Kekgeek grades vs heat G1

[Lipoli390]

I just finished watching the game on DVD. I think Kek’s grades are spot on except that I’d bump Joan up from a D to a C-. If Trey Lyles gets a C, then Joan gets at least a C-. . Except for that charge he took, Trey looked pretty bad. Joan’s quickness and energy in the paint were impressive. Loved his effort. He just needs to develop his understanding of the game. I have no doubt he’s going to be very good and possibly great. I think we’ll love what we see from him by February.

My main take-aways from the game:

1. This team is really fun to watch. Finally the pace and ball movement we’ve been waiting to see and always thought we could get from this team with Ant and Jaden.

2. Last night’s Ant was MVP Ant. He was a superstar on both sides of the ball.

3. I thought Dosunmu was tremendous last night. Ant’s a potential League MVP and Dosunmu is definitely a 6th man of the year candidate.

4. As many of us expected, this new team configuration without Randle unlocks Jaden’s offensive potential. I thought Kuminga’s presence (and to a lesser extend Dosunmu’s) freed up Jaden to be more of a force on the defensive end as well. As the season wears on, I think Jaden will be more and more impressive and impactful.

5. TSJ was very good in my view. His defense was terrific. His shooting was just ok but his overall offensive was terrific. He consistently made the right play - the right pass to the right player at the right time. Spotting up in the right spot, which led to his two nice corner threes when the game was still close. Those were big shots. His assist total doesn’t reflect his excellent playmaking because of the failure of the receiving player to put the ball in the hoop. Of all the good signs last night, TSJ’s play miht be the most important one because he’s been the second biggest question mark in the likely rotation after Beringer.

6. I didn’t like the over reliance on threes last night. Perhaps it was just taking what the defense gave them but I want to see more screens, cuts and penetration. We didn’t miss the rebounding of Randle and Naz last night, but we might end up missing the inside scoring they provided if the threes aren’t falling. Kuminga can pick up some of that slack with his strength and athleticism driving to the basket but overall this will be something to watch.

[Monster]

I just finished watching the game on DVD. I think Kek’s grades are spot on except that I’d bump Joan up from a D to a C-. If Trey Lyles gets a C, then Joan gets at least a C-. . Except for that charge he took, Trey looked pretty bad. Joan’s quickness and energy in the paint were impressive. Loved his effort. He just needs to develop his understanding of the game. I have no doubt he’s going to be very good and possibly great. I think we’ll love what we see from him by February.

My main take-aways from the game:

1. This team is really fun to watch. Finally the pace and ball movement we’ve been waiting to see and always thought we could get from this team with Ant and Jaden.

2. Last night’s Ant was MVP Ant. He was a superstar on both sides of the ball.

3. I thought Dosunmu was tremendous last night. Ant’s a potential League MVP and Dosunmu is definitely a 6th man of the year candidate.

4. As many of us expected, this new team configuration without Randle unlocks Jaden’s offensive potential. I thought Kuminga’s presence (and to a lesser extend Dosunmu’s) freed up Jaden to be more of a force on the defensive end as well. As the season wears on, I think Jaden will be more and more impressive and impactful.

5. TSJ was very good in my view. His defense was terrific. His shooting was just ok but his overall offensive was terrific. He consistently made the right play - the right pass to the right player at the right time. Spotting up in the right spot, which led to his two nice corner threes when the game was still close. Those were big shots. His assist total doesn’t reflect his excellent playmaking because of the failure of the receiving player to put the ball in the hoop. Of all the good signs last night, TSJ’s play miht be the most important one because he’s been the second biggest question mark in the likely rotation after Beringer.

6. I didn’t like the over reliance on threes last night. Perhaps it was just taking what the defense gave them but I want to see more screens, cuts and penetration. We didn’t miss the rebounding of Randle and Naz last night, but we might end up missing the inside scoring they provided if the threes aren’t falling. Kuminga can pick up some of that slack with his strength and athleticism driving to the basket but overall this will be something to watch.

I'm still a Randle fan but it's not gonna be hard to miss Randle's rebounding. Last season the guy only averaged 6.7 rebounds a game and only had 12 double digit rebounding games in the regular season. Kuminga shouldn't have a hard time either equaling or coming somewhere close to that number by himself.

Meanwhile if the 3's aren't falling there will likely still be more space than last year and that can lead to more attacks from the perimeter. If Ayo becomes a volume 3 point shooter that's going to give teams problems because you are gonna have at least 2 guards on the floor at almost all times you just can't leave open. Also let's remind ourselves that Kuminga is a scorer. He twice averaged over 15ppg playing less than 27mpg. I think you make a good point though can they play more in the half court if they need too?

[Q-is-here]

6. I didn’t like the over reliance on threes last night. Perhaps it was just taking what the defense gave them but I want to see more screens, cuts and penetration. We didn’t miss the rebounding of Randle and Naz last night, but we might end up missing the inside scoring they provided if the threes aren’t falling. Kuminga can pick up some of that slack with his strength and athleticism driving to the basket but overall this will be something to watch.

Lip, I think it was more about what Miami was giving them. Ant said in his post-game that they weren't blitzing him and LaMelo on high ball screens so they were able to get some good looks coming off those screens. Finch would be furious if they didn't take those shots.

I will say that we should get used to Ant becoming more and more of a jump shooter, both from the 3-point arc and the mid-range. He has clearly lost a step over the past year or so and can no longer get by guys as easily off the dribble. Luckily he has been honing his craft as a shot maker for the last number of off-seasons and we know how ambidextrous and crafty he is with his footwork in the paint. That may be more than enough to offset the degradation in sheer north/south burst.

[FNG]

6. I didn’t like the over reliance on threes last night. Perhaps it was just taking what the defense gave them but I want to see more screens, cuts and penetration. We didn’t miss the rebounding of Randle and Naz last night, but we might end up missing the inside scoring they provided if the threes aren’t falling. Kuminga can pick up some of that slack with his strength and athleticism driving to the basket but overall this will be something to watch.

Lip, I think it was more about what Miami was giving them. Ant said in his post-game that they weren't blitzing him and LaMelo on high ball screens so they were able to get some good looks coming off those screens. Finch would be furious if they didn't take those shots.

I will say that we should get used to Ant becoming more and more of a jump shooter, both from the 3-point arc and the mid-range. He has clearly lost a step over the past year or so and can no longer get by guys as easily off the dribble. Luckily he has been honing his craft as a shot maker for the last number of off-seasons and we know how ambidextrous and crafty he is with his footwork in the paint. That may be more than enough to offset the degradation in sheer north/south burst.

That's exactly right. Q. Ball almost every season ranks in the top 3 in pick and roll frequency, but that style of play was minimal against the Heat...the "roll" was just not going to be there with Giannis and Bam clogging the paint. But the perimeter was open, and the Wolves have several elite shooters, so they took what was available. I have been amazed at Ball's BBIQ...he just has a knack for dissecting defenses and getting his teammates easy looks.

[Q-is-here]

6. I didn’t like the over reliance on threes last night. Perhaps it was just taking what the defense gave them but I want to see more screens, cuts and penetration. We didn’t miss the rebounding of Randle and Naz last night, but we might end up missing the inside scoring they provided if the threes aren’t falling. Kuminga can pick up some of that slack with his strength and athleticism driving to the basket but overall this will be something to watch.

Lip, I think it was more about what Miami was giving them. Ant said in his post-game that they weren't blitzing him and LaMelo on high ball screens so they were able to get some good looks coming off those screens. Finch would be furious if they didn't take those shots.

I will say that we should get used to Ant becoming more and more of a jump shooter, both from the 3-point arc and the mid-range. He has clearly lost a step over the past year or so and can no longer get by guys as easily off the dribble. Luckily he has been honing his craft as a shot maker for the last number of off-seasons and we know how ambidextrous and crafty he is with his footwork in the paint. That may be more than enough to offset the degradation in sheer north/south burst.

That's exactly right. Q. Ball almost every season ranks in the top 3 in pick and roll frequency, but that style of play was minimal against the Heat...the "roll" was just not going to be there with Giannis and Bam clogging the paint. But the perimeter was open, and the Wolves have several elite shooters, so they took what was available. I have been amazed at Ball's BBIQ...he just has a knack for dissecting defenses and getting his teammates easy looks.

There is no question Ball is a highly instinctive orchestrator and preternatural passer. He's like Ricky Rubio except he's much more of a threat to score.

Where the jury is out on him is a) durability/health and b) playoff resiliency.

In terms of durability and health, his struggles prior to last season are well documented and even last year he only averaged 28 MPG. He's averaged 29 MPG in two games this season. While I'd much rather him be healthy with a minutes cap than not healthy without a minutes cap, it's still a problem when you can't play your second best player 30+ minutes per night. That's at least 3-6 minutes of a highly impactful floor general not on the floor.

And we've just never seen LaMelo in a playoff environment where the defense gets a lot more physical and the cost of risky decisions (i.e. speculative passes and logo 3's) is a lot higher.

Let's hope the Wolves excellent medical staff along with LaMelo's own growing physical and mental maturity overcomes both of those potential pitfalls.

[TAFKASP]

I just finished watching the game on DVD.

DVD? Seriously? LOL

[60WinTim]

I just finished watching the game on DVD.

DVD? Seriously? LOL

That was my thought as well! Is that an Amazon Prime feature?!?

(I know he meant DVR. But what's he gonna do tonight when the only choices seem to be DAZN or NBALP?)