Minnesota Sports Forum

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:41 am

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:19 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:03 am

I think what happens is he gets bogged down in the paint trying to get to his left hand and it makes him vulnerable to turnovers and last-second grenades passed to a team mate with the shot clock winding down. Like you said, it's against better defenders (like JJJ of Memphis) or defenses like Houston and OKC.

I have a strong feeling we'll be talking about Julius again in the offseason as a trade asset. Finch has absolutely maximized him on this squad and I have no complaints after being really skeptical of him at first. I want to see how the playoffs go because at this point regular season performance needs to become subordinate to post-season performance.

Besides Ant becoming Jokic, SGA, or Giannis (doubtful), what can the team do to further maximize its chances of reaching the Finals? Can Julius's salary slot lead to a player or players that better compliment the rest of the group? I'm not sure, but I think it's something we'll be talking about again come June.

Right, he doesn't see feel the double or triple coming a lot too, he has his back to the defense or spin move in coming. It's a fine move to collapse the D, but then you need to find the open man, not turn it over. And I agree with Ant will likely have to carry us in a OKC, maybe even Houston series. While Ju settles for a much more role player role against those teams. I guess the tough part is when Ant sits, where does the offense come from?

Bingo. This has been Finch's white whale in a low-key way since he got here. Nowell, Milton, Dillingham, Shannon, Bones....He's been looking for a bench perimeter creator that can break the paint and create shots for himself and others when things bog down with the offense for whatever reason and Ant is either not in the game or somehow neutralized.

Most of those guys above have had flashes of brilliance (well, may be not Milton or Dillingham), but can never seem to sustain it. Bones is the closest we've gotten, but I still have questions.

It's why the Coby White and Collin Sexton type names keep coming up. These guys are flawed for sure, especially on defense, but they give Finch a creator off the bench.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 12:24 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:41 am

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:19 am

Right, he doesn't see feel the double or triple coming a lot too, he has his back to the defense or spin move in coming. It's a fine move to collapse the D, but then you need to find the open man, not turn it over. And I agree with Ant will likely have to carry us in a OKC, maybe even Houston series. While Ju settles for a much more role player role against those teams. I guess the tough part is when Ant sits, where does the offense come from?

Bingo. This has been Finch's white whale in a low-key way since he got here. Nowell, Milton, Dillingham, Shannon, Bones....He's been looking for a bench perimeter creator that can break the paint and create shots for himself and others when things bog down with the offense for whatever reason and Ant is either not in the game or somehow neutralized.

Most of those guys above have had flashes of brilliance (well, may be not Milton or Dillingham), but can never seem to sustain it. Bones is the closest we've gotten, but I still have questions.

It's why the Coby White and Collin Sexton type names keep coming up. These guys are flawed for sure, especially on defense, but they give Finch a creator off the bench.

Don't forget Monk!!!

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 12:15 pm Where does the offense come from when Ant sits? It has to be Randle. I love how he has embraced being second fiddle to Ant on this team, but it's interesting how he steps up in the games Ant misses. He doesn't complain about being Robin to Ant's batman, but he clearly relishes those moments when he gets to be Batman...he's averaged 28/7/6 the past 8 games Ant has missed. The Wolves offensive rating in the second most used 5-man lineup (Rudy, Ju, Jaden, Donte, Mike) is a very good 128.7 with a net rating over 20. The challenge for Finchy is to maximize Ant's and Ju's value by finding minutes when they can be out there without the other. It's a tough puzzle, but not too difficult to find 12 minutes when only one is out there. Dane and Hine talked about this on a recent podcast.