Game Report - Game 4 Redemption

[Lipoli390]

Also Jefferson made good points about Towns doing better in the double teams but there really were a couple times that nobody moved or did anything and there was really no pass to a teammate. It's not just on Towns. I'd be interested to know what Towns and the Wolves effectiveness has been this season etc is with him catching in those spots where he is being doubled teamed. Towns has a lot of skill so there are many ways he can be used so I would be looking at finding other spots to give him the ball and possibly mostly abandon that type of play.

That's right, Monster. There were a number of times KAT's teammates weren't moving well to get open when he had the ball. What KAT did especially well last night was moving the ball early before the double or triple team developed. As my buddy at the game with me pointed out, KAT had a lot of hockey assists last night - simple passes before the double team that led to another pass for a good look and a bucket. Did Towns make some mistakes or do some dumb things last night? Yes, but so did every other player on both teams. KAT deserves criticism for games like he had on Thursday night. But we need view KAT's mistakes in the broader context as we should and generally do for any other player. Last night he was fantastic as he was in almost every game throughout the regular season.

There's this tendency to see greener grass on the other side of the fence when, in fact, if you climb over the fence and take a closer look you'll find that your neighbor has a lot more brown grass than you have in your yard. As John Lennon once said, "you don't know what you got until you lose it." What we have in Towns is the second more gifted and effective offensive big in the League after Jokic. He's also a terrific rebounder and perhaps the most consistent player game to game in the NBA. He's substantially improved his defense, so we know he can improve areas of profound weakness. Now he needs to improve his foul tendency, make fewer boneheaded plays and carry his phenomenal regular season consistency into the playoffs. I think he will ultimately make those improvements. He's had two performance is this series so far that show he can perform at his characteristic high level in the playoffs. Let's see what we get from him these next two games.

And in the end, nothing changes the fact that Edwards will eventually need to be the #1 guy on this team if the Wolves are going to be a championship contender. But let's not underestimate KAT's value as this team's #2. I think the main issue for this team will ultimately be our #3 guy and filling the a couple of holes - i.e., lack of size at the C or PF position next to KAT and lack of a true reliable SF. Can DLO be our 3rd guy? I'm not sure. Can we get by with Vando as our starting PF next to KAT? I love what Vando brings, but I'm not sure he's the right guy to start at that position next to KAT. Can McDaniels be counted on as our eventual starting SF? I have my doubts even though I remain intrigued by his upside. Maybe we can continue with Edwards as our SF and a backcourt of DLO and Beverley, but I'm not sure.

The Wolves have a few things to sort out, but I'm satisfied that we have our 1-2 duo in Edwards and KAT. And the team as a whole produced 46 wins, a 7th seed and at least a 6 game series against the 2nd seed in the West. Hard not to be happy about where this team is at.

[Duke13]

Lip you started a tread listing trade options for Kat just two days ago :)

Was at the game also last night. One of the best atmospheres I've ever experienced at sporting events, so fun!

[kekgeek]

Massive props to Rosas also. He got Jmac on a 2 way contract. If we polled this board of we wanted Jmac back this year after he was terrible last year I think almost all of us say let him walk he isn't a NBA player. Now he was the X factor in a Wolves playoff win. Good job Rosas

[kekgeek]

Lip you started a tread listing trade options for Kat just two days ago :)

Was at the game also last night. One of the best atmospheres I've ever experienced at sporting events, so fun!

On the Kat thing I think we are all going through the playoff ups and downs for the 1st time in a long time. Like Tre Young was like 1 for 13 in a game. Durant has had a terrible playoffs, Donavan Mitchell had been really bad a couple of games, Ja looks lost. I think we all, including myself overreact to each playoffs game. Kat has it in him and we need it from him to be special but the whole Grizzlies gamelan is to stop him. So we overreact when our star doesn't do what he has done all year.

Pros to Kat and the Wolves for responding. Also yes Duke so much fun. Target Center was so loud. Will say when the crowd was the loudest during the Defense chants, Memphis shut us up

[Lipoli390]

Lip you started a tread listing trade options for Kat just two days ago :)

Was at the game also last night. One of the best atmospheres I've ever experienced at sporting events, so fun!

Lol. These games can take us from one extreme to the other, can't they. :). But you might recall from my post on trade possibilities that I said I still didn't favor trading KAT. I considered that a great act of self-restrain on my part. :) Starting that thread just seemed like the thing to do in the midst of all the angst about KAT. I guess I was feeding the beast. And it was cathartic for me.

Yes, last night was a blast. You probably noticed a lot of folks in the crowd chanting "Wolves in Six" as they were leaving the arena. The energy was incredible. On my way home I was thinking about what would have happened if KAT had missed one of those free throws. That last second three would have been a real buzz kill and then it would have been on to overtime. Glad that didn't happen because I still didn't get to sleep until around 2:30.

[Monster]

Also Jefferson made good points about Towns doing better in the double teams but there really were a couple times that nobody moved or did anything and there was really no pass to a teammate. It's not just on Towns. I'd be interested to know what Towns and the Wolves effectiveness has been this season etc is with him catching in those spots where he is being doubled teamed. Towns has a lot of skill so there are many ways he can be used so I would be looking at finding other spots to give him the ball and possibly mostly abandon that type of play.

That's right, Monster. There were a number of times KAT's teammates weren't moving well to get open when he had the ball. What KAT did especially well last night was moving the ball early before the double or triple team developed. As my buddy at the game with me pointed out, KAT had a lot of hockey assists last night - simple passes before the double team that led to another pass for a good look and a bucket. Did Towns make some mistakes or do some dumb things last night? Yes, but so did every other player on both teams. KAT deserves criticism for games like he had on Thursday night. But we need view KAT's mistakes in the broader context as we should and generally do for any other player. Last night he was fantastic as he was in almost every game throughout the regular season.

There's this tendency to see greener grass on the other side of the fence when, in fact, if you climb over the fence and take a closer look you'll find that your neighbor has a lot more brown grass than you have in your yard. As John Lennon once said, "you don't know what you got until you lose it." What we have in Towns is the second more gifted and effective offensive big in the League after Jokic. He's also a terrific rebounder and perhaps the most consistent player game to game in the NBA. He's substantially improved his defense, so we know he can improve areas of profound weakness. Now he needs to improve his foul tendency, make fewer boneheaded plays and carry his phenomenal regular season consistency into the playoffs. I think he will ultimately make those improvements. He's had two performance is this series so far that show he can perform at his characteristic high level in the playoffs. Let's see what we get from him these next two games.

And in the end, nothing changes the fact that Edwards will eventually need to be the #1 guy on this team if the Wolves are going to be a championship contender. But let's not underestimate KAT's value as this team's #2. I think the main issue for this team will ultimately be our #3 guy and filling the a couple of holes - i.e., lack of size at the C or PF position next to KAT and lack of a true reliable SF. Can DLO be our 3rd guy? I'm not sure. Can we get by with Vando as our starting PF next to KAT? I love what Vando brings, but I'm not sure he's the right guy to start at that position next to KAT. Can McDaniels be counted on as our eventual starting SF? I have my doubts even though I remain intrigued by his upside. Maybe we can continue with Edwards as our SF and a backcourt of DLO and Beverley, but I'm not sure.

The Wolves have a few things to sort out, but I'm satisfied that we have our 1-2 duo in Edwards and KAT. And the team as a whole produced 46 wins, a 7th seed and at least a 6 game series against the 2nd seed in the West. Hard not to be happy about where this team is at.

Lip I remember a quote from my Comp I writing class my freshman year in college was "Let the grass die". :)

I know I didn't post much about it but I wasn't as down on Towns in his poor performances this postseason as some. You are right if you look at various top players they often do something stupid a couple times through the game. Durant tends to airmail passes when he is in transition. Lebron has some bad turnovers etc. towns isn't the level of those guys and my commentary pointing out some faults were in the context of being annoyed with Jefferson and also your high praise for Towns in your report. I think at this point we likely value Towns pretty similarly. Can Towns really be a #2 on a championship team? Idk you mentioned other players...this team needs to add or grow around Towns and Edwards and maybe Russell to be a contender. Look at the Suns it's not just the top guys that have helped that team ascend to being a contender it's multiple guys. Same with the Bucks. The Wolves seem well on their way with some savy moves and acquiring talent. They likely need to make another move this offseason to take another step but damn this team is in at least a 6 game playoff series. Let's see where they can go this season first. Also McDaniels in this game pulled out a couple nice dribble moves to get to the rim. Yeah he didn't finish but one he was met by a couple shotblockers I don't really knock him too much for a miss there. The kid is that big SF that can contest shots at the rim though.

[Q-is-here]

I think the difference between KAT and other stars that have had off games is that KAT's off games are largely self-inflicted wounds. It's not bad shooting or some unlucky breaks with foul trouble. He legit makes multiple stupid decisions nearly every game, including last night. And that's what is so frustrating. Yet trading him isn't necessarily the answer because he's still hands down our best player.

[Monster]

Massive props to Rosas also. He got Jmac on a 2 way contract. If we polled this board of we wanted Jmac back this year after he was terrible last year I think almost all of us say let him walk he isn't a NBA player. Now he was the X factor in a Wolves playoff win. Good job Rosas

Good point. The thing was he wasn't terrible last year he basically had a similar type of season Rubio did. He started off slow and then was pretty good the rest of the season. This year he struggled early and then when he got a chance was really good even if he wasn't always making shots. He is a true PG he doesn't have to score to make an impact.

Finch said this offseason McLaughlin was part of what they were trying to do here. I always believed in him and wanted him back unless they upgraded his spot. They needed to sign another PG and he has come through. Again it's really something that the Wolves now seemingly have so much competent guard play on the roster. Now they need to extent that to their frontcourt. Maybe like McLaughin they believe in Nathan Knight as a solid depth piece to keep around on a 2-way deal for next year while adding at least another more compelling frontcourt player in the FA and the draft.

[Monster]

I think the difference between KAT and other stars that have had off games is that KAT's off games are largely self-inflicted wounds. It's not bad shooting or some unlucky breaks with foul trouble. He legit makes multiple stupid decisions nearly every game, including last night. And that's what is so frustrating. Yet trading him isn't necessarily the answer because he's still hands down our best player.

The BIG thing is that Towns actually helps the team overall on defense now. That was a big question before. I'm not saying he is a defensive anchor but overall he is a positive on that end. That's a big development. It likely helps that other guys are good around him too. That might help him be less maddening on the other end.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I think the difference between KAT and other stars that have had off games is that KAT's off games are largely self-inflicted wounds. It's not bad shooting or some unlucky breaks with foul trouble. He legit makes multiple stupid decisions nearly every game, including last night. And that's what is so frustrating. Yet trading him isn't necessarily the answer because he's still hands down our best player.

The BIG thing is that Towns actually helps the team overall on defense now. That was a big question before. I'm not saying he is a defensive anchor but overall he is a positive on that end. That's a big development. It likely helps that other guys are good around him too. That might help him be less maddening on the other end.

Discussing solid to good defense is boring. Apparently.

We'll see if the "Towns is soooo bad on defense" narrative resurfaces at a later point.