Minnesota Sports Forum

KAT was a -2 tonight and it didn't really feel that way. He coulda let them come all the way back after Ant got foul #3 but he kept the offense afloat.

There were two monkeys we had to get off our backs today: 1) Ant can't play against the Suns, and 2) KAT disappears in the playoffs. I'm pronouncing both monkeys dead. We didn't like Ant's decision making and 6 early turnovers, but he matured big time in the second half. And Finchie says KAT is still only 80% (understandable after missing so many weeks). Imagine how good he is going to be as the playoffs progress. Beating the Suns with KAT and Conley only making one 3-pointer is a major statement. We know that isn't going to happen again.

There may not be a player in the league I like less than Grayson Allen, so it was really nice to see him go 0-3 on the night. I think SloMo is more likely to bounce back quickly from his hip pointer than Allen is from his ankle injury, and that will be quite meaningful. I thought the Suns defense really got worse after Allen went down, and it's a lot easier to defend the Suns with Eric Gordon out there than the Punchable Face.

KAT got off to a slow start, but I thought he played really well in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He gave it to us when we really needed it.

Game 1 went the way we were all hoping. We kept it close to start the game, then the defense and bench showed out. Pretty good recipe for the series right there. Looks like Finch was able to game plan and make it work. KAT in the high post or left box postup is something the Suns just cannot stop. Love the cuts off KAT for open layups.

Here's what I noticed:

- They had KAT on Durant to start, which was something a lot of folks here and elsewhere were speculating. I like the strategy because Durant is so damn good, why "waste" a great defender on him. Look at how McDaniels and the rest of the perimeter guys contained everyone else. You just gotta take those contested Durant mid-range shots in stride and play on.

- I like that we won without some crazy shooting luck in either direction. Phoenix was a bit below average from beyond the arc and we were about at our season average in terms of makes and %.

- Holy shit the game really is reffed differently in the playoffs.

- Ant made some crappy decisions/turnovers AND was the hero. I guess he just outplayed his sloppiness. Have a feeling that won't work as well when we go to Phoenix.

- Ant played all of the 3rd and most of the 4th. Typically Ant sits to start the 4th, but it looks like Finch wanted to put things away.

- Did Mark Jones say that NAW led the league in corner 3 makes? That doesn't sound quite right.

- Speaking of NAW, if I'm ever in the proverbial foxhole in a firefight, I really want him next to me. He is a warrior.

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 6:12 pm There were two monkeys we had to get off our backs today: 1) Ant can't play against the Suns, and 2) KAT disappears in the playoffs. I'm pronouncing both monkeys dead. We didn't like Ant's decision making and 6 early turnovers, but he matured big time in the second half. And Finchie says KAT is still only 80% (understandable after missing so many weeks). Imagine how good he is going to be as the playoffs progress. Beating the Suns with KAT and Conley only making one 3-pointer is a major statement. We know that isn't going to happen again.

There may not be a player in the league I like less than Grayson Allen, so it was really nice to see him go 0-3 on the night. I think SloMo is more likely to bounce back quickly from his hip pointer than Allen is from his ankle injury, and that will be quite meaningful. I thought the Suns defense really got worse after Allen went down, and it's a lot easier to defend the Suns with Eric Gordon out there than the Punchable Face.

I'm not going to say they got any monkeys off their back after game 1 in a 7-game series other than the winless streak against Phoenix. Nevertheless, that was a HUGE win and typically the team that wins game 1 has the edge.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 20, 2024 6:40 pm KAT got off to a slow start, but I thought he played really well in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He gave it to us when we really needed it.

Agreed, he was "good enough" in this game and gave us what we needed. We may need a really big game from him eventually, but simply staying within himself this game was a good start.

Its so nice that Gobert takes all that banging away from Towns. Its a luxury to have him mucking it up with Nurkic so Kat can focus on his game.

Also Grayson Allen is a POS

Abe's Review (over two days, watching some live, some over the shoulders of other people at an AAU tournament, and some from last night and then this morning):

- That was fun.