Game Report - Wolves v. Jazz

[FNG]

I agree, Q...it's always great to get Lip's in-person observations.

While I'm still very positive on the Gobert trade and see it leading to 50+ wins, Lip's concerns about the trade were on display tonight. Walker Kessler looked really good with 4 blocks, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in only 18 minutes. Gobert was terrific on the boards and still intimidating around the basket, but he's not helpful in solving our perimeter defense woes, and the absence of PatBev may have been evident in our first two games. But that's knee-jerk talk after a bad loss...I still like the trade and this team.

[Porckchop]

I don't recall people loving the Kessler pick on draft night.

[Q-is-here]

Kessler looks promising, that's for sure. He really is a natural shot blocker as we saw last night.

Ainge may have a tough time getting that high lottery pick at this rate!

[FNG]

I don't recall people loving the Kessler pick on draft night.

That's true, Pork, but how often do we turn cartwheels about late first round draft picks? We might say "he's got some promise", but there's a reason they're drafted in the 20s.

And to Q's point about the Bryn Forbes substitution...yeah, that was a head-scratcher. Forbes is not a protect the lead kind of guy. Rivers is one of our only solid perimeter defenders, and he was the call there.

[Q-is-here]

Wasn't it Abe that mentioned Rivers is a guy who somehow inevitably ends up playing 20+ minutes per game almost no matter where he goes, despite very underwhelming career numbers? Well, now we are starting to see why. Lots of bench guards in this league make their living as instant-offense shooters/scorers. They tend not to be good defenders. They probably need a guard or wing next to them that can defend the other team's bench scorer/shooter. Enter Austin Rivers......

[Lipoli390]

Towns continues to show his lack of offensive IQ. Gobert is going to show his frustration eventually.

You're right about Towns. I think he'll get back to being a highly productive, efficient scorer - assuming the coaching staff can clarify his role and leverage his talents in that role with Rudy the fold. But the rest of the package won't change. He'll always be immature and his basketball IQ won't improve. And that is truly frustrating.

Maybe Gobert will grow frustrated with KAT, but I'll just note my frustration with Gobert last night. I'm frustrated by his 4-10 shooting from the field and his 1-3 free-throw shooting against the Jazz. I'm frustrated with, but not surprised by, his inability to deliver much on the offensive end. In the first game his play was better than his stats. Last night, his play was worse that his stats. I love his maturity, demeanor and interior defense, but the Jazz still scored 120 points in regulation last night. This team has a lot of work to do. Rudy will not be our savior. He is what he is and no one should have expected differently. His defensive rebounding and defensive presence in the paint are terrific. But the notion among Wolves front office personnel and coaches that Gobert was underutilized on the offensive end was fantasy or just self-delusion. Finch and his staff have to figure out how to make things work around Gobert. That's the bet they made and it's their responsibility to make the bet pay off.

[Lipoli390]

I agree, Q...it's always great to get Lip's in-person observations.

While I'm still very positive on the Gobert trade and see it leading to 50+ wins, Lip's concerns about the trade were on display tonight. Walker Kessler looked really good with 4 blocks, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in only 18 minutes. Gobert was terrific on the boards and still intimidating around the basket, but he's not helpful in solving our perimeter defense woes, and the absence of PatBev may have been evident in our first two games. But that's knee-jerk talk after a bad loss...I still like the trade and this team.

FNG - I'm glad you're still in the 50+ win camp. :) It's still very early in the season so you could turn out to be right. As for me, I'm holding on desperately to my 47-win projection even as I'm beginning to wonder if they even can reach that threshold.

You're right that this team has to figure out how to fix the obviously poor perimeter defense. Is it effort, scheme or personnel? I'm not sure. Maybe it's combination of all three or two of those things. I think it's more personnel than scheme and whether its a question of talent or effort is s hard one to sort out. I've seen far too much ball-watching by Wolves players so far this season. We're not just getting beat by opposing three-point shooters, we're also repeatedly getting beat to loose balls. I don't see anything close to the intensity or competitive zeal we had last season. That's probably attributable in large part to the absence of Pat Bev and Vando. But that's not an excuse. The Wolves coaching staff has to fix these problems. And if they can't, then the front office will have to fix the problems with player personnel changes.

I'll add that while poor perimeter defensive is the main problem, a lack of an semblance of a cohesive office is another big problem. We scored 120 points in regulation last night based solely on individual offensive talent. That's enough to be competitive with and barely beat bad teams like OKC and Utah. But it's a prescription for losing to playoff-caliber teams even if the Wolves improve their perimeter defense.

[Lipoli390]

There's no reason to expect this team to be firing on all cylinders right out the gate. It's reasonable to expect some growing pains when adding new pieces to the puzzle. We have a bit to much hubris as a fan base thats followed a fledgling organization for 30 years. Let's give it 20 games . We have the same record as GS! And the Sixers are 0-2. And Portland beat the Suns.

Note that the Sixers lost to Boston and Milwaukee -- two likely title contenders. The Wolves lost to Utah, a likely lottery team, and barely beat OKC, which will likely end up with one of the four worst records in the NBA. And both games were at Target Center. If we were 1-1 after playing the Lakers and Nuggets, I wouldn't as concerned. If our one loss was a 2-point OT loss on the road to Portland, I'd be less concerned than I am with a 6-point loss at home to the Utah Jazz.

But my main concern with the Wolves is the way they've played, not their record. Denver obviously played horribly in their opening loss to Utah. Yet, they quickly got their act together and beat the NBA champion Warriors the next game. In contrast, the Wolves laid an egg at home against a terrible OKC team and almost loss. Yet, they came back the next game at home against another lottery-bound team (albeit a better team than OKC) and lost by 6 point in OT. And the Wolves played exactly the same way in both games - poor perimeter defense, an unwatchable, stagnant offense getting beat to loose balls. They added another layer of manure with 20 turnovers.

This team had better be a lot better after 20 games than they are now. But every team should be better 20 games. And when you're battling in the highly competitive West, every game counts as much as any other.

[Phenom]

This reminds me of 03-04. That team was frustrating to watch for a solid 19.5 games.

[kekgeek]

I want to remind everyone that the Wolves started 4-9 last year. Everyone relax. Now if we are 20 games in and the same struggles happen then sure panic but we sure fine.

03-04 team started 5-5 with losses to 2 lotto teams

The worst team in NBA history "the process" 76ers started 3-0.

We will be fine. Yes the defense has been bad but we will be fine.