Return of Ant and/or Jaden?- Magic GDT

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's "what kind of mickey mouse lineup is this" DVR Review:

- I can't believe I actually watched every minute. Then again, I watched most of the games in several 60-loss seasons...

- McDaniels might take 63 shots in 24 minutes. Kind of fun to see secondary scorers have (get) to do more with the ball. He seems to be moving well and has decent enough rhythm after sitting out several games. Nice.

- Joe Ingles pointing at his family after what might be his last bucket in an NBA game. As an "older" guy who still gets the privilege to play with one of his kids from time to time, I FELT that moment.

- Paolo Banchero is big and strong and fast. He's played well vs. Minnesota in both games. But I'm surprised he's not even more dominant yet in the NBA. Meanwhile, Desmond Bane still looks like a funhouse mirror NBA player... yet he's better than he looks.

- Back-to-back nice games for Naz. I mentioned it last game, but he's always been incredibly streaky. Is he ready for a nice run in the playoffs? But defensively, is it partly effort? Poor instincts? It's not just a size or position thing either. Whatever it is, I don't like it. At all.

- Oof. I'm gonna steal a line here, but change it just enough to avoid copyright infringement while probably making it more accurate: But Joan Beringer is 1.5 years away from being 1 year away. The thing is that so much happens when he's out there. He gets a few points. A few rebounds. And A LOT of fouls.

- Kyle Anderson isn't a good basketball player. But, he's not a bad basketball player either. I don't normally watch Family Guy but I watched an episode lately that went on a 45-second rant about Chris O'Donnell the actor. "He's not fat. But he's not skinny. He's not short, but he's not tall. He's not a good actor, but he's not terrible." And on and on it went. Anyway, I feel that way watching Kyle Anderson play basketball. His strengths/weaknesses are so obvious that it's a fascinating watch.

- I wish we had Micah Nori for an entire month of halftime interviews.

- Someday, I might remember Julian Phillips had a very brief stint with the Timberwolves. But I'm not sure if I'll remember much of anything about it. Maybe he sticks around the NBA for a few years. Maybe he won't. I just don't know who his is or what he does that's unique as a player. So, it could go either way.

- Bones Hyland is going to have words with Jim Peterson. Shortly after Peterson praised Bones for avoiding TOs all season... Bones committed 5 TOs without an assist. Rough game for him. That's ok. He's not really a PG or an NBA starter. But he can occasionally thrive in a very specific role.

- TJ Shannon. And more TJ Shannon. Please more TJ Shannon. I want MORE TJ SHANNON PLEASE!

29 points in the 2nd half. He was going downhill WITH CONFIDENCE in this one. You could see it building. And the three-point shooting was key to keep the defense honest enough for those drives to the hoop. And maybe it kept the Wolves intrigued enough to earmark him for the rotation next year.

Geek made a Shabazz Muhammad comparison. At first I thought it was a joke about both being older than you'd think... ahem. But, it was about both being mercurial scorers. Here's the big difference though -- Muhammad underwhelmed athletically. He had just enough old man savvy to get buckets at times, but his athleticism was meh. Shannon, however, has that look going downhill that jumps off the screen like a young Westbrook.

The other difference is that Shannon will pass. He ended with 5 assists, but there were several more drives into the lane that led to kickouts for wide open shots. Muhammad only got assists if he lost the ball and it fell into the hands of a teammate accidentally. Seriously. He might not have been Yinka Dare bad/selfish https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... eyi01.html... but he averaged only 0.5 apg for his career. He's one of my least favorite NBA players ever, obviously not as bad as the devil himself, Rashad McCants, but worse than a guy like Micheal Beasley or Eddie Griffin.

The one downside for Shannon in this game... defense. It was bad at times.

- Good for you, Joe Ingles. End your NBA career hitting a three pointer and talking smack to the opponent while doing it. Sorta fitting, right?

- It was all a bit more enjoyable than I thought it would have been.

[Q-is-here]

TJ back baby!

I know I’ve made this comp and so have others but TSJ is Shabazz. He did very well tonight with the ball in his hand and trying to work off of that. When he is the number 1 scoring option he can be a productive player. The issue is just like Shabazz he isn’t good enough to be the number 1 guy and from a wolves perspective he is probably the number 5 guy (Ant, Jaden, Randle, Naz, Bones) in give him the ball and go score a bucket on the team. The issue with TSJ is when he if not in his optional position as a player he struggles. (Or at least he has during his career). It’s such an interesting spot because I do think he has a skill set that is a positive, but his positive is not as good as others in that same spot so he becomes a negative

He probably needs to be a sixth man somewhere that needs scoring punch off the bench with a team that gives him enough rope to make mistakes knowing that he could catch fire and open up things for shooters in a spread offense.

If we get booted in the 1st round and make a bunch of changes this offseason, you never know, he may get a crack at that role for us next season. Too little, too late this season though...

[Leado01]

This game reminds me of game 1 against Portland, Shannon was so good in that game and I think a lot of us may have forgotten what that looked like.

Maybe it was really just the injury and getting his confidence back, time will tell

The LA game...Shannon was told to distribite to get minutes ans he did, then he got injured. The fact that his meaningful minutes are spent NOT recieving the ball in transition is on the coaching staff

[kekgeek]

This game reminds me of game 1 against Portland, Shannon was so good in that game and I think a lot of us may have forgotten what that looked like.

Maybe it was really just the injury and getting his confidence back, time will tell

The LA game...Shannon was told to distribite to get minutes ans he did, then he got injured. The fact that his meaningful minutes are spent NOT recieving the ball in transition is on the coaching staff

I mean he is 10th in the nba in frequency of shots coming from transition (so your statement is factually incorrect) but he is in the 30th percentile in effectiveness on the break.

It’s just unfortunate he has just been bad this year. It could be the injury and never got his footing. Now he is old relative to nba experience so hopefully he becomes more consistent

[AussieWolf3]

This game reminds me of game 1 against Portland, Shannon was so good in that game and I think a lot of us may have forgotten what that looked like.

Maybe it was really just the injury and getting his confidence back, time will tell

The LA game...Shannon was told to distribite to get minutes ans he did, then he got injured. The fact that his meaningful minutes are spent NOT recieving the ball in transition is on the coaching staff

No the first game of the season against Portland. Shannon basically took over Dontes minutes that game and looked like he be was going to be in a major factor.
Seems like a blip on the radar at this point cause he has these games every once in a while

[Q-is-here]

This game reminds me of game 1 against Portland, Shannon was so good in that game and I think a lot of us may have forgotten what that looked like.

Maybe it was really just the injury and getting his confidence back, time will tell

The LA game...Shannon was told to distribite to get minutes ans he did, then he got injured. The fact that his meaningful minutes are spent NOT recieving the ball in transition is on the coaching staff

I mean he is 10th in the nba in frequency of shots coming from transition (so your statement is factually incorrect) but he is in the 30th percentile in effectiveness on the break.

It’s just unfortunate he has just been bad this year. It could be the injury and never got his footing. Now he is old relative to nba experience so hopefully he becomes more consistent

Yeah, unlike last night or even last season, a lot of his cannonball drives to the hoop this season have rolled off the rim. He just hasn't finished them at a sufficiently high rate.

[Q-is-here]

Abe's "what kind of mickey mouse lineup is this" DVR Review:

- I can't believe I actually watched every minute. Then again, I watched most of the games in several 60-loss seasons...

- McDaniels might take 63 shots in 24 minutes. Kind of fun to see secondary scorers have (get) to do more with the ball. He seems to be moving well and has decent enough rhythm after sitting out several games. Nice.

- Joe Ingles pointing at his family after what might be his last bucket in an NBA game. As an "older" guy who still gets the privilege to play with one of his kids from time to time, I FELT that moment.

- Paolo Banchero is big and strong and fast. He's played well vs. Minnesota in both games. But I'm surprised he's not even more dominant yet in the NBA. Meanwhile, Desmond Bane still looks like a funhouse mirror NBA player... yet he's better than he looks.

- Back-to-back nice games for Naz. I mentioned it last game, but he's always been incredibly streaky. Is he ready for a nice run in the playoffs? But defensively, is it partly effort? Poor instincts? It's not just a size or position thing either. Whatever it is, I don't like it. At all.

- Oof. I'm gonna steal a line here, but change it just enough to avoid copyright infringement while probably making it more accurate: But Joan Beringer is 1.5 years away from being 1 year away. The thing is that so much happens when he's out there. He gets a few points. A few rebounds. And A LOT of fouls.

- Kyle Anderson isn't a good basketball player. But, he's not a bad basketball player either. I don't normally watch Family Guy but I watched an episode lately that went on a 45-second rant about Chris O'Donnell the actor. "He's not fat. But he's not skinny. He's not short, but he's not tall. He's not a good actor, but he's not terrible." And on and on it went. Anyway, I feel that way watching Kyle Anderson play basketball. His strengths/weaknesses are so obvious that it's a fascinating watch.

- I wish we had Micah Nori for an entire month of halftime interviews.

- Someday, I might remember Julian Phillips had a very brief stint with the Timberwolves. But I'm not sure if I'll remember much of anything about it. Maybe he sticks around the NBA for a few years. Maybe he won't. I just don't know who his is or what he does that's unique as a player. So, it could go either way.

- Bones Hyland is going to have words with Jim Peterson. Shortly after Peterson praised Bones for avoiding TOs all season... Bones committed 5 TOs without an assist. Rough game for him. That's ok. He's not really a PG or an NBA starter. But he can occasionally thrive in a very specific role.

- TJ Shannon. And more TJ Shannon. Please more TJ Shannon. I want MORE TJ SHANNON PLEASE!

29 points in the 2nd half. He was going downhill WITH CONFIDENCE in this one. You could see it building. And the three-point shooting was key to keep the defense honest enough for those drives to the hoop. And maybe it kept the Wolves intrigued enough to earmark him for the rotation next year.

Geek made a Shabazz Muhammad comparison. At first I thought it was a joke about both being older than you'd think... ahem. But, it was about both being mercurial scorers. Here's the big difference though -- Muhammad underwhelmed athletically. He had just enough old man savvy to get buckets at times, but his athleticism was meh. Shannon, however, has that look going downhill that jumps off the screen like a young Westbrook.

The other difference is that Shannon will pass. He ended with 5 assists, but there were several more drives into the lane that led to kickouts for wide open shots. Muhammad only got assists if he lost the ball and it fell into the hands of a teammate accidentally. Seriously. He might not have been Yinka Dare bad/selfish https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... eyi01.html... but he averaged only 0.5 apg for his career. He's one of my least favorite NBA players ever, obviously not as bad as the devil himself, Rashad McCants, but worse than a guy like Micheal Beasley or Eddie Griffin.

The one downside for Shannon in this game... defense. It was bad at times.

- Good for you, Joe Ingles. End your NBA career hitting a three pointer and talking smack to the opponent while doing it. Sorta fitting, right?

- It was all a bit more enjoyable than I thought it would have been.

Great dissertation on the difference between what may go down in history as two obscure Wolves in Shabazz and Shannon.

The 2024 draft yielded Dillingham and Shannon who are obviously two guys that need the ball in their hands and shots to maximize whatever potential they may have in the NBA. Not sure I've ever seen such a mis-match between the triumvirate of head coach, team needs, and draftees. That's on Tim Connelly.

[Wolvesfan21]

Abe's "what kind of mickey mouse lineup is this" DVR Review:

- I can't believe I actually watched every minute. Then again, I watched most of the games in several 60-loss seasons...

- McDaniels might take 63 shots in 24 minutes. Kind of fun to see secondary scorers have (get) to do more with the ball. He seems to be moving well and has decent enough rhythm after sitting out several games. Nice.

- Joe Ingles pointing at his family after what might be his last bucket in an NBA game. As an "older" guy who still gets the privilege to play with one of his kids from time to time, I FELT that moment.

- Paolo Banchero is big and strong and fast. He's played well vs. Minnesota in both games. But I'm surprised he's not even more dominant yet in the NBA. Meanwhile, Desmond Bane still looks like a funhouse mirror NBA player... yet he's better than he looks.

- Back-to-back nice games for Naz. I mentioned it last game, but he's always been incredibly streaky. Is he ready for a nice run in the playoffs? But defensively, is it partly effort? Poor instincts? It's not just a size or position thing either. Whatever it is, I don't like it. At all.

- Oof. I'm gonna steal a line here, but change it just enough to avoid copyright infringement while probably making it more accurate: But Joan Beringer is 1.5 years away from being 1 year away. The thing is that so much happens when he's out there. He gets a few points. A few rebounds. And A LOT of fouls.

- Kyle Anderson isn't a good basketball player. But, he's not a bad basketball player either. I don't normally watch Family Guy but I watched an episode lately that went on a 45-second rant about Chris O'Donnell the actor. "He's not fat. But he's not skinny. He's not short, but he's not tall. He's not a good actor, but he's not terrible." And on and on it went. Anyway, I feel that way watching Kyle Anderson play basketball. His strengths/weaknesses are so obvious that it's a fascinating watch.

- I wish we had Micah Nori for an entire month of halftime interviews.

- Someday, I might remember Julian Phillips had a very brief stint with the Timberwolves. But I'm not sure if I'll remember much of anything about it. Maybe he sticks around the NBA for a few years. Maybe he won't. I just don't know who his is or what he does that's unique as a player. So, it could go either way.

- Bones Hyland is going to have words with Jim Peterson. Shortly after Peterson praised Bones for avoiding TOs all season... Bones committed 5 TOs without an assist. Rough game for him. That's ok. He's not really a PG or an NBA starter. But he can occasionally thrive in a very specific role.

- TJ Shannon. And more TJ Shannon. Please more TJ Shannon. I want MORE TJ SHANNON PLEASE!

29 points in the 2nd half. He was going downhill WITH CONFIDENCE in this one. You could see it building. And the three-point shooting was key to keep the defense honest enough for those drives to the hoop. And maybe it kept the Wolves intrigued enough to earmark him for the rotation next year.

Geek made a Shabazz Muhammad comparison. At first I thought it was a joke about both being older than you'd think... ahem. But, it was about both being mercurial scorers. Here's the big difference though -- Muhammad underwhelmed athletically. He had just enough old man savvy to get buckets at times, but his athleticism was meh. Shannon, however, has that look going downhill that jumps off the screen like a young Westbrook.

The other difference is that Shannon will pass. He ended with 5 assists, but there were several more drives into the lane that led to kickouts for wide open shots. Muhammad only got assists if he lost the ball and it fell into the hands of a teammate accidentally. Seriously. He might not have been Yinka Dare bad/selfish https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... eyi01.html... but he averaged only 0.5 apg for his career. He's one of my least favorite NBA players ever, obviously not as bad as the devil himself, Rashad McCants, but worse than a guy like Micheal Beasley or Eddie Griffin.

The one downside for Shannon in this game... defense. It was bad at times.

- Good for you, Joe Ingles. End your NBA career hitting a three pointer and talking smack to the opponent while doing it. Sorta fitting, right?

- It was all a bit more enjoyable than I thought it would have been.

I get the comparison that what they are best at is scoring but I agree, completely different players. Bazz was more like a poor mans smaller Ju. More physicality then speed and often physicality in a bad way. TJ is pure speed and power and I loved his passing too, as you say.

Bazz was just a bad NBA player in the end. TJ has promise as hopefully, minimally still a bench gunner. But I still think he can round out his game more.

[Coolbreeze44]

I laughed out loud at this:


- Kyle Anderson isn't a good basketball player. But, he's not a bad basketball player either. I don't normally watch Family Guy but I watched an episode lately that went on a 45-second rant about Chris O'Donnell the actor. "He's not fat. But he's not skinny. He's not short, but he's not tall. He's not a good actor, but he's not terrible." And on and on it went. Anyway, I feel that way watching Kyle Anderson play basketball. His strengths/weaknesses are so obvious that it's a fascinating watch.