Minnesota Sports Forum

thedoper wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 7:57 am Im shocked the coaching staff didnt relay that the gameplan should have been to be even more physical with Wemby. Maybe that early flagrant on Rudy scared them, but they let Wemby completely walk all over them. They just gift wrapped the series to them and let Naz get elbowed in the throat. I am so disappointed with the lack of grit on this team starting with Rudy, that guy is supposed to be our defensive anchor. I cant see a point for him on this team anymore.

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:03 am "There are obviously a lot of issues to pick at, but this one has been driving me crazy. We’ve had two full seasons of Ant seeing some of the most aggressive double coverage in basketball, and the only person who has figured out how to beat them is Ant himself, which he’s struggled to do this series with his knee injuries.

But when the Spurs trap/double Ant (or whoever else has the ball), nobody on the court knows what to do, the coaches seemingly have no answer for it. If anything, when Ant gets trapped his teammates make it worse by bringing another defender up to the top of the key to screen or by all 4 of them for some reason moving to the same side of the court. They can’t even get the geometry of breaking doubles right, it should be 3 v 4 and instead the entire process breaks down.

To me, it just speaks volumes about the preparation/lack thereof and poor attention to detail in game planning. Breaking double teams is not complex, and the looks the Spurs have been giving Ant are nothing new. Yet the entire team is just helpless to do anything."

From a reddit thread and I couldn't say it better. Why. The. Fuck can't this team figure out double teams!!!!!

Another thing the bugs the shit out of me and is semi related. Why the fuck does it take so long for someone to present themselves for a pass when Rudy gets the ball at the top of the key? Also now that I think about it, why can't Rudy make a single pass from that look that isn't a handoff? Hell most of the time there is no one in front of him, is he seriously so limited that he can't take a couple dribbles past the arc and then pass out of it when a defender draws in?

Obviously the sad answer to all of that is yes, he is that limited, which is honestly pretty embarrassing for a guy playing as long as he has.

Rudy's strengths can be so obvious against clear mismatches, or in the case of the Denver series, evenly matched, but there's no reason for him to be this useless when things are tilted against him.

I figured it out this morning too. The problem with the Wolves right not is that their supposed strength is a house of cards.
Past Ant, the talent is pretty flatly distributed on the roster and that is reflected in the payroll. What this is supposed to provide is a resourceful toolbox: Rudy's too much of a liability on offense, ok go to Naz/Randle; Randle is clogging things up too much on offense and is a liability on defense, ok bring in Naz; oh Jaden is 7 feet tall and can be a low man defender, ok get him off ball and play super big.
How much does any of that actually work out when it matters though? Didn't work against the Thunder last year, isn't working against the Spurs and while it was a different team it didn't work against the Mavs.

The Randle, Naz, Rudy frontcourt is supposed to provide optionality and flexibility, it's over 75 million dollars spent to cover up the others weakness but when they really need it..... It doesn't work

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:29 am I'm as mad and frustrated as everyone else. But then I take a step back and look at reality....San Antonio is just the better team. End of story. They are supposed to beat us. They won 62 games. They proved they are better than us during the regular season.

Now does that doesn't mean we couldn't steal a playoff series? (Denver was also better than us during the regular season). But for that to happen, we need luck and miracles like McDaniels having the game of his life at the end of the Denver series. We got a little luck with the Wemby ejection to steal a win. But if he didn't get ejected, I think this series would already be over. Also, would anyone think we could beat OKC even if we did advance?

Phenom wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2026 10:07 pm Hoopshype headline is Wemby gets his revenge. Did i miss the part where Wemby was wronged? I'm so sick of the narrative already and his career is just getting started.

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:52 am

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:29 am I'm as mad and frustrated as everyone else. But then I take a step back and look at reality....San Antonio is just the better team. End of story. They are supposed to beat us. They won 62 games. They proved they are better than us during the regular season.

Now does that doesn't mean we couldn't steal a playoff series? (Denver was also better than us during the regular season). But for that to happen, we need luck and miracles like McDaniels having the game of his life at the end of the Denver series. We got a little luck with the Wemby ejection to steal a win. But if he didn't get ejected, I think this series would already be over. Also, would anyone think we could beat OKC even if we did advance?

You're right, so for me it's a little bit of a grieving process for feeling dumb enough to believe in em lol.

I think me and others are also saying, "I wish I wasn't right about Randle and just the general state of the roster."

Last.... It's a little daunting to watch Wembanyhama and know that he is only 22 years old. I see him do this and am just left wondering if Ant can really rise to matching his level. Can he jump SGA and Jokic (and anybody else) and be in the same tier as Vic in few years? Maybe not the same level but at least good enough where with the right pieces around him the Wolves can beat the Spurs and anybody else?

That hope feels dim right now, I'm not gonna lie. Yes he's hurt and tonight he was exhausted but..... Thats no excuse for still not knowing how to beat a double through passing out of it, or make quick decisions, or get further than 2 feet past the timeline to assess the defense. Still lacking that level of basketball knowledge in year 6 is pretty devastating to his overall outlook for the future, and I'm often the one defending the kid--- often in deference to his youth---

Here's to game six and game seven

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 11:30 am

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:52 am

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:29 am I'm as mad and frustrated as everyone else. But then I take a step back and look at reality....San Antonio is just the better team. End of story. They are supposed to beat us. They won 62 games. They proved they are better than us during the regular season.

Now does that doesn't mean we couldn't steal a playoff series? (Denver was also better than us during the regular season). But for that to happen, we need luck and miracles like McDaniels having the game of his life at the end of the Denver series. We got a little luck with the Wemby ejection to steal a win. But if he didn't get ejected, I think this series would already be over. Also, would anyone think we could beat OKC even if we did advance?

You're right, so for me it's a little bit of a grieving process for feeling dumb enough to believe in em lol.

I think me and others are also saying, "I wish I wasn't right about Randle and just the general state of the roster."

Last.... It's a little daunting to watch Wembanyhama and know that he is only 22 years old. I see him do this and am just left wondering if Ant can really rise to matching his level. Can he jump SGA and Jokic (and anybody else) and be in the same tier as Vic in few years? Maybe not the same level but at least good enough where with the right pieces around him the Wolves can beat the Spurs and anybody else?

That hope feels dim right now, I'm not gonna lie. Yes he's hurt and tonight he was exhausted but..... Thats no excuse for still not knowing how to beat a double through passing out of it, or make quick decisions, or get further than 2 feet past the timeline to assess the defense. Still lacking that level of basketball knowledge in year 6 is pretty devastating to his overall outlook for the future, and I'm often the one defending the kid--- often in deference to his youth---

Here's to game six and game seven

Wemby is 22, Ant was 22 when we made our first WCF. If San Antonio beats us, I don't think they can beat OKC or even make it a series, but we shall see. Wemby as Shaq said is what you would get if you built the perfect big man in a lab. We are losing these games, mainly because of Wemby, how many times have we driven to the basket and than rushed a shot as soon as they saw Wemby coming at them. Easy mid range and floaters that we can hit with our eyes closed, but Wemby alters them. Success isn't linear, a setback isn't the end of the world to team building. With who was considered the best player in the world Denver didn't make the playoffs until Joker was 24. Made it to the 2nd round, than the WCF, the 2nd round, lost in the first round, than won a championship with joker at 28 years old. Our path is going to be a lot tougher now with legitimate great young teams in OKC and San Antonio looking like they can become dynasties, but the league can pivot quickly.

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 11:33 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 11:30 am

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2026 9:52 am

You're right, so for me it's a little bit of a grieving process for feeling dumb enough to believe in em lol.

I think me and others are also saying, "I wish I wasn't right about Randle and just the general state of the roster."

Last.... It's a little daunting to watch Wembanyhama and know that he is only 22 years old. I see him do this and am just left wondering if Ant can really rise to matching his level. Can he jump SGA and Jokic (and anybody else) and be in the same tier as Vic in few years? Maybe not the same level but at least good enough where with the right pieces around him the Wolves can beat the Spurs and anybody else?

That hope feels dim right now, I'm not gonna lie. Yes he's hurt and tonight he was exhausted but..... Thats no excuse for still not knowing how to beat a double through passing out of it, or make quick decisions, or get further than 2 feet past the timeline to assess the defense. Still lacking that level of basketball knowledge in year 6 is pretty devastating to his overall outlook for the future, and I'm often the one defending the kid--- often in deference to his youth---

Here's to game six and game seven

Wemby is 22, Ant was 22 when we made our first WCF. If San Antonio beats us, I don't think they can beat OKC or even make it a series, but we shall see. Wemby as Shaq said is what you would get if you built the perfect big man in a lab. We are losing these games, mainly because of Wemby, how many times have we driven to the basket and than rushed a shot as soon as they saw Wemby coming at them. Easy mid range and floaters that we can hit with our eyes closed, but Wemby alters them. Success isn't linear, a setback isn't the end of the world to team building. With who was considered the best player in the world Denver didn't make the playoffs until Joker was 24. Made it to the 2nd round, than the WCF, the 2nd round, lost in the first round, than won a championship with joker at 28 years old. Our path is going to be a lot tougher now with legitimate great young teams in OKC and San Antonio looking like they can become dynasties, but the league can pivot quickly.

I should be clear, I don't disagree at all. Just post game blues and honestly feeling pretty disappointed in Edwards. Which could all be forgotten by Friday night