't like. Plus, it seems like SGA and NAW were raised really well...they both seem like outstanding guys. So yeah, it bugged me last night when the fans booed him every time he touched the ball...especially on a night when he only had 5 free throw attempts!