Minnesota Sports Forum

the bigger issue for me is we're gonna speed up the pace while adding a player who's very turnover prone (some Knicks fans pejoratively called Randle "Dubious Handles" because he'd have moments where he thought has Iverson and would lose the basketball.

This team really has to get better at taking care of the basketball. Last year, 22nd in TO's and we added a guy who miraculously turns over the ball more than KAT did.

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2024 11:18 am the bigger issue for me is we're gonna speed up the pace while adding a player who's very turnover prone (some Knicks fans pejoratively called Randle "Dubious Handles" because he'd have moments where he thought has Iverson and would lose the basketball.

This team really has to get better at taking care of the basketball. Last year, 22nd in TO's and we added a guy who miraculously turns over the ball more than KAT did.

KAT's turnovers were mostly offensive fouls though too. Led the NBA every year in them. KAT was never a good passer that made his teammates better. Both players have issues for sure, the major piece was DDV. He should be a starter but we got too much talent in front of him.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2024 1:09 pm

WildWolf2813 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 10, 2024 11:18 am the bigger issue for me is we're gonna speed up the pace while adding a player who's very turnover prone (some Knicks fans pejoratively called Randle "Dubious Handles" because he'd have moments where he thought has Iverson and would lose the basketball.

This team really has to get better at taking care of the basketball. Last year, 22nd in TO's and we added a guy who miraculously turns over the ball more than KAT did.

KAT's turnovers were mostly offensive fouls though too. Led the NBA every year in them. KAT was never a good passer that made his teammates better. Both players have issues for sure, the major piece was DDV. He should be a starter but we got too much talent in front of him.

A couple things when it relates to turnovers and offense overall when it comes to Randle and Towns.

1. The Wolves played at a slower place and took fewer shots than most teams so that's worth considering when talking about turnovers.

2. The Wolves were much better taking care of the ball the 2nd half of the season. This was partly due to Anderson taking care of the ball (Mclaughlin and Morris playing) and after the first couple months of the season Towns turnovers went down or he was simply out or the lineup.

3. The difference between the worst turnover team and the best last year was less than 4 turnovers.

4. I don't see a significant difference in general when it comes to Randle and Towns when it comes to turnovers. Is Randle more likely to turn the ball over? Sure. Was turnovers part of the problem with Town as a players? Yes. Who felt comfortable when Towns got the ball in a key situation and had to make a decision with it? It's also worth saying that guys that have the ball that much tend to have 3 or more turnovers a game. It makes sense. If Randle helps create even 2 more transition attempts a game that could easily help offset his higher turnovers. The Wolves didn't capitalize on turnovers they created last year

5. The last 2 seasons Randle's Ft attempts have gone up and Towns have been down Randle has has attempted around 1.5 or more FTs a game than Towns in those 2 years. Could that end up being pretty even this season? It's possible but something worth considering.

Again Randle and Towns are 2 good players with flaws. I'm personally excited to see how Randle fits and what Finch can get out of him. Do I think Randle is gonna have some sort of renisaince here? Maybe but I'm not counting on that but that's OK because he is already a pretty good player and I think he could actually fit in well.

Monster mentioned in the first page of this thread that he expected 3-point volume to go up, and I agree. Here are the reasons:

1) Finchie has talked about it, and we have seen a higher percentage of threes in preseason. We ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but 6th in 3-point volume this preseason.

2) DiVo- He loves the 3. In fact he made more last season than any T-Wolf has ever made (245 to Malik Beasley's record 240). Kyle Thiege predicted on Moore's pod today that both DiVo and Ant will eclipse Beasley's team record 240. If they do, our offense is going to be very good.

3) Randle's playing style compared to KAT's. Julius is so good at driving and kicking out to the open man. And because he is such a willing passer, his teammates know they are likely to get paid if they move without the ball and find an open spot. DiVo is great at it, and Jaden and Mike are also good at getting open in the corners. Ant needs to improve on this, and I think he will if he knows Julius is going to get him the ball.

If the Wolves do indeed shoot a lot more 3's this year, their offensive rating is going to soar. Points per shot for guys like DiVo, Ant, Mike, Naz and NAW are much higher when they shoot a 3 instead of a 2 (ignoring free throws of course)...only Randle and Jaden score as efficiently on 2's as they do on 3's. And adding guys like Ingles and Minott to the rotation will only improve our 3-point shooting...even Garza when he gets minutes. I think we are going to see a dramatically improved offense this season.

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 2:44 pm Monster mentioned in the first page of this thread that he expected 3-point volume to go up, and I agree. Here are the reasons:

1) Finchie has talked about it, and we have seen a higher percentage of threes in preseason. We ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but 6th in 3-point volume this preseason.

2) DiVo- He loves the 3. In fact he made more last season than any T-Wolf has ever made (245 to Malik Beasley's record 240). Kyle Thiege predicted on Moore's pod today that both DiVo and Ant will eclipse Beasley's team record 240. If they do, our offense is going to be very good.

3) Randle's playing style compared to KAT's. Julius is so good at driving and kicking out to the open man. And because he is such a willing passer, his teammates know they are likely to get paid if they move without the ball and find an open spot. DiVo is great at it, and Jaden and Mike are also good at getting open in the corners. Ant needs to improve on this, and I think he will if he knows Julius is going to get him the ball.

If the Wolves do indeed shoot a lot more 3's this year, their offensive rating is going to soar. Points per shot for guys like DiVo, Ant, Mike, Naz and NAW are much higher when they shoot a 3 instead of a 2 (ignoring free throws of course)...only Randle and Jaden score as efficiently on 2's as they do on 3's. And adding guys like Ingles and Minott to the rotation will only improve our 3-point shooting...even Garza when he gets minutes. I think we are going to see a dramatically improved offense this season.

I think we'll be better overall offensively than 17th (last year's offensive rank), but I still worry about the Randle/Rudy/Ant trio offensively. I get that KAT and Ant didn't have a ton of synergy either, but at least teams had to guard KAT on the perimeter, which opened up driving lanes for Ant. Now teams can shade off Randle and Rudy, rendering Ant into just a jump shooter - at least while those two are on the court with him.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 3:56 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 2:44 pm Monster mentioned in the first page of this thread that he expected 3-point volume to go up, and I agree. Here are the reasons:

1) Finchie has talked about it, and we have seen a higher percentage of threes in preseason. We ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but 6th in 3-point volume this preseason.

2) DiVo- He loves the 3. In fact he made more last season than any T-Wolf has ever made (245 to Malik Beasley's record 240). Kyle Thiege predicted on Moore's pod today that both DiVo and Ant will eclipse Beasley's team record 240. If they do, our offense is going to be very good.

3) Randle's playing style compared to KAT's. Julius is so good at driving and kicking out to the open man. And because he is such a willing passer, his teammates know they are likely to get paid if they move without the ball and find an open spot. DiVo is great at it, and Jaden and Mike are also good at getting open in the corners. Ant needs to improve on this, and I think he will if he knows Julius is going to get him the ball.

If the Wolves do indeed shoot a lot more 3's this year, their offensive rating is going to soar. Points per shot for guys like DiVo, Ant, Mike, Naz and NAW are much higher when they shoot a 3 instead of a 2 (ignoring free throws of course)...only Randle and Jaden score as efficiently on 2's as they do on 3's. And adding guys like Ingles and Minott to the rotation will only improve our 3-point shooting...even Garza when he gets minutes. I think we are going to see a dramatically improved offense this season.

I think we'll be better overall offensively than 17th (last year's offensive rank), but I still worry about the Randle/Rudy/Ant trio offensively. I get that KAT and Ant didn't have a ton of synergy either, but at least teams had to guard KAT on the perimeter, which opened up driving lanes for Ant. Now teams can shade off Randle and Rudy, rendering Ant into just a jump shooter - at least while those two are on the court with him.

Yeah, we didn’t see enough minutes with the theee of them in preseason to form any conclusions. And you raise a real concern if Ant is on the court with those two. On the other hand, Randle worked very well with Robinson…it would be nice if he can create the same chemistry with Rudy. We’ll probably know a lot more when they start playing for real.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 3:56 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 2:44 pm Monster mentioned in the first page of this thread that he expected 3-point volume to go up, and I agree. Here are the reasons:

1) Finchie has talked about it, and we have seen a higher percentage of threes in preseason. We ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but 6th in 3-point volume this preseason.

2) DiVo- He loves the 3. In fact he made more last season than any T-Wolf has ever made (245 to Malik Beasley's record 240). Kyle Thiege predicted on Moore's pod today that both DiVo and Ant will eclipse Beasley's team record 240. If they do, our offense is going to be very good.

3) Randle's playing style compared to KAT's. Julius is so good at driving and kicking out to the open man. And because he is such a willing passer, his teammates know they are likely to get paid if they move without the ball and find an open spot. DiVo is great at it, and Jaden and Mike are also good at getting open in the corners. Ant needs to improve on this, and I think he will if he knows Julius is going to get him the ball.

If the Wolves do indeed shoot a lot more 3's this year, their offensive rating is going to soar. Points per shot for guys like DiVo, Ant, Mike, Naz and NAW are much higher when they shoot a 3 instead of a 2 (ignoring free throws of course)...only Randle and Jaden score as efficiently on 2's as they do on 3's. And adding guys like Ingles and Minott to the rotation will only improve our 3-point shooting...even Garza when he gets minutes. I think we are going to see a dramatically improved offense this season.

I think we'll be better overall offensively than 17th (last year's offensive rank), but I still worry about the Randle/Rudy/Ant trio offensively. I get that KAT and Ant didn't have a ton of synergy either, but at least teams had to guard KAT on the perimeter, which opened up driving lanes for Ant. Now teams can shade off Randle and Rudy, rendering Ant into just a jump shooter - at least while those two are on the court with him.

I heard Randle was 50% on corner 3's last year. So I'm not that worried to be honest. Even at 40% on a drive and kick open 3 and we're fine. Where I wouldn't put Randle is at the wing or top where KAT hung out and was obviously successful offensively. We need Randle in the corner so he's a legit threat.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 4:27 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 3:56 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 2:44 pm Monster mentioned in the first page of this thread that he expected 3-point volume to go up, and I agree. Here are the reasons:

1) Finchie has talked about it, and we have seen a higher percentage of threes in preseason. We ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but 6th in 3-point volume this preseason.

2) DiVo- He loves the 3. In fact he made more last season than any T-Wolf has ever made (245 to Malik Beasley's record 240). Kyle Thiege predicted on Moore's pod today that both DiVo and Ant will eclipse Beasley's team record 240. If they do, our offense is going to be very good.

3) Randle's playing style compared to KAT's. Julius is so good at driving and kicking out to the open man. And because he is such a willing passer, his teammates know they are likely to get paid if they move without the ball and find an open spot. DiVo is great at it, and Jaden and Mike are also good at getting open in the corners. Ant needs to improve on this, and I think he will if he knows Julius is going to get him the ball.

If the Wolves do indeed shoot a lot more 3's this year, their offensive rating is going to soar. Points per shot for guys like DiVo, Ant, Mike, Naz and NAW are much higher when they shoot a 3 instead of a 2 (ignoring free throws of course)...only Randle and Jaden score as efficiently on 2's as they do on 3's. And adding guys like Ingles and Minott to the rotation will only improve our 3-point shooting...even Garza when he gets minutes. I think we are going to see a dramatically improved offense this season.

I think we'll be better overall offensively than 17th (last year's offensive rank), but I still worry about the Randle/Rudy/Ant trio offensively. I get that KAT and Ant didn't have a ton of synergy either, but at least teams had to guard KAT on the perimeter, which opened up driving lanes for Ant. Now teams can shade off Randle and Rudy, rendering Ant into just a jump shooter - at least while those two are on the court with him.

I heard Randle was 50% on corner 3's last year. So I'm not that worried to be honest. Even at 40% on a drive and kick open 3 and we're fine. Where I wouldn't put Randle is at the wing or top where KAT hung out and was obviously successful offensively. We need Randle in the corner so he's a legit threat.

52.8% actually. The problem is he doesn't seem to like the corner three...only about 15% of his total threes both last year and for his career, even though he is 37.4% for his career from the corner. Even in his one year with Finchie only 16% of his threes were from the corner. It would be nice if he would get more interested in the corner three, but it's not likely a guy in his 11th season is going to change much. It's not quite as bad as KAT who only took 9% of his 3's from the corner last season (11% for his career), but still pretty bad. It's baffling to me that two guys who actually have better success on the shorter 3-point shot avoid it, but they do.

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 4:21 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 3:56 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 2:44 pm Monster mentioned in the first page of this thread that he expected 3-point volume to go up, and I agree. Here are the reasons:

1) Finchie has talked about it, and we have seen a higher percentage of threes in preseason. We ranked near the bottom of the league last year, but 6th in 3-point volume this preseason.

2) DiVo- He loves the 3. In fact he made more last season than any T-Wolf has ever made (245 to Malik Beasley's record 240). Kyle Thiege predicted on Moore's pod today that both DiVo and Ant will eclipse Beasley's team record 240. If they do, our offense is going to be very good.

3) Randle's playing style compared to KAT's. Julius is so good at driving and kicking out to the open man. And because he is such a willing passer, his teammates know they are likely to get paid if they move without the ball and find an open spot. DiVo is great at it, and Jaden and Mike are also good at getting open in the corners. Ant needs to improve on this, and I think he will if he knows Julius is going to get him the ball.

If the Wolves do indeed shoot a lot more 3's this year, their offensive rating is going to soar. Points per shot for guys like DiVo, Ant, Mike, Naz and NAW are much higher when they shoot a 3 instead of a 2 (ignoring free throws of course)...only Randle and Jaden score as efficiently on 2's as they do on 3's. And adding guys like Ingles and Minott to the rotation will only improve our 3-point shooting...even Garza when he gets minutes. I think we are going to see a dramatically improved offense this season.

I think we'll be better overall offensively than 17th (last year's offensive rank), but I still worry about the Randle/Rudy/Ant trio offensively. I get that KAT and Ant didn't have a ton of synergy either, but at least teams had to guard KAT on the perimeter, which opened up driving lanes for Ant. Now teams can shade off Randle and Rudy, rendering Ant into just a jump shooter - at least while those two are on the court with him.

Yeah, we didn’t see enough minutes with the theee of them in preseason to form any conclusions. And you raise a real concern if Ant is on the court with those two. On the other hand, Randle worked very well with Robinson…it would be nice if he can create the same chemistry with Rudy. We’ll probably know a lot more when they start playing for real.

Well, Robinson may be capable of catching a larger variety of passes. Rudy is great if you gift-wrap him the ball with a soft lob pass. Anything beyond that is an adventure though. It always frustrates me how authoritatively he can grab defensive rebounds, including trickier ones in traffic that come off the rim in a weird way. But suddenly his hands turn into thumb-less paddles on offense, whether it be pass catching or offensive rebounding. So odd.

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 5:03 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 4:27 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Oct 19, 2024 3:56 pm

I think we'll be better overall offensively than 17th (last year's offensive rank), but I still worry about the Randle/Rudy/Ant trio offensively. I get that KAT and Ant didn't have a ton of synergy either, but at least teams had to guard KAT on the perimeter, which opened up driving lanes for Ant. Now teams can shade off Randle and Rudy, rendering Ant into just a jump shooter - at least while those two are on the court with him.

I heard Randle was 50% on corner 3's last year. So I'm not that worried to be honest. Even at 40% on a drive and kick open 3 and we're fine. Where I wouldn't put Randle is at the wing or top where KAT hung out and was obviously successful offensively. We need Randle in the corner so he's a legit threat.

52.8% actually. The problem is he doesn't seem to like the corner three...only about 15% of his total threes both last year and for his career, even though he is 37.4% for his career from the corner. Even in his one year with Finchie only 16% of his threes were from the corner. It would be nice if he would get more interested in the corner three, but it's not likely a guy in his 11th season is going to change much. It's not quite as bad as KAT who only took 9% of his 3's from the corner last season (11% for his career), but still pretty bad. It's baffling to me that two guys who actually have better success on the shorter 3-point shot avoid it, but they do.

Randle has said he loves Finchie and analytics are becoming much more prominent every year. Also Randle isn't going to be the number one option here. Sure Brunson was last year for JR, but it's a new team, new year. He's not established in this franchise. I could see Randle getting on board with being a corner guy especially in the starting lineup with Conley and Ant being primary ball handlers.

We'll see because my first thought with JR in the starting lineup is him on a wing and teams simply laying off him letting him shoot it, and subsequent struggles for him and everyone on offense. Certainly he's better then say Josh Okogie or even Anderson last year, Rubio (maybe) as a 3P shooter, but we've seen enough bad 3P shooters here and how it effects spacing and non driving lanes.