Grade 3 Big Toe Sprain - Wolves at Memphis GDT

[Phenom]

Jenkins played 11 players more than 10 minutes. Finch played 8 players more than 10. We looked gassed at the end of the game. I dont think its a coincidence.

Could guys like Garza, Minott, Lenny and TJ come in and go balls to the wall for 2 to 3 minutes once per half? Could these guys manufacture 6 points and then the Wolves win by 4? We'll never know, I'm afraid.

[Phenom]

Jake Paynting tweeted thay Minnesota Mike is 0-9 in clutch time minutes this season with no assists.

I love MC but it's time to transition him into the end phase of his career, not put him in high leverage situations anymore.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I can't believe how bad our clutch time plays are. Seriously is all we can come up with is give the ball to Ant and watch him dribbling around while everyone else stands around and then jack up a heavily contested shot while being double teamed. It's so predictable and such a low percentage play. This is where I really struggle with Finch and his inability to draw up winning plays when it matters.

We just got done talking about how GSW has struggled against EVERYONE lately... except Minnesota.

Well... Memphis has only two wins this season when they were down at least 6 in the 4th quarter.

And they've done it both times vs. the Timberwolves... this week.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Jake Paynting tweeted thay Minnesota Mike is 0-9 in clutch time minutes this season with no assists.

I love MC but it's time to transition him into the end phase of his career, not put him in high leverage situations anymore.

The 2014 Minnesota Timberwolves was the most frustrating team I remember watching. I also remember discussing them with many of you...

They were a top 10 offense and top 10 defense until the final two games. Their "Expected W/L" record was 48 - 34. But they couldn't even win 1/2 the games. WHY?

Ricky Rubio and JJ Barea posted some of the worst 4th quarter stats in the history of basketball. Seriously. Rubio went like 30 games without more than 1 bucket or something crazy like that. Meanwhile, all-world Kevin Love struggled down the stretch of games as well as every opponent knew he was the only truly viable option.

There are similarities with this squad. The Wolves offense is up to #15. The defense is #6. The Expected W/L based on that and other factors is 25 - 18... but the team is scrambling to stay above .500.

All while Mike Conley has done his best Ricky Rubio imitation only without the passing chops. And Edwards has been extremely inconsistent, or just bad, with his late game home run heroics.

[Lipoli390]

Yeah, no question Ant needs a ball handler next to him that can break down a defense. It will force Ant to not ALWAYS be the obvious go-to guy in the clutch, which he continues to struggle with.

It's pretty rare for a young guard still getting his feet wet to shoot 50%+ from the field and 40%+ from 3, but that's what Dillingham is doing so far this season. And we know the shot making isn't just crazy good fortune since he's doing exactly what he did at Kentucky.

Regardless of how the rest of his game evolves, I am 100% certain that he can be a pretty elite bucket-getter. It's all the other nuances of being a good-enough defender, passer, and decision maker that are question marks. The good news is that he is still so damn young and has room to grow physically.....not even close to a finished product.

I worry about Dilly’s development as a defender because of his size, but I’m not worried about his passing or playmaking because he was excellent in those areas as a college freshman. I recall TC saying the metrics showed Dilly was a better passer than scorer in college. There have been plenty of great NBA PGs similar in size to Dilly to give me confidence that Dilly will be very good and could be great. The PGs I have in mind are Ja Morant, Trae Young, Mike Conley, Steph Curry and Allen Iverson among others. What they all have in common is elite quickness and a ball-on-a-string handle. From there they diverge. Ja Morant is explosive getting to the rim but not a very good three-point shooter. Steph Curry isn’t close to being explosive, but he’s an elite three-point shooter who is skilled at driving and finishing below the rim. Iverson was a lot like Morant. Trae Young is more like Steph. Mike Conley is somewhere in the middle. Conley in his prime was actually a good defender and Steph has been pretty good. But none of these guys has been a great defender. Morant is a pretty poor defenders as was Iverson.

In other words, there’s ample precedent for expecting Dilly to become a star PG. His quickness and handle are on par with those aforementioned greats. He was just as good from behind the college arc coming out as a Freshman as Curry was coming out as a junior. He doesn’t have Morant’s or Iverson’s explosiveness, but he recorded a 42” vertical and is definitely more athletic and explosive than Curry, Conley or Trae Young. Time will tell. But if the competitive drive and work ethic are there, as they appear to be, then I have a high degree of confidence in Dilly becoming a really good possibly great PG in a couple years.

[Phenom]

Jake Paynting tweeted thay Minnesota Mike is 0-9 in clutch time minutes this season with no assists.

I love MC but it's time to transition him into the end phase of his career, not put him in high leverage situations anymore.

The 2014 Minnesota Timberwolves was the most frustrating team I remember watching. I also remember discussing them with many of you...

They were a top 10 offense and top 10 defense until the final two games. Their "Expected W/L" record was 48 - 34. But they couldn't even win 1/2 the games. WHY?

Ricky Rubio and JJ Barea posted some of the worst 4th quarter stats in the history of basketball. Seriously. Rubio went like 30 games without more than 1 bucket or something crazy like that. Meanwhile, all-world Kevin Love struggled down the stretch of games as well as every opponent knew he was the only truly viable option.

There are similarities with this squad. The Wolves offense is up to #15. The defense is #6. The Expected W/L based on that and other factors is 25 - 18... but the team is scrambling to stay above .500.

All while Mike Conley has done his best Ricky Rubio imitation only without the passing chops. And Edwards has been extremely inconsistent, or just bad, with his late game home run heroics.

Yes that team has a bunch of blowout wins and a bunch of close losses. They had one of the best point differentials for a lottery team ever. Maybe the play in format would have saved them and maybe it will spare this team.