Minnesota Sports Forum

Phenom wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:25 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:14 pm

Phenom wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:07 pm It really was a great season. I loved having 3 rounds of playoff basketball to watch. I hope they can take the next step but as Bite Bite has said, it's not a given. I have a lot of faith in Ant though.

Ant draws SO much damn attention because of how dangerous he is going downhill. If you were to swap, say, Jaylen Brown out for Ant on Boston he would absolutely dominate because they play 5-out and literally everyone in their rotation can shoot the 3. He needs shooters, shooters, and more shooters around him.

Trade Rudy?

As frustrated as I get with KAT, he has proven he can be such an elite offensive player. So I agree with trading Rudy for a lesser, but more well rounded player, financial flexibility and maybe a flyer on a draft pick or young PG. This frees up minutes for Naz which may be a plus by itself.

I also love Anderson, but he is fairly expensive and can’t shoot. I feel like he could be replaced by somebody like Baylor Schierman through the draft. We need shooters to free up Ant and our offense.

Future is bright and I trust management to make the right decisions.

Phenom wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:25 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:14 pm

Phenom wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:07 pm It really was a great season. I loved having 3 rounds of playoff basketball to watch. I hope they can take the next step but as Bite Bite has said, it's not a given. I have a lot of faith in Ant though.

Ant draws SO much damn attention because of how dangerous he is going downhill. If you were to swap, say, Jaylen Brown out for Ant on Boston he would absolutely dominate because they play 5-out and literally everyone in their rotation can shoot the 3. He needs shooters, shooters, and more shooters around him.

Trade Rudy?

Learn how to play lob dunk with Rudy and then it's almost unstoppable. Playing Rudy the way he is used now is not really effective (though stats say it's still OK). Look at how Dallas plays with their two bigs, versus us. Lively can pass some but neither does much other then dunk. You just saw the answer in this series.

I still want to see if ANT and KAT could run pick and roll together.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 10:08 pm Yeah it was a lot of fun. That's part of why the ending is so hard to take. Only one team can win out of 30. Hopefully we can make another run next year.

Yeah, it's tough. I'm mostly sad about how they went out and plus that I think MN had the better team overall, but the Mavs had the 2 best closers/scorers in the series. We just have to remember, Ant is 22 and he's 2-3 years earlier than the likes of MJ/Kobe/etc. WCF at age 22 as the #1 guy is bonkers.

edit: I think the stat may have been Kobe didn't lead his team at that age. Point still stands though, several young superstars didn't get to the WCF until at least 25.

Alright here's a big point I first heard KG make a few days ago and interestingly enough Ant eluded to the same thing post game.

I think he's spot on about MN running out of gas. References how MJ changed the league, how making a Finals run requires another level of physical & mental conditioning and how even in 2004 he didn't have that next level like he did in 2008.

stamp at 12:30 and it goes until like 17:20. A must watch IMO.
https://youtu.be/uyidy_03-cc?si=knjSZsW1UoPCTxfU&t=750

PS: I'm VERY interested in hearing all your takes on this tidbit.

TheGrey08 wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 11:09 pm Alright here's a big point I first heard KG make a few days ago and interestingly enough Ant eluded to the same thing post game.

I think he's spot on about MN running out of gas. References how MJ changed the league, how making a Finals run requires another level of physical & mental conditioning and how even in 2004 he didn't have that next level like he did in 2008.

stamp at 12:30 and it goes until like 17:20. A must watch IMO.
https://youtu.be/uyidy_03-cc?si=knjSZsW1UoPCTxfU&t=750

PS: I'm VERY interested in hearing all your takes on this tidbit.

This is absolutely valid and most of us saw it with our own eyes with Ant dragging himself up and down the court at times despite not having an injury designation. He needs to really mature when it comes to his diet, fitness, sleep habits, etc.

The other thing the team needs to re-think is rest days/load management. Home court advantage was practically meaningless in these series, so I don't think getting a top 4 seed is nearly as important as just making sure you are in the top 6. Avoid the play-in and come into the playoffs fresh and healthy.

kekgeek wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 9:38 pm Best season maybe in franchise history. I know it sucks how it ended but man I had fun. Take this over the BS we have went through in history.

Also it’s funny our joke of an owner gets a joke of a last game

Amen! Everyone needs to go back and look at the "Wins predictions" thread. We over achieved expectations by a mile. So why do so many feel cheated? Because we all raised our expectations after spending most the season in first place. And the dramatic up and downs during the Denver series was puzzling followed by blowing home court advantage again and almost being swept by Dallas.

We learned we still have work to do and possibly some tweaking to do of the roster. But it was a great season and I loved how they fought back to win the Denver series.

Phenom wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 11:01 pm I still want to see if ANT and KAT could run pick and roll together.

It will never happen cause Kat is worst screener in the leauge for a big man

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2024 7:57 am

TheGrey08 wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 11:09 pm Alright here's a big point I first heard KG make a few days ago and interestingly enough Ant eluded to the same thing post game.

I think he's spot on about MN running out of gas. References how MJ changed the league, how making a Finals run requires another level of physical & mental conditioning and how even in 2004 he didn't have that next level like he did in 2008.

stamp at 12:30 and it goes until like 17:20. A must watch IMO.
https://youtu.be/uyidy_03-cc?si=knjSZsW1UoPCTxfU&t=750

PS: I'm VERY interested in hearing all your takes on this tidbit.

This is absolutely valid and most of us saw it with our own eyes with Ant dragging himself up and down the court at times despite not having an injury designation. He needs to really mature when it comes to his diet, fitness, sleep habits, etc.

The other thing the team needs to re-think is rest days/load management. Home court advantage was practically meaningless in these series, so I don't think getting a top 4 seed is nearly as important as just making sure you are in the top 6. Avoid the play-in and come into the playoffs fresh and healthy.

Yeah that's a good point too. I personally hated seeing them drop to an 8 man rotation in the playoffs for stretches. They need to find a young PG to backup Conley and hopefully one day take over and then a 3 & D bench wing that can get some run that reduces Ant's load a bit. Just having a 3rd guy so Ant/Jaden don't have to be on the best guard/wings 24/7 would be ideal. (NAW is legit, but it's tougher for him to guard bigger wings and he's better on a guard his size or smaller)

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2024 8:14 am

kekgeek wrote: ↑Thu May 30, 2024 9:38 pm Best season maybe in franchise history. I know it sucks how it ended but man I had fun. Take this over the BS we have went through in history.

Also it’s funny our joke of an owner gets a joke of a last game

Amen! Everyone needs to go back and look at the "Wins predictions" thread. We over achieved expectations by a mile. So why do so many feel cheated? Because we all raised our expectations after spending most the season in first place. And the dramatic up and downs during the Denver series was puzzling followed by blowing home court advantage again and almost being swept by Dallas.

We learned we still have work to do and possibly some tweaking to do of the roster. But it was a great season and I loved how they fought back to win the Denver series.

We saw the potential they had against the Suns and many games against Denver. The Wolves looked like fucking shit to be frank and gassed for much of this series. Luka and Kyrie played elite for sure as well. But I think a big portion of this is the Wolves looking tired and playing below their own standard. They set the bar high sweeping the Suns and beating the champs. They failed to maintain that level of play. I think that is the most disappointing part.

Now they were not even that far off either. I really think we had the better team but maybe not? We simply were not ready for the Luka / Kyrie smoke. Just having KAT shoot the ball at his normal rate and we probably win this series. Guys simply did play up to their own standard.

One thing I'll mention also. You don't really want to fire the other team up in any way in the media. Ant saying he has Kyrie after the Denver series isn't really big "shit talk". But you are really way better pumping them up with overarching praise. Say shit like Luka and Kyrie are two of the best players ever to play basketball and we have to play great to match them. That puts more pressure and expectations on them. It doesn't put them in a free flowing zone, it doesn't make them angry. It defuses any extra energy you could give them. It also takes pressure off of your own guys to play free and hit shots.