Re: Grizzlies/Wolves GDT
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 5:27 pm
A couple thoughts on the points made above.
Yeah, Tony Allen is expected to play tonight, but despite his great defensive ability, I don't think he will have much impact on slowing down Wiggins. First of all Allen will be on Zach if Thibs goes with his preferred lineup. And if he elects to go big, Wig will have a big length advantage on Allen, and likely a big quickness advantage too with Allen nursing a sore groin.
Q is right that looking at Memphis' personnel and offensive stats, you would think their records should be reversed. Minnesota shoots the ball and rebounds better, and Memphis overall is a terrible offensive team. It just goes to show the importance of defense in this league because Memphis is clearly the better defensive team. This is a big game for the Wolves to prove they belong, but you have to think Misty is making the right bet in taking the Griz +3 at home.
I've posted before about the Thibs' minutes controversy, and I continue to not be too concerned about it. Players want to play ore minutes...when his guys have complained in the past, it has been about the length and intensity of in-season practices, not game minutes, and there are no reports on whether he has dialed this back or not. No news is good news, I suppose. And while Wig is the league in MP, he's only at 36.4 MPG. Does anyone really believe 3-4 minutes a game has an impact on a player's performance or health? Heck, Michael Jordan averaged 38.3 for his career, and Kobe played 20 years at 36.1! I wouldn't mind him giving guys an occasional day off Pop-style, and maybe that's what he did with Zach when he was a little nicked up last week.
Yeah, Tony Allen is expected to play tonight, but despite his great defensive ability, I don't think he will have much impact on slowing down Wiggins. First of all Allen will be on Zach if Thibs goes with his preferred lineup. And if he elects to go big, Wig will have a big length advantage on Allen, and likely a big quickness advantage too with Allen nursing a sore groin.
Q is right that looking at Memphis' personnel and offensive stats, you would think their records should be reversed. Minnesota shoots the ball and rebounds better, and Memphis overall is a terrible offensive team. It just goes to show the importance of defense in this league because Memphis is clearly the better defensive team. This is a big game for the Wolves to prove they belong, but you have to think Misty is making the right bet in taking the Griz +3 at home.
I've posted before about the Thibs' minutes controversy, and I continue to not be too concerned about it. Players want to play ore minutes...when his guys have complained in the past, it has been about the length and intensity of in-season practices, not game minutes, and there are no reports on whether he has dialed this back or not. No news is good news, I suppose. And while Wig is the league in MP, he's only at 36.4 MPG. Does anyone really believe 3-4 minutes a game has an impact on a player's performance or health? Heck, Michael Jordan averaged 38.3 for his career, and Kobe played 20 years at 36.1! I wouldn't mind him giving guys an occasional day off Pop-style, and maybe that's what he did with Zach when he was a little nicked up last week.