Kat expected to play vs Lakers GDT

[AbeVigodaLive]

Late Night DVR Review:

Cutting right to the chase...

... D. Russell stole Glen Taylor's money tonight. That was the most embarrassing display of "basketball" from an "All Star" in his prime I've ever seen.

It was fucking terrible. I wanted to wait... I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But he doesn't deserve it. I tuned in when the Wolves were down 21 - 38... between that point and 8:00 left in the 3rd... Russell hit one shot (which was a bad shot) and did ZERO other positive things. The TOs were alarmingly lazy. The defense was absurdly terrible. There was one play when Russell was guarding Shroder... the PnR began... and Russell ran into the pick. Like literally, he ran into the pick guy's path. Deliberately. Shroeder had a wide open 3.

He's a thief. And this team aint winning with him as the #2. No chance.

Yeah, he had a bad game tonight. He wasn't alone, but he was the worst.

And I am not going to debate whether he can be your #2. Maybe he can't. But I find solace in knowing we have some pretty decent talent that might relieve him of some those #2 responsibilities. (Yeah, the money sucks, but given a choice between paying Wiggins or DLO, I'll take DLO).

We'll see.

It's sort of like choosing to be bludgeoned to death with a butter knife or a spoon. Either way... you know death is inevitable and that you're gonna have to suffer for awhile before you reach that point...

I sure do wish there was an option #3.



[Note: I'm a basketball fan... who digs the history of the game. I've read a lot of basketball books. Russell played tonight how I imagine guys like Marvin Barnes played in the ABA after a night/day of partying. There has to be a backstory to his performance. Again, no hyperbole... it genuinely was THAT bad.]

[Lipoli390]

Thankfully, I didn't watch tonight's game.

I just checked out the box score and DLO looks every bit as bad as Abe described. I've never been a DLO fan and didn't like the trade that brought him here. So while I hope he pans out, I've never expected him to be a reliable cornerstone of this franchise. He's not elite at anything, takes a lot of tough contested shots and often gets strangely lazy with the ball. I liked his defense against the Jazz, but I don't know if we can trust him to keep playing that well defensively given his track record. I'm still hopeful and I don't plan to watch the recording of tonight's game so I won't see the particulars that Abe is referring to.

Apparently, Ed Davis wasn't available tonight. Was he hurt? The Wolves traded for Davis and are paying him $5M this year. Then we find out he's not available when our starting star center goes down. It's another head scratcher. But Davis looked terrible the few times I saw him last season and I don't expect much if anything from him this season.

I suspect it was garbage minutes, but Vanderbilt had an impressive stat line with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in only 15 minutes. A silver lining for Q.

This team continues to depend on KAT far too much. They rely heavily on his scoring and rebounding, but in the first two regular season games they also relied a lot on his defense. When it comes to scoring, it's not just KAT's points, it's his presence as a scoring threat from anywhere on the court. He's an enormous offensive presence that other teams have to account for.

It looks like Culver reverted to his rookie form with a poor shooting percentage and 5 turnovers. I'm not sure why Okogie only played 11 minutes. Did he get hurt?

KAT's injury and tonight's 30+ point loss bring us back to reality. We're probably not as bad as we apparently played tonight, but I don't think we're as good as we were in the first two games either.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Lip. The boxscore does NOT do it justice. Trust me on this.

Even better... somebody who has it on DVR... watch it from when they were down 21 - 38 until Russell sits for good midway through the 3rd quarter. (Maybe Russell was even worse earlier, but I didn't watch)

And tell me I'm wrong. You won't be able to.

[kekgeek]

Thankfully, I didn't watch tonight's game.

I just checked out the box score and DLO looks every bit as bad as Abe described. I've never been a DLO fan and didn't like the trade that brought him here. So while I hope he pans out, I've never expected him to be a reliable cornerstone of this franchise. He's not elite at anything, takes a lot of tough contested shots and often gets strangely lazy with the ball. I liked his defense against the Jazz, but I don't know if we can trust him to keep playing that well defensively given his track record. I'm still hopeful and I don't plan to watch the recording of tonight's game so I won't see the particulars that Abe is referring to.

Apparently, Ed Davis wasn't available tonight. Was he hurt? The Wolves traded for Davis and are paying him $5M this year. Then we find out he's not available when our starting star center goes down. It's another head scratcher. But Davis looked terrible the few times I saw him last season and I don't expect much if anything from him this season.

I suspect it was garbage minutes, but Vanderbilt had an impressive stat line with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in only 15 minutes. A silver lining for Q.

This team continues to depend on KAT far too much. They rely heavily on his scoring and rebounding, but in the first two regular season games they also relied a lot on his defense. When it comes to scoring, it's not just KAT's points, it's his presence as a scoring threat from anywhere on the court. He's an enormous offensive presence that other teams have to account for.

It looks like Culver reverted to his rookie form with a poor shooting percentage and 5 turnovers. I'm not sure why Okogie only played 11 minutes. Did he get hurt?

KAT's injury and tonight's 30+ point loss bring us back to reality. We're probably not as bad as we apparently played tonight, but I don't think we're as good as we were in the first two games either.

Yes Okogie got hurt. Legit thought it was his Achilles because he could put no weight on it. Wolves are saying it is cramps but he didn't return to the game

[KiwiMatt]

Thankfully, I didn't watch tonight's game.

I just checked out the box score and DLO looks every bit as bad as Abe described. I've never been a DLO fan and didn't like the trade that brought him here. So while I hope he pans out, I've never expected him to be a reliable cornerstone of this franchise. He's not elite at anything, takes a lot of tough contested shots and often gets strangely lazy with the ball. I liked his defense against the Jazz, but I don't know if we can trust him to keep playing that well defensively given his track record. I'm still hopeful and I don't plan to watch the recording of tonight's game so I won't see the particulars that Abe is referring to.

Apparently, Ed Davis wasn't available tonight. Was he hurt? The Wolves traded for Davis and are paying him $5M this year. Then we find out he's not available when our starting star center goes down. It's another head scratcher. But Davis looked terrible the few times I saw him last season and I don't expect much if anything from him this season.

I suspect it was garbage minutes, but Vanderbilt had an impressive stat line with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in only 15 minutes. A silver lining for Q.

This team continues to depend on KAT far too much. They rely heavily on his scoring and rebounding, but in the first two regular season games they also relied a lot on his defense. When it comes to scoring, it's not just KAT's points, it's his presence as a scoring threat from anywhere on the court. He's an enormous offensive presence that other teams have to account for.

It looks like Culver reverted to his rookie form with a poor shooting percentage and 5 turnovers. I'm not sure why Okogie only played 11 minutes. Did he get hurt?

KAT's injury and tonight's 30+ point loss bring us back to reality. We're probably not as bad as we apparently played tonight, but I don't think we're as good as we were in the first two games either.

Yes Okogie got hurt. Legit thought it was his Achilles because he could put no weight on it. Wolves are saying it is cramps but he didn't return to the game

He got a shove in the back on a drive to the hoop (no foul called of course) and landed awkwardly on his ankle. The officials really need to stop that kind of fouling. How many blown ACLs, broken legs and torn achilles do we need to see before the officials start calling those fouls. I hate seeing it.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

Late Night DVR Review:

Cutting right to the chase...

... D. Russell stole Glen Taylor's money tonight. That was the most embarrassing display of "basketball" from an "All Star" in his prime I've ever seen.

It was fucking terrible. I wanted to wait... I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But he doesn't deserve it. I tuned in when the Wolves were down 21 - 38... between that point and 8:00 left in the 3rd... Russell hit one shot (which was a bad shot) and did ZERO other positive things. The TOs were alarmingly lazy. The defense was absurdly terrible. There was one play when Russell was guarding Shroder... the PnR began... and Russell ran into the pick. Like literally, he ran into the pick guy's path. Deliberately. Shroeder had a wide open 3.

He's a thief. And this team aint winning with him as the #2. No chance.

Yeah, he had a bad game tonight. He wasn't alone, but he was the worst.

And I am not going to debate whether he can be your #2. Maybe he can't. But I find solace in knowing we have some pretty decent talent that might relieve him of some those #2 responsibilities. (Yeah, the money sucks, but given a choice between paying Wiggins or DLO, I'll take DLO).

We'll see.

It's sort of like choosing to be bludgeoned to death with a butter knife or a spoon. Either way... you know death is inevitable and that you're gonna have to suffer for awhile before you reach that point...

I sure do wish there was an option #3.



[Note: I'm a basketball fan... who digs the history of the game. I've read a lot of basketball books. Russell played tonight how I imagine guys like Marvin Barnes played in the ABA after a night/day of partying. There has to be a backstory to his performance. Again, no hyperbole... it genuinely was THAT bad.]

Couldn't have summed it up better. Russell is terrible. He didnt just have a bad game, he's always lazy (but extra lazy tonight) I like how everyone on here can rip on players, but when kg does it with dlo, he's a troll... okaaaay. I think he's exactly right, along with you here. How anyone can call this guy a star is tough for me to understand.

He looks hungover or stoned most nights and how are these younger guys supposed to react when they see him getting paid the max?

I get why rosas made that trade, he gambled that dlo would show some passion if he got to play with his buddy, but I really think he lost that gamble. Pg is a deep position in the league and there's a lot of guys making half what dlo is making that are flat out better. Gross, that guy just bugs me.

[Wolvesfan21]

I wouldn't single out DLO because the entire team was trash in many ways. I'm not defending DLO, he was just a piece of the crappy performance. Can you even name one Wolves player and say, hey he had a good game? Wether they couldn't make shots, couldn't defend, couldn't make a layup, couldn't play with energy after partying in LA and a playing a back to back. (speculation)

There might be a person who two on here who were just waiting for DLO to have a poor game to support their ego driven argument.

I guess our only saving grace is that Wiggins is playing far worse then DLO thus far. So the trade is looking OK.

Oh and LeBron is decent and so are the Lakers, maybe they should have won. lol

[FNG]

WF21- I'm a bit of a Rubio bobo, but I would say he had a good game. 9-4-4 and no turnovers in 18 minutes, and only a -9 in a 36-point loss is a good game IMO. Also all four PFs at least were nor embarrassing for the first time all season, albeit primarily in garbage time. And while Naz played his worst game of the season, he again showed he is a reliable center off the bench backing up KAT.

Saunders needs to slap Edwards upside the head in the locker room after his performance. His shot selection was so poor he must have thought he was back at Georgia- 6-21 ain't gonna cut it.

But to continue beating the dead horse that is already lying bloodied on the ground, there are no words to describe D-Lo tonight. I've accepted the fact that he is going to be a minus player on the court- he's not going to change what he has been his entire career- because his ability to score in bunches will win some games for us. But there is no excuse for his abysmal performance tonight- no effort and lazy play at both ends of the court. This is how awful he was tonight- there were times I actually would have preferred to see Wiggins out there.

You're not going to win any games with one max player out hurt and the other playing like a guy who looks like he should be coming off the bench in the G League. Let's hope they both return to the court soon, or this is going to be tough to watch.

[Wolvesfan21]

WF21- I'm a bit of a Rubio bobo, but I would say he had a good game. 9-4-4 and no turnovers in 18 minutes, and only a -9 in a 36-point loss is a good game IMO. Also all four PFs at least were nor embarrassing for the first time all season, albeit primarily in garbage time. And while Naz played his worst game of the season, he again showed he is a reliable center off the bench backing up KAT.

Saunders needs to slap Edwards upside the head in the locker room after his performance. His shot selection was so poor he must have thought he was back at Georgia- 6-21 ain't gonna cut it.

But to continue beating the dead horse that is already lying bloodied on the ground, there are no words to describe D-Lo tonight. I've accepted the fact that he is going to be a minus player on the court- he's not going to change what he has been his entire career- because his ability to score in bunches will win some games for us. But there is no excuse for his abysmal performance tonight- no effort and lazy play at both ends of the court. This is how awful he was tonight- there were times I actually would have preferred to see Wiggins out there.

You're not going to win any games with one max player out hurt and the other playing like a guy who looks like he should be coming off the bench in the G League. Let's hope they both return to the court soon, or this is going to be tough to watch.

I'll give you that, Rubio was the best of the worst. It's good to get beatdown though too, they might have been feeling themselves a bit too much after starting 2-0. I don't think anyone thought we would win anyways, especially without KAT. I was actually hoping KAT would go off for 30 to give the team a chance before I heard he was ruled out.

As far as DLO, I don't have too high of expectations for him overall. He plays above his skill level too much. Taking too many tough shots and contested midrange jumpers. I would hope he would work to improve his assist game more, versus jacking up tough shots. Still early in the season. We'll see how it progresses as guys get use to playing with each other more. More team game, less one on one.

Anyways, a good time to get beatdown. Hopefully the entire team will bring it versus the Clippers. They need to in order to have a chance.

[Lipoli390]

WF21- I'm a bit of a Rubio bobo, but I would say he had a good game. 9-4-4 and no turnovers in 18 minutes, and only a -9 in a 36-point loss is a good game IMO. Also all four PFs at least were nor embarrassing for the first time all season, albeit primarily in garbage time. And while Naz played his worst game of the season, he again showed he is a reliable center off the bench backing up KAT.

Saunders needs to slap Edwards upside the head in the locker room after his performance. His shot selection was so poor he must have thought he was back at Georgia- 6-21 ain't gonna cut it.

But to continue beating the dead horse that is already lying bloodied on the ground, there are no words to describe D-Lo tonight. I've accepted the fact that he is going to be a minus player on the court- he's not going to change what he has been his entire career- because his ability to score in bunches will win some games for us. But there is no excuse for his abysmal performance tonight- no effort and lazy play at both ends of the court. This is how awful he was tonight- there were times I actually would have preferred to see Wiggins out there.

You're not going to win any games with one max player out hurt and the other playing like a guy who looks like he should be coming off the bench in the G League. Let's hope they both return to the court soon, or this is going to be tough to watch.

I'll give you that, Rubio was the best of the worst. It's good to get beatdown though too, they might have been feeling themselves a bit too much after starting 2-0. I don't think anyone thought we would win anyways, especially without KAT. I was actually hoping KAT would go off for 30 to give the team a chance before I heard he was ruled out.

As far as DLO, I don't have too high of expectations for him overall. He plays above his skill level too much. Taking too many tough shots and contested midrange jumpers. I would hope he would work to improve his assist game more, versus jacking up tough shots. Still early in the season. We'll see how it progresses as guys get use to playing with each other more. More team game, less one on one.

Anyways, a good time to get beatdown. Hopefully the entire team will bring it versus the Clippers. They need to in order to have a chance.

At this point, after 5 seasons in the League, I wouldn't expect DLO to change. He'll always take way too many bad contested shots and he'll always have lots of stretches where he's lazy with the ball. He doesn't have any truly elite skills, so there's not upside for him to capture down the road. He's just another bad max contract. Is he as bad as Wiggins? No, he's better. But that low bar doesn't provide any solace. Russell is still way overpaid for what he provides. I'd feel a little better if we had simply swapped Wiggins straight up along with our 2nd round pick for DLO. But we gave up what will likely be a lottery pick next year along with what will likely be a pretty high second round pick in what's expected to be talent-filled draft.

DLO will have some good games and he'll probably win a game or two with some big shots at the end of the game. Actually, Wiggins did that a few times two. DLO will come through in that regard more than Wiggins. But as our starting PG, Russell controls the fate of this team far more than Wiggins. And he's simply not enough of a net positive to justify his central role as our #2 max cornerstone player, especially in light of what we gave up to get him.