The Streak Starts Tonight - Wolves at Jazz GDT

[FNG]

Again, there were two reasons we lost this game...terrible 3-point shooting ( I wonder if any other team has missed 43 treys in one game!), and repeatedly getting beat on cuts to the basket. Conley appears to be the board whipping boy tonight, and he is responsible for the first reason missing both of his open threes. But my whipping boys are Ant, Ju and Naz, who not only missed too many open threes, but also lost their man on back cuts over and over. It was pretty clear to me why Finchy played Conley 16 minutes...he was frustrated with the dumb defense and needed someone out there to coach...it didn't work.

On the other hand, hats off to the Jazz coaching staff and their less talented players. They detected a weakness in the Wolves' defense and ran the same plays over and over. We were just too stupid to adjust to it.

I actually thought Ant was pretty engaged on both ends of the court in the first half and helped set the tone with that early lead we built up in Q1. He had those really nice hit-ahead passes. His defense (and clutch shooting) waned in the 4th quarter which is usually the opposite of what happens with him.

Julius and Naz....Ugh!!!! I don't want to get ahead of our skis here since it's still early, but the best thing that could happen heading into this offseason (assuming we get bounced from the playoffs) is the development of Joan Beringer into someone that can be Rudy's exclusive backup and heir apparent. That will free up Connelly to deal one or both of his PFs that we all have a love/hate relationship with.

You might ask, how could we deal both???? Well, the best PF on the team just might be Jaden McDaniels! Rudy/Jaden/Joan with some upgraded wings and guards along with Ant may be the path to our second window. But alas, we'll save the roster re-tooling speculation for the offseason.

I don't disagree that Ant seemed engaged at both ends. But I also think he was dumb on defense. He got beat on back cuts as often as Ju and Naz in my opinion. I excuse the bad shooting...shit happens. But the stupid defense drove me crazy last night.

[rapsuperstar31]

Again, there were two reasons we lost this game...terrible 3-point shooting ( I wonder if any other team has missed 43 treys in one game!), and repeatedly getting beat on cuts to the basket. Conley appears to be the board whipping boy tonight, and he is responsible for the first reason missing both of his open threes. But my whipping boys are Ant, Ju and Naz, who not only missed too many open threes, but also lost their man on back cuts over and over. It was pretty clear to me why Finchy played Conley 16 minutes...he was frustrated with the dumb defense and needed someone out there to coach...it didn't work.

On the other hand, hats off to the Jazz coaching staff and their less talented players. They detected a weakness in the Wolves' defense and ran the same plays over and over. We were just too stupid to adjust to it.

I actually thought Ant was pretty engaged on both ends of the court in the first half and helped set the tone with that early lead we built up in Q1. He had those really nice hit-ahead passes. His defense (and clutch shooting) waned in the 4th quarter which is usually the opposite of what happens with him.

Julius and Naz....Ugh!!!! I don't want to get ahead of our skis here since it's still early, but the best thing that could happen heading into this offseason (assuming we get bounced from the playoffs) is the development of Joan Beringer into someone that can be Rudy's exclusive backup and heir apparent. That will free up Connelly to deal one or both of his PFs that we all have a love/hate relationship with.

You might ask, how could we deal both???? Well, the best PF on the team just might be Jaden McDaniels! Rudy/Jaden/Joan with some upgraded wings and guards along with Ant may be the path to our second window. But alas, we'll save the roster re-tooling speculation for the offseason.

I don't disagree that Ant seemed engaged at both ends. But I also think he was dumb on defense. He got beat on back cuts as often as Ju and Naz in my opinion. I excuse the bad shooting...shit happens. But the stupid defense drove me crazy last night.

Yeah Ant got beat on at least 3 back cuts, Randle multiple back cuts, and he even made a stupid and one foul call after getting frustrated getting back cut. Bones was a cone, they zipped right by him in his few minutes. Neither Clark or Jaden could navigate the screens giving George walk in shots. Naz was, well Naz on defense. Donte was a cone and took too many risks and got beat often.
We scored more than enough points to win the game, even with the horrible shooting. The best shots we got in the game were in transition, and that was really the only time we got shots at the basket. The team acted like Utah had a great shot blocker, rushing shots at the hoop, double clutching, passing out when the shot was there, or just flat out missing bunnies.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Mike Conley has played 63 minutes over the 3-game losing streak.

6 points
6 assists
2 - 15 fg

He has not made more than 3 baskets in any game this season. He has made 3 baskets in only 5 games... with 4 of them coming in the first 7 games.

He's shooting 34.2% from the floor this season.

I really like the guy. I can't help but root for the guy. I think we all expected him to be limited, but I think all of us also expected him to improve as the season progressed. He's getting worse.

It's time for the Wolves to have some tough conversations with Mike Conley.

[FNG]

Mike Conley has played 63 minutes over the 3-game losing streak.

6 points
6 assists
2 - 15 fg

He has not made more than 3 baskets in any game this season. He has made 3 baskets in only 5 games... with 4 of them coming in the first 7 games.

He's shooting 34.2% from the floor this season.

I really like the guy. I can't help but root for the guy. I think we all expected him to be limited, but I think all of us also expected him to improve as the season progressed. He's getting worse.

It's time for the Wolves to have some tough conversations with Mike Conley.

Ben Beecken was quite critical of Mike on his podcast this morning. He sounded a lot like many of the posts in this thread! The problem is one of our three PGs needs to play every night (assuming no trade)...we're just not deep enough to keep our core players fresh if all three are DNP-CDs. So who should Finchy put in first? It's clear to me that Mike is still his choice, and he's mine also. He's not able to convert in the paint, and is targeted at times on defense. And the 39% 3-point shooter is only 34% this year and, as Abe said, getting worse as the season progresses. That doesn't present a pretty picture. But he's still my choice because he knows the game and clearly runs the offense better than the other two. Also, 3-point shooting doesn't require athleticism and he gets a lot of wide open looks, and I would bet his 3-point percentage the rest of the season is closer to 40% than where it is now. He hasn't forgotten how to shoot...his free throw percentage this season is almost 6 percentage points higher than his career average. He's going to continue to struggle around the rim, but I'm confident he is going to make some big 3-pointers down the stretch.

I understand those who want to see Rob get the PG minutes, and I would be pushing for that too if I didn't think this squad had a chance to make a nice playoff run. But he's not the guy we can depend on yet to lead to winning.

Of course "none of the above" is not out of the question if no trade is made, but that would put us in an 8-man rotation including Joan, and I don't think there is enough ball handling in that rotation. I think we can assume that, barring no trade, Finchy is going to continue to turn to Mike as his first PG off the bench. If so, we have to hope that he is smarter than Ben Beecken.

[Phenom]

Last night's game is largely an indictment on the depth of this team. It took a subpar game from each of the top 6 players. They weren't awful, aside from maybe Donte, but they missed the mark from one point or another. That happens from time to time and it makes the depth issue burn like an inferno. Not only did this team lose NAW but they lost Mike Conley as well. I think it would be generous to say Mike is 20% of what he was last season. Joan looks like a reliable option to produce but only played 5 minutes last night (that needs to change). Jaylen and Bones are 9th/10th men at this point. Their production really only hits every few games. The Wolves must cobble together something to improve the bench production since its not on this roster for this coming season. I trust TC has a good feel for the trade market and upcoming buyout market to shore this up. Mike's contract, Rob and TJ should absolutely be on the table for getting a guard/wing type in.

[Sundog]

I agree Phenom. I also agree with Lip that this team needs more grit and intensity for those nights when things aren’t clicking.

[Wolvesfan21]

Mike Conley has played 63 minutes over the 3-game losing streak.

6 points
6 assists
2 - 15 fg

He has not made more than 3 baskets in any game this season. He has made 3 baskets in only 5 games... with 4 of them coming in the first 7 games.

He's shooting 34.2% from the floor this season.

I really like the guy. I can't help but root for the guy. I think we all expected him to be limited, but I think all of us also expected him to improve as the season progressed. He's getting worse.

It's time for the Wolves to have some tough conversations with Mike Conley.

Ben Beecken was quite critical of Mike on his podcast this morning. He sounded a lot like many of the posts in this thread! The problem is one of our three PGs needs to play every night (assuming no trade)...we're just not deep enough to keep our core players fresh if all three are DNP-CDs. So who should Finchy put in first? It's clear to me that Mike is still his choice, and he's mine also. He's not able to convert in the paint, and is targeted at times on defense. And the 39% 3-point shooter is only 34% this year and, as Abe said, getting worse as the season progresses. That doesn't present a pretty picture. But he's still my choice because he knows the game and clearly runs the offense better than the other two. Also, 3-point shooting doesn't require athleticism and he gets a lot of wide open looks, and I would bet his 3-point percentage the rest of the season is closer to 40% than where it is now. He hasn't forgotten how to shoot...his free throw percentage this season is almost 6 percentage points higher than his career average. He's going to continue to struggle around the rim, but I'm confident he is going to make some big 3-pointers down the stretch.

I understand those who want to see Rob get the PG minutes, and I would be pushing for that too if I didn't think this squad had a chance to make a nice playoff run. But he's not the guy we can depend on yet to lead to winning.

Of course "none of the above" is not out of the question if no trade is made, but that would put us in an 8-man rotation including Joan, and I don't think there is enough ball handling in that rotation. I think we can assume that, barring no trade, Finchy is going to continue to turn to Mike as his first PG off the bench. If so, we have to hope that he is smarter than Ben Beecken.

I'd rather see him retire then play anymore. Enough is enough for me. I thought, OK maybe last year wasn't age, he could bounce back! Maybe he was hampered with injuries. But the thing is, he's getting worse and just looks completely cooked (especially going to the rim, the closest thing I can think of is a rec league player playing in the NBA). He was never really that athletic, but he's so far below what he was now, that it's not working. I'm calling it done.

[Lipoli390]

Mike Conley has played 63 minutes over the 3-game losing streak.

6 points
6 assists
2 - 15 fg

He has not made more than 3 baskets in any game this season. He has made 3 baskets in only 5 games... with 4 of them coming in the first 7 games.

He's shooting 34.2% from the floor this season.

I really like the guy. I can't help but root for the guy. I think we all expected him to be limited, but I think all of us also expected him to improve as the season progressed. He's getting worse.

It's time for the Wolves to have some tough conversations with Mike Conley.

Ben Beecken was quite critical of Mike on his podcast this morning. He sounded a lot like many of the posts in this thread! The problem is one of our three PGs needs to play every night (assuming no trade)...we're just not deep enough to keep our core players fresh if all three are DNP-CDs. So who should Finchy put in first? It's clear to me that Mike is still his choice, and he's mine also. He's not able to convert in the paint, and is targeted at times on defense. And the 39% 3-point shooter is only 34% this year and, as Abe said, getting worse as the season progresses. That doesn't present a pretty picture. But he's still my choice because he knows the game and clearly runs the offense better than the other two. Also, 3-point shooting doesn't require athleticism and he gets a lot of wide open looks, and I would bet his 3-point percentage the rest of the season is closer to 40% than where it is now. He hasn't forgotten how to shoot...his free throw percentage this season is almost 6 percentage points higher than his career average. He's going to continue to struggle around the rim, but I'm confident he is going to make some big 3-pointers down the stretch.

I understand those who want to see Rob get the PG minutes, and I would be pushing for that too if I didn't think this squad had a chance to make a nice playoff run. But he's not the guy we can depend on yet to lead to winning.

Of course "none of the above" is not out of the question if no trade is made, but that would put us in an 8-man rotation including Joan, and I don't think there is enough ball handling in that rotation. I think we can assume that, barring no trade, Finchy is going to continue to turn to Mike as his first PG off the bench. If so, we have to hope that he is smarter than Ben Beecken.

FNG - I used to think that perimeter shooting was the last thing to go with age. But a couple years ago I did a deep dive into former NBA players who declined in the mid to late 30s. In every case, their shooting percentages declined more than any other stat. When your legs go, your shooting goes. When you’re a small guard and you lose a step, you can’t get the good looks you used to get. Conley is done. And it doesn’t matter how well he manages games, whatever that really means. He’s not producing positive number on the court and his plus-minus is indicative of that fact. Rob will likely make more mistakes than Mike and doesn’t have Mike’s “game management” acumen but he has other abilities that, if developed and coupled with a health dose of confidence, can provide net benefits to this team. The bar set by Mike Conley this season is very low. If Rob fails to deliver over time, the so be it. We need to know at some point and we’ll never know based on 11 minutes of sporadic play - more recently no playing time.

As I’ve mentioned before, my first preference would be to trade Conley and Miller to the Magic for Tyus Jones. (I don’t think we have the assets to get Tre Jones). Short of that, let’s play Rob and see where the chips fall.

I still think our core problem is a profound lack of consistent grit/intensity. That won’t be fixed by Tyus, Trey, Coby, Ayo, Slo Mo or any other player commonly referenced as trade-deadline targets. The only immediate move I can think of that might address that core problem would be replacing Finch with Mike Malone - the definition of intensity among recently successful NBA head coaches.

[Lipoli390]

Mike Conley has played 63 minutes over the 3-game losing streak.

6 points
6 assists
2 - 15 fg

He has not made more than 3 baskets in any game this season. He has made 3 baskets in only 5 games... with 4 of them coming in the first 7 games.

He's shooting 34.2% from the floor this season.

I really like the guy. I can't help but root for the guy. I think we all expected him to be limited, but I think all of us also expected him to improve as the season progressed. He's getting worse.

It's time for the Wolves to have some tough conversations with Mike Conley.

Ben Beecken was quite critical of Mike on his podcast this morning. He sounded a lot like many of the posts in this thread! The problem is one of our three PGs needs to play every night (assuming no trade)...we're just not deep enough to keep our core players fresh if all three are DNP-CDs. So who should Finchy put in first? It's clear to me that Mike is still his choice, and he's mine also. He's not able to convert in the paint, and is targeted at times on defense. And the 39% 3-point shooter is only 34% this year and, as Abe said, getting worse as the season progresses. That doesn't present a pretty picture. But he's still my choice because he knows the game and clearly runs the offense better than the other two. Also, 3-point shooting doesn't require athleticism and he gets a lot of wide open looks, and I would bet his 3-point percentage the rest of the season is closer to 40% than where it is now. He hasn't forgotten how to shoot...his free throw percentage this season is almost 6 percentage points higher than his career average. He's going to continue to struggle around the rim, but I'm confident he is going to make some big 3-pointers down the stretch.

I understand those who want to see Rob get the PG minutes, and I would be pushing for that too if I didn't think this squad had a chance to make a nice playoff run. But he's not the guy we can depend on yet to lead to winning.

Of course "none of the above" is not out of the question if no trade is made, but that would put us in an 8-man rotation including Joan, and I don't think there is enough ball handling in that rotation. I think we can assume that, barring no trade, Finchy is going to continue to turn to Mike as his first PG off the bench. If so, we have to hope that he is smarter than Ben Beecken.

FNG - I used to think that perimeter shooting was the last thing to go with age. But a couple years ago I did a deep dive into former NBA players who declined in the mid to late 30s. In every case, their shooting percentages declined more than any other stat. When your legs go, your shooting goes. When you’re a small guard and you lose a step, you can’t get the good looks you used to get. Conley is done. And it doesn’t matter how well he manages games, whatever that really means. He’s not producing positive numbers on the court and his plus-minus is indicative of that fact. Rob will likely make more mistakes than Mike and doesn’t have Mike’s “game management” acumen but he has other abilities that, if developed and coupled with a healthy dose of confidence, can provide net benefits to this team. The bar set by Mike Conley this season is very low. If Rob fails to deliver over time, the so be it. We need to know at some point and we’ll never know based on 11 minutes of sporadic play - more recently no playing time.

As I’ve mentioned before, my first preference would be to trade Conley and Miller to the Magic for Tyus Jones. (I don’t think we have the assets to get Tre Jones). Short of that, let’s play Rob and see where the chips fall.

I still think our core problem is a profound lack of consistent grit/intensity. That won’t be fixed by Tyus, Trey, Coby, Ayo, Slo Mo or any other player commonly referenced as trade-deadline targets. The only immediate move I can think of that might address that core problem would be replacing Finch with Mike Malone - the definition of intensity among recently successful NBA head coaches.

[Lipoli390]

Ben Beecken was quite critical of Mike on his podcast this morning. He sounded a lot like many of the posts in this thread! The problem is one of our three PGs needs to play every night (assuming no trade)...we're just not deep enough to keep our core players fresh if all three are DNP-CDs. So who should Finchy put in first? It's clear to me that Mike is still his choice, and he's mine also. He's not able to convert in the paint, and is targeted at times on defense. And the 39% 3-point shooter is only 34% this year and, as Abe said, getting worse as the season progresses. That doesn't present a pretty picture. But he's still my choice because he knows the game and clearly runs the offense better than the other two. Also, 3-point shooting doesn't require athleticism and he gets a lot of wide open looks, and I would bet his 3-point percentage the rest of the season is closer to 40% than where it is now. He hasn't forgotten how to shoot...his free throw percentage this season is almost 6 percentage points higher than his career average. He's going to continue to struggle around the rim, but I'm confident he is going to make some big 3-pointers down the stretch.

I understand those who want to see Rob get the PG minutes, and I would be pushing for that too if I didn't think this squad had a chance to make a nice playoff run. But he's not the guy we can depend on yet to lead to winning.

Of course "none of the above" is not out of the question if no trade is made, but that would put us in an 8-man rotation including Joan, and I don't think there is enough ball handling in that rotation. I think we can assume that, barring no trade, Finchy is going to continue to turn to Mike as his first PG off the bench. If so, we have to hope that he is smarter than Ben Beecken.

FNG - I used to think that perimeter shooting was the last thing to go with age. But a couple years ago I did a deep dive into former NBA players who declined in the mid to late 30s. In every case, their shooting percentages declined more than any other stat. When your legs go, your shooting goes. When you’re a small guard and you lose a step, you can’t get the good looks you used to get. Conley is done. And it doesn’t matter how well he manages games, whatever that really means. He’s not producing positive numbers on the court and his plus-minus is indicative of that fact. Rob will likely make more mistakes than Mike and doesn’t have Mike’s “game management” acumen but he has other abilities that, if developed and coupled with a healthy dose of confidence, can provide net benefits to this team. The bar set by Mike Conley this season is very low. If Rob fails to deliver over time, the so be it. We need to know at some point and we’ll never know based on 11 minutes of sporadic play - more recently no playing time.

As I’ve mentioned before, my first preference would be to trade Conley and Miller to the Magic for Tyus Jones. (I don’t think we have the assets to get Tre Jones). Short of that, let’s play Rob and see where the chips fall.

I still think our core problem as a profound lack of consistent grit/intensity. That won’t be fixed by Tyus, Trey, Coby, Ayo, Slo Mo or any other player commonly referenced as trade-deadline targets. The only immediate move I can think of that might address that core problem would be replacing Finch with Mike Malone - the definition of intensity among recently successful NBA head coaches.