Minnesota Sports Forum

I think the Suns in 6. I believe the wolves could win, but it would require shifting Rudy to the second unit and Finch won't do that. Rudy isn't a good fit against the Suns. Drop coverage is a problem with their midrange shooting ability, and we turn the ball over too many times trying to feed Rudy. I would move KAT to C against Nurkic, and let Rudy play against Eubanks. Kyle and McD could switch off on Durant and Booker.

mjs34 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:11 pm I think the Suns in 6. I believe the wolves could win, but it would require shifting Rudy to the second unit and Finch won't do that. Rudy isn't a good fit against the Suns. Drop coverage is a problem with their midrange shooting ability, and we turn the ball over too many times trying to feed Rudy. I would move KAT to C against Nurkic, and let Rudy play against Eubanks. Kyle and McD could switch off on Durant and Booker.

You hit on a pretty good thought, but I would bring KAT off the bench and start NAW. We need as much NAW, Ant, Jaden court time as we can get against their big 3.

KAT comes in at the 6 minute mark, and NAZ comes in when one of the big 3 go to the bench. But when all 3 are out there, we need our perimeter defenders to be there as well.

If you feel KAT has to start, we could bring Conley off the bench but we have enough problem with turnovers as it is.

My feeling is we have to try something different. You know what the definition of insanity is.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:17 pm

mjs34 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:11 pm I think the Suns in 6. I believe the wolves could win, but it would require shifting Rudy to the second unit and Finch won't do that. Rudy isn't a good fit against the Suns. Drop coverage is a problem with their midrange shooting ability, and we turn the ball over too many times trying to feed Rudy. I would move KAT to C against Nurkic, and let Rudy play against Eubanks. Kyle and McD could switch off on Durant and Booker.

You hit on a pretty good thought, but I would bring KAT off the bench and start NAW. We need as much NAW, Ant, Jaden court time as we can get against their big 3.

KAT comes in at the 6 minute mark, and NAZ comes in when one of the big 3 go to the bench. But when all 3 are out there, we need our perimeter defenders to be there as well.

If you feel KAT has to start, we could bring Conley off the bench but we have enough problem with turnovers as it is.

I thought Conley played some pretty good D.

Wolves in 5. But I am in Norway…

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:17 pm

mjs34 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:11 pm I think the Suns in 6. I believe the wolves could win, but it would require shifting Rudy to the second unit and Finch won't do that. Rudy isn't a good fit against the Suns. Drop coverage is a problem with their midrange shooting ability, and we turn the ball over too many times trying to feed Rudy. I would move KAT to C against Nurkic, and let Rudy play against Eubanks. Kyle and McD could switch off on Durant and Booker.

You hit on a pretty good thought, but I would bring KAT off the bench and start NAW. We need as much NAW, Ant, Jaden court time as we can get against their big 3.

KAT comes in at the 6 minute mark, and NAZ comes in when one of the big 3 go to the bench. But when all 3 are out there, we need our perimeter defenders to be there as well.

If you feel KAT has to start, we could bring Conley off the bench but we have enough problem with turnovers as it is.

Naw starting is what I thought yesterday as an option. Naw / Ant / Jaden on their big 3. Having BOTH Conley and KAT could be just too slow to hang on defense against all their speed and shooting. You can put KAT on Allen and tell him not to sag off. Keep him glued. If he gets by we got Rudy who can rotate and challenge. I don't think Allen is a good finisher or passer so stay tight on him. Force him to drive. Allen won't screen much if ever either so no worries about switches.

Naw Ant and Jaden should be able to hold down their big 3 as much as anyone in the NBA. It might be a solution to success. I love Conley too. This might be a series where he plays less if we can win it.

mjs34 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:26 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:17 pm

mjs34 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2024 2:11 pm I think the Suns in 6. I believe the wolves could win, but it would require shifting Rudy to the second unit and Finch won't do that. Rudy isn't a good fit against the Suns. Drop coverage is a problem with their midrange shooting ability, and we turn the ball over too many times trying to feed Rudy. I would move KAT to C against Nurkic, and let Rudy play against Eubanks. Kyle and McD could switch off on Durant and Booker.

You hit on a pretty good thought, but I would bring KAT off the bench and start NAW. We need as much NAW, Ant, Jaden court time as we can get against their big 3.

KAT comes in at the 6 minute mark, and NAZ comes in when one of the big 3 go to the bench. But when all 3 are out there, we need our perimeter defenders to be there as well.

If you feel KAT has to start, we could bring Conley off the bench but we have enough problem with turnovers as it is.

I thought Conley played some pretty good D.

He's OK. Naw is at another level though. He's one of the best defenders in the NBA. No Joke. We might take a hit a bit on offense, but Conley can come in and spark the bench minutes. I love Conley but I might not start him against Phoenix, this series. Naw has been great at times on offense too. I might take the chance.

I was happy about rumors I heard Monday that the Wolves would have the late game Saturday. They were wrong. The news that Game 1 will be at 2:30 Saturday is not good. First of all, sober afternoon crowds are generally quieter than night crowds. But more importantly, Ant has not typically been very good in afternoon games. He's a slow starter in games generally, but sometimes he never shows up in afternoon games. At least games 2-4 are night games, but I like our chances less now in Game 1.

As for the suggestions that Finchie alter the starting lineup, I don't agree, I also think there is less than a 1% chance he will do it. Going with our optimal starting lineup was very successful, and it would not be wise to change things up now after 57 wins. If certain matchups don't seem to be working, Finchie can shake things up mid-game. But don't mess with the starting five.

FNG wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 8:09 am I was happy about rumors I heard Monday that the Wolves would have the late game Saturday. They were wrong. The news that Game 1 will be at 2:30 Saturday is not good. First of all, sober afternoon crowds are generally quieter than night crowds. But more importantly, Ant has not typically been very good in afternoon games. He's a slow starter in games generally, but sometimes he never shows up in afternoon games. At least games 2-4 are night games, but I like our chances less now in Game 1.

As for the suggestions that Finchie alter the starting lineup, I don't agree, I also think there is less than a 1% chance he will do it. Going with our optimal starting lineup was very successful, and it would not be wise to change things up now after 57 wins. If certain matchups don't seem to be working, Finchie can shake things up mid-game. But don't mess with the starting five.

That is probably smart. But be quick to see what works. If Naw can really lockdown Beal or Book then that is worth rolling with for more minutes. The other thing you could do is just roll with KAT on Durant and just live with the likely defecit. He's probably going to score 30 really regardless. Maybe just live with him getting 40 if you can mostly limit the other 3 (Beal, Allen, Book). No other team can do what Phoenix does which is why I was always fearful they can over power our defense and size. They have too much elite quickness and shooting and midrange killers. I don't know if we really have any answers. So I'm picking Phoenix. Wolves will really have to step up huge to win.

But there are some rays of hope too. Suns shot very hot against the Wolves. Sometimes guys just get hot or cold. That can change. I also think we haven't played anywhere near our best either. C-F games. So Suns shoot a bit more normal and the Wolves up their game, we got a series.

I agree with FNG - Finch isn't going to change the starting lineup. Can he mix up the defensive assignments and the bench rotation? That's where the change needs to come.

Some questions to ponder:

- Should KAT guard Durant to start the game? The logic is that you let Durant get his 30 PPG while trying to shut down everyone else. And the lanky 35 YO Durant is probably a little easier to chase around than one of their wings. Conley on Allen; Jaden on Booker; Ant on Beal; Gobert on Nurkic.

- What is Kyle Anderson's role in this series? I think he should be used in spurts to guard Durant, but otherwise his role and minutes should be minimized. Phoenix will absolutely exploit his inability to shoot. He should become our 9th man.

- How to unlock Ant's offense? He has been very ineffective against Phoenix. I don't know what the answer is here other than him forcing things against three defenders probably isn't the right one.

- JMac, Monte, or both? Not sure what the answer is here either, other than McLaughlin has had the better regular season than Monte. That doesn't mean it translates to the playoffs.

As for my prediction, I think Phoenix wins the series in 6 or 7 games. Great offense beats great defense in the NBA and Phoenix has just too many weapons on offense for us to overcome.