Hawks@Wolves - GDT

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I'd be down for Wiggins coming off the bench the next few games. You don't play like that and then trash your fans after rightfully getting boo'ed.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I'm sure Lip will weigh in with an in-person game report, but here's mine. Surprisingly an almost full house tonight there to watch an Atlanta team that isn't a big draw. The horrible defense in the first half took the crowd out of the game, but the arena was rocking in the second half. That said, this has to be the most disappointing loss of the year. There is no comparison between the talent levels on these two teams.

Towns and Rose were spectacular and unstoppable on offense, and bad (even compared to the low bar they usually set) on defense. Okogie was laughably bad, and I actually commend Thibs for limiting his minutes tonight...he just didn't look like an NBA player tonight. Tyus Jones was very good on both ends of the court (6 assists, 4 steals and no TOs), and not surprisingly our best plus/minus player again...kudos again to thibs for letting him play 25 minutes.

Wig was booed at the end of the game, primarily for his horrible missed free throws, but I found his game rather lethargic most of the night...what a let down after his terrific night in OkC. Obviously his post-game comment about "shitty fans" was ill-advised and he will regret it.

Other than playing Okogie in the final seconds when we needed a three and some poor offensive play calls, I don't know if there's anything specific to blame on Thibs for this loss. Still, I think firing him could be the spark that might prevent lackluster periods of play like tonight's first half and the letdown after we built a 9-point lead in the 4th. This team has too much talent to miss the playoffs, but I fear thibs may cost them the postseason.

[AbeVigodaLive]

DVR Summary. A FUN ONE? Let's start with some crazy stats:

1. At one point into the 2nd half... Atlanta was 10 - 21 on three pointers. 18 - 25 in the paint... AND 0 - 1... ON ANY OTHER SHOT. 46 out of 47 shots were three pointers or layups. Now... how many times did Andrew Wiggins + Dario Saric + Tyus Jones and others pass up an open three pointer to take a long two pointer?

But we can get back to that. More fun stats!

2. The Wolves were 7 - 17 on free throws in the 4th quarter... and Robert Covington was 0 - 2 on dunks in the final 7 minutes of the game.

3. Trae Young has shot above 50% in only 5 of 34 career games. He shot 64% tonight.

4. Dwayne Dedmon is 7 - 10 on three pointers vs. the Wolves over the past two seasons. And that includes two huge upsets by the really crappy Hawks over the Wolves.

5. The Detroit Pistons are 28th in three point percentage at 32.9%. They hit 20 - 48 vs. the Wolves. The Hawks are 27th at 33.0%. They hit 16 - 35 3fg. We can call it bad coaching from Thibs. We can call it lucky from those teams. Or, we can be more honest... the Wolves weren't playing defense for huge stretches vs. both of those teams.

___________

Part 2 on the way...

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Honestly don't know what to do about these 3 pters.

Its clear we dont like to take them. Ive seen too many players taje a step inside the line to take that shot instead of the 3.

Defensively, we just leave everyone wide open. That seems systematic for me. The players look confused, they dont know when to switch or when to rotate. Their instincts tell them to switch, but practice tells them to fight through screens. The team also follow the ball and not the man which leads to defensive breakdowns and an inability to grab defensive rebounds. If its not the coaching, there something in the minnesotan water.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Point Guard Comparison:

- I know there's been a lot of heat around here on the Wolves playing Jones + Rose together. Are they really two PGs though? Rose is great at finishing and is a great energy guy when in that role. He's a shitty PG in the traditional sense. TOWNS in the FRANCHISE. I bet there are 4 or 5 times every game he starts where Rose drives and draws defenders while Towns is sitting at the top wide open for an open three... because... you know... he's the team's best three point shooter and stuff. Nope. He doesn't get the ball.

Tyus Jones can't shoot... not really. He definitely can't finish. But he's a pest on defense and it's so much fun to watch him pass the ball. It's so subtle. He changes his pace/speed 30 feet away from where he knows he wants to give it up to a teammate. He's just setting the scene way ahead of time. It's a shame of sorts that the guy doesn't have the athleticism to be a more everyday/every minute NBA guy. He's a career backup. But one of those guys who just knows how to play.

- Back-to-back road games on the way on New Year's Eve. Oh oh. Followed by another road game in Boston... a team the Wolves have struggled with. Oh. Oh. No.

- I'm gonna take the night off from bashing Wiggins. It's a broken record from me already...

[AbeVigodaLive]

Honestly don't know what to do about these 3 pters.

Its clear we dont like to take them. Ive seen too many players taje a step inside the line to take that shot instead of the 3.

Defensively, we just leave everyone wide open. That seems systematic for me. The players look confused, they dont know when to switch or when to rotate. Their instincts tell them to switch, but practice tells them to fight through screens. The team also follow the ball and not the man which leads to defensive breakdowns and an inability to grab defensive rebounds. If its not the coaching, there something in the minnesotan water.

Honestly don't know what to do about these 3 pters.

Its clear we dont like to take them. Ive seen too many players taje a step inside the line to take that shot instead of the 3.

Defensively, we just leave everyone wide open. That seems systematic for me. The players look confused, they dont know when to switch or when to rotate. Their instincts tell them to switch, but practice tells them to fight through screens. The team also follow the ball and not the man which leads to defensive breakdowns and an inability to grab defensive rebounds. If its not the coaching, there something in the minnesotan water.

It might be systematic. The coaching staff certainly doesn't seem to prize the shot as other organizations. But this season is especially troubling.

The Wolves were 18th in opp attempts and percentage last season... not great. Not terrible. The year before they were 14th in attempts and #22 in %.

This season they've plummeted to 24th in attempts and 27th in percentage. Maybe Thibs has (a)changed the scheme to go against what every other team is doing in the league and not defending it the same way... or (b) teams have figured out how to beat the Wolves at it... or (c) the players are taking nights off defensively too often against really shitty shooting teams like Detroit and Atlanta at home.

I'm going with a combo of (b) and (c).

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I agree that Rose doesn't have classic PG skills, but I was impressed with how he handled the traps the Hawks threw at him in the second half (perhaps with some credit to Thibs too...reluctantly). Every time the Hawks double teamed him near mid-court and a TO looked imminent, he found an open man creating a 4 on 3 opportunity that led to an easy basket every time. One bright spot on an otherwise depressing night.

[Lipoli390]

I'm sure Lip will weigh in with an in-person game report, but here's mine. Surprisingly an almost full house tonight there to watch an Atlanta team that isn't a big draw. The horrible defense in the first half took the crowd out of the game, but the arena was rocking in the second half. That said, this has to be the most disappointing loss of the year. There is no comparison between the talent levels on these two teams.

Towns and Rose were spectacular and unstoppable on offense, and bad (even compared to the low bar they usually set) on defense. Okogie was laughably bad, and I actually commend Thibs for limiting his minutes tonight...he just didn't look like an NBA player tonight. Tyus Jones was very good on both ends of the court (6 assists, 4 steals and no TOs), and not surprisingly our best plus/minus player again...kudos again to thibs for letting him play 25 minutes.

Wig was booed at the end of the game, primarily for his horrible missed free throws, but I found his game rather lethargic most of the night...what a let down after his terrific night in OkC. Obviously his post-game comment about "shitty fans" was ill-advised and he will regret it.

Other than playing Okogie in the final seconds when we needed a three and some poor offensive play calls, I don't know if there's anything specific to blame on Thibs for this loss. Still, I think firing him could be the spark that might prevent lackluster periods of play like tonight's first half and the letdown after we built a 9-point lead in the 4th. This team has too much talent to miss the playoffs, but I fear thibs may cost them the postseason.

Rose was very bad defensively tonight. But KAT wasn't bad. He had some huge blocks and if you watched closely, he had some really nice defensive plays along the baseline, containing penetrating guards. As Jim Peterson has often said, your your guards play matador defense, it's awfully hard for your center to defend. KAT's a star and played like one tonight. He was tremendous on the offensive end and decent but not great on the defensive end. He needed more touches. If he had taken 24 shots and Rose 17, the Wolves would have wone the game. Instead those numbers were reversed with Rose taking 24 shots and hitting only 42% of them while KAT hit 59% of his 17 shots. I love Derrick Rose, but he repeatedly failed to get the ball to KAT when KAT either had good post position or wide-open perimeter looks.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

What makes Wiggins so hard to have on our team is that as our former #1 pick and max contract player, no one is willing to admit (including Wiggins and his agent) that he should really be a role player with very narrow responsibilities.

He's being utilized that way in the gameplan. The problem is his athleticism is beyond his basketball skills, so he gets good looks that he has to take.The problem is his athleticism is beyond his basketball skills, so he gets good looks that he has to take. Either way it's frustrating all around. He just can't make shots, wide open 3s and free throws should be where any player can seemingly grow.

And therein lies the dilemma. Every coach's mouth waters at the potential mismatches and trying to get him going down hill because he CAN get shots off and draw fouls. But the end result is inefficient basketball. That's why I think he may be one of these guys that will eventually find a really valuable niche once he resigns himself to being a role player on a good team. That's not going to happen until his next contract and playing for a different team. We need to move on....

[Wolvesfan21]

Man ATL is a crap team.

Anyways Wiggins is so erratic. He is either really great at times and really terrible at times. Maybe he should get with DRose and that heavy ball. Do something to gain some confidence. Maybe work on his handle every day for a year. See if he can dribble.