Wolves/Pels Saturday night post-game review

[Porckchop]

Abe's late night review:

- Better ball movement. Bigs didn't let Williamson truck them at the rim.

- Vanderbilt. Culver. Reid. McLaughlin. All had their moments.

- Rubio was fine. Still can't shoot. Moved the ball pretty well. Seemed more angry and frustrated than anything at several moments.

- Edwards took 14 shots in 20 minutes. He's 15 - 56 (27%) in the past 4 games... in 97 minutes. He has 4 assists... in 97 minutes. I'm sure we have a few pickup veterans here... so I ask you... what do guys without much hoops experience do... they shoot more than you think they should. Why? Because they don't know where anybody else is going to be at any time. But the hoops is always there, so they shoot. (Maybe that's just my experience.) Long story short, Edwards shoots too much and doesn't pass enough, which is a sign that (1) he's athletic enough to get a lot of shot offs and (2) he doesn't really know what he's doing in a team setting.

- Bledsoe was awesome in the first half. He was horrendous in the 3rd quarter and seemed to bring his whole team with him. To be fair, it was fun to see another team go through that instead of the Wolves.

- Williamson (#1), Ball (#2) and Ingram (#2)... Towns (#1), Edwards (#1) and Russell (#2)... and these two teams are arguably the league's most disappointing teams.

- I feel bad for JJ Redick. That was rough to watch. He's had a really nice career.

- It's fun when the Wolves win.

Would you trade Ricky for Redick?

[AbeVigodaLive]

Both look washed this season.

[Lipoli390]

I'll echo and amplify Abe's reference to better ball movement. I'd say the ball movement was MUCH better than it's been before tonight's game. And it's no mystery that the ball movement improved substantially with PG duty shared exclusively between Rubio and JMac.

I think Vando, Culver, Reid and especially JMac had more than moments tonight. All four had really good games.

Vando ended with 16 points on 61.5% shooting along with 11 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and zero turnovers. And he did it in only 21 minutes. That's what I'd call a really good game.

Culver had 16 points, 5 rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes with zero turnovers. He wen 6 for 9 from the field and 2 for 4 from behind the arc. Unfortunately, he only hit 2 of his 4 free throws and I question whether he's turned the corner. But he had an excellent game overall tonight.

Reid was our leading scorer with 20 points, hitting 5 of his 10 field goals, 2 of his 4 three attempts and all 8 of his free-throw attempts. He was a +9.

JMac 11 points, 4 assists and a steal in only 20 minutes. He hit 4 of his 7 field goal attempts and both of his two three-point attempts. His 4 assists understates his playmaker goal. He orchestrated the offense and created opportunities for his teammates with his dribble penetration and passing. In addition to his 4 recorded assists, he had lots of hockey assists. He led the team in plus/minus with a +10.

Again, I'm not going to get carried away with a win over the Pelicans. But I'm not going to dismiss a 10-point win without KAT against any NBA team. And these four Wolves players, in particular, had terrific games tonight.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Great to get a win.

But, uhhh, are we watching games in a different dimension? FNG and WolvesFan, those numbers don't jive with the game I just watched.

Still, nice to see the guys pull one out (sounds like they won in both universes!). I was pretty nervous there down the stretch when the Pels cut it to about 5 or so when Lonzo and Ingram hit those 3s.

Good review Abe. Agree with all points with this addendum: there was less hero ball out there with DLO out and more passing, but it still looks like our offense relies on a lot of improvisation. When there are set plays, some of them are head-scratchers, like why did we run the pick-n-roll with Rubio and Ed Davis? I think I saw that a couple times. I get that Davis sets decent picks, but I think we'd be better off if he were setting those picks to free up Beasley or other scorers to cut and move without the ball and those guys (the scorers) should be looking for the pass from the ball handler to lead to the bucket, not Ed. I think we need to get more off-the-ball movement going to generate assists.

Still, that's a minor caveat. The team looked better out there tonight in terms of effort and ball movement. The Pelicans suck right now, so let's not get too high off this one, but damn it feels good to actually get a win.

Ok, one last thought: Zion's limitations are starting to show, huh? If he's in transition, he's impossible to stop, and his second-effort buckets are impressive, but he's basically incapable of scoring unless he's attacking the rim. He actually reminded me of Edwards a few times the way he just threw himself toward the bucket, bounced off a guy, and tried to hit a really tough layup on the way down. And he looks like a non-factor on defense. Man, it's fun to watch a guy with a body like that move like that though.

EDIT: Ok, I lied. THIS is my last thought. Every time Naz puts it on the deck from the 3 point line and drives to the bucket (feels like he does it a couple times a game) I'm thinking "no, no, no," and then more often than you'd expect, he's able to get to the rim and finish the layup. He did it at least once or twice again tonight. He's so stiff and inflexible in his upper body, he's fairly top-heavy, and he's really not a fluid athlete at all, but his handle is surprisingly decent and he's impressed me a bit with his touch while shooting those layups at the rim. I still don't want him doing that a lot--against a Frankenstein like Steven Adams I'll take it--but it's still nice to see your big be able to do that.

[kekgeek]

Great to get a win.

But, uhhh, are we watching games in a different dimension? FNG and WolvesFan, those numbers don't jive with the game I just watched.

Still, nice to see the guys pull one out (sounds like they won in both universes!). I was pretty nervous there down the stretch when the Pels cut it to about 5 or so when Lonzo and Ingram hit those 3s.

Good review Abe. Agree with all points with this addendum: there was less hero ball out there with DLO out and more passing, but it still looks like our offense relies on a lot of improvisation. When there are set plays, some of them are head-scratchers, like why did we run the pick-n-roll with Rubio and Ed Davis? I think I saw that a couple times. I get that Davis sets decent picks, but I think we'd be better off if he were setting those picks to free up Beasley or other scorers to cut and move without the ball and those guys (the scorers) should be looking for the pass from the ball handler to lead to the bucket, not Ed. I think we need to get more off-the-ball movement going to generate assists.

Still, that's a minor caveat. The team looked better out there tonight in terms of effort and ball movement. The Pelicans suck right now, so let's not get too high off this one, but damn it feels good to actually get a win.

Ok, one last thought: Zion's limitations are starting to show, huh? If he's in transition, he's impossible to stop, and his second-effort buckets are impressive, but he's basically incapable of scoring unless he's attacking the rim. He actually reminded me of Edwards a few times the way he just threw himself toward the bucket, bounced off a guy, and tried to hit a really tough layup on the way down. And he looks like a non-factor on defense. Man, it's fun to watch a guy with a body like that move like that though.

EDIT: Ok, I lied. THIS is my last thought. Every time Naz puts it on the deck from the 3 point line and drives to the bucket (feels like he does it a couple times a game) I'm thinking "no, no, no," and then more often than you'd expect, he's able to get to the rim and finish the layup. He did it at least once or twice again tonight. He's so stiff and inflexible in his upper body, he's fairly top-heavy, and he's really not a fluid athlete at all, but his handle is surprisingly decent and he's impressed me a bit with his touch while shooting those layups at the rim. I still don't want him doing that a lot--against a Frankenstein like Steven Adams I'll take it--but it's still nice to see your big be able to do that.

FNG created this thread hours before the game predicting how it would go and WolvesFan21 was playing off it. Kind of funny the Wolves found the win tonight.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Great to get a win.

But, uhhh, are we watching games in a different dimension? FNG and WolvesFan, those numbers don't jive with the game I just watched.

Still, nice to see the guys pull one out (sounds like they won in both universes!). I was pretty nervous there down the stretch when the Pels cut it to about 5 or so when Lonzo and Ingram hit those 3s.

Good review Abe. Agree with all points with this addendum: there was less hero ball out there with DLO out and more passing, but it still looks like our offense relies on a lot of improvisation. When there are set plays, some of them are head-scratchers, like why did we run the pick-n-roll with Rubio and Ed Davis? I think I saw that a couple times. I get that Davis sets decent picks, but I think we'd be better off if he were setting those picks to free up Beasley or other scorers to cut and move without the ball and those guys (the scorers) should be looking for the pass from the ball handler to lead to the bucket, not Ed. I think we need to get more off-the-ball movement going to generate assists.

Still, that's a minor caveat. The team looked better out there tonight in terms of effort and ball movement. The Pelicans suck right now, so let's not get too high off this one, but damn it feels good to actually get a win.

Ok, one last thought: Zion's limitations are starting to show, huh? If he's in transition, he's impossible to stop, and his second-effort buckets are impressive, but he's basically incapable of scoring unless he's attacking the rim. He actually reminded me of Edwards a few times the way he just threw himself toward the bucket, bounced off a guy, and tried to hit a really tough layup on the way down. And he looks like a non-factor on defense. Man, it's fun to watch a guy with a body like that move like that though.

EDIT: Ok, I lied. THIS is my last thought. Every time Naz puts it on the deck from the 3 point line and drives to the bucket (feels like he does it a couple times a game) I'm thinking "no, no, no," and then more often than you'd expect, he's able to get to the rim and finish the layup. He did it at least once or twice again tonight. He's so stiff and inflexible in his upper body, he's fairly top-heavy, and he's really not a fluid athlete at all, but his handle is surprisingly decent and he's impressed me a bit with his touch while shooting those layups at the rim. I still don't want him doing that a lot--against a Frankenstein like Steven Adams I'll take it--but it's still nice to see your big be able to do that.

FNG created this thread hours before the game predicting how it would go and WolvesFan21 was playing off it. Kind of funny the Wolves found the win tonight.

Ahh, ok. Funny! I'm 7 hours ahead of Central time zone so have to watch everything on delay here, so I didn't catch that. Can't come to the board or check ESPN until I watch it the next day. Got up early this morning and watched it.

[kekgeek]

Great to get a win.

But, uhhh, are we watching games in a different dimension? FNG and WolvesFan, those numbers don't jive with the game I just watched.

Still, nice to see the guys pull one out (sounds like they won in both universes!). I was pretty nervous there down the stretch when the Pels cut it to about 5 or so when Lonzo and Ingram hit those 3s.

Good review Abe. Agree with all points with this addendum: there was less hero ball out there with DLO out and more passing, but it still looks like our offense relies on a lot of improvisation. When there are set plays, some of them are head-scratchers, like why did we run the pick-n-roll with Rubio and Ed Davis? I think I saw that a couple times. I get that Davis sets decent picks, but I think we'd be better off if he were setting those picks to free up Beasley or other scorers to cut and move without the ball and those guys (the scorers) should be looking for the pass from the ball handler to lead to the bucket, not Ed. I think we need to get more off-the-ball movement going to generate assists.

Still, that's a minor caveat. The team looked better out there tonight in terms of effort and ball movement. The Pelicans suck right now, so let's not get too high off this one, but damn it feels good to actually get a win.

Ok, one last thought: Zion's limitations are starting to show, huh? If he's in transition, he's impossible to stop, and his second-effort buckets are impressive, but he's basically incapable of scoring unless he's attacking the rim. He actually reminded me of Edwards a few times the way he just threw himself toward the bucket, bounced off a guy, and tried to hit a really tough layup on the way down. And he looks like a non-factor on defense. Man, it's fun to watch a guy with a body like that move like that though.

EDIT: Ok, I lied. THIS is my last thought. Every time Naz puts it on the deck from the 3 point line and drives to the bucket (feels like he does it a couple times a game) I'm thinking "no, no, no," and then more often than you'd expect, he's able to get to the rim and finish the layup. He did it at least once or twice again tonight. He's so stiff and inflexible in his upper body, he's fairly top-heavy, and he's really not a fluid athlete at all, but his handle is surprisingly decent and he's impressed me a bit with his touch while shooting those layups at the rim. I still don't want him doing that a lot--against a Frankenstein like Steven Adams I'll take it--but it's still nice to see your big be able to do that.

FNG created this thread hours before the game predicting how it would go and WolvesFan21 was playing off it. Kind of funny the Wolves found the win tonight.

Ahh, ok. Funny! I'm 7 hours ahead of Central time zone so have to watch everything on delay here, so I didn't catch that. Can't come to the board or check ESPN until I watch it the next day. Got up early this morning and watched it.

Happy you guy to enjoy a nice wolves win! Very nice breakdown. I'm also wondering what Zion is in today's NBA. I will say I don't think he is the next hier to lebron. He seems like Blake Griffin in his early days. The question is in today's NBA does that play style translate to wins? I'm not sure.

[Porckchop]

Just becuz Shaq shot over 70% on his free throws for a game it shouldn't have given hope for the same going forward. Not unlike what was displayed tonight.

[Wolvesfan21]

Zion does need to work on his defense and 3P shot. If he becomes good in those two categories his future is very bright.

Would you rather have Morant or Zion right now if you were starting a team? I might lean Morant.

[FNG]

Not the prettiest game, but a win is a win. Who knew that a team has a better chance to win when they actually put some effort in on defense and move the ball on offense...even if you're not a very good shooting team?

My MVP tonight? Ryan Saunders. He won this game at noon yesterday when he said "DLO- you've been working your ass off out there. Why don't you take tonight off?".