Minnesota Sports Forum

Interesting info about when shooting declines for an aging player, Lip. I've certainly seen it with Mike's 2-point shooting, because scoring in the paint involves athleticism and legs...he has become one of the worst finishers in the paint in the league. But Mike's 3-point shot is more of a set shot, not a jump shot, and involves very little athleticism. His 3-point shot is similar in form and athleticism to his free throw, and he is making 88% of his free throws...6% better than his career average. Further, Mike made over 40% of his 3-pointers over the first 2 months of the season. It seems like a stretch to believe that Mike lost the ability to hit a 3-pointer on December 1, and it's never going to return. Similarly I don't think that Tyus Jones is going to continue to shoot 27.8% on threes, 10 percentage points less than his career average! I think both are in a slump, and their addresses will move toward their means as we get into the second half of the season.

But I'm more concerned about his plus/minus, which I think is related to his 3-point struggles. I believe Mike was positive in +/- the first two months of the season while he was shooting well, but has really struggled recently. I don't know how to find +/- data, so I look at on/off first. And Mike fell behind Ant last night, only ahead of Rob and TJ. Not good...for either of them.

I'm also intrigued by your suggestion that a guy like Mike Malone might help this team. I like Finchy, and it's difficult to criticize the success he has had here, but I wonder if he is too laid back to lead this team. Maybe we would be better off with a guy who will get in the face of guys like Ju and Ant when they decide not to play defense. I suspect Lore, ARod and TC are quite aware of how much better Chris Finch teams play in the second half of seasons and are not likely to make a move, but it may what this arrogant team needs.

Lip, as a follow up to my post above. I've only been to one Wolves game this season and good seats to the Warriors game coming up are ridiculously overpriced on stubhub, so I haven't had the opportunity to watch our guys shooting at halftime or pregame which I always find informative. Anyway, I got there early for my one game in December, and took notes on the 3-point shooting...focusing mostly on Mike, Rob, TJ and Clark. The last three were disasters...making fewer than 50% of their attempts. But Mike was making them at a very high clip. I understand that pregame shooting is not exactly like in-game shooting, but I think it is more relevant for these 4 guys because they are more likely to get wide open looks in a game. Anyway, if you attend one of the next two games, I'd love your feedback on what you see pregame and at halftime.