Minnesota Sports Forum

Drew, I just went back and watched the last minute of the game, and I agree with a lot of the takes here. I also would have liked Ant to have taken charge rather than passing the ball in that final possession. And I hope that Finchie did what you suggested during the review...i.e drew up plays depending on the ultimate situation: 1)if we win the challenge, we run this play to win the game; 2) if we lose the challenge, we foul...and a) if they make two free throws we run this play to set up a 3-pointer, and b) if they make one fee throw we run this play to go for the tie.

If Finchie didn't have this conversation, then shame on him...that's basketball strategy 101, and he had plenty of time to do it. I suspect he did have the conversation though, and based on what happened, the players did a very poor job of executing.

Looks like a lot of people think it's over....

Carlos Danger wrote:Looks like a lot of people think it's over....

https://youtu.be/cO9aXFs19dM

FNG wrote:

Carlos Danger wrote:Looks like a lot of people think it's over....

https://youtu.be/cO9aXFs19dM

Bah - I couldn't get that other gif to work. Anyway - you get the idea. LFG!!!!!

Carlos Danger wrote:

FNG wrote:

Carlos Danger wrote:Looks like a lot of people think it's over....

https://youtu.be/cO9aXFs19dM

Bah - I couldn't get that other gif to work. Anyway - you get the idea. LFG!!!!!

Hah, your link just appeared...looks like we had the same idea!

Whatever happened to the Enjin board I used to know? This could be the greatest postseason of our lives, and you guys want to make it the worst. (whiny voice) Oh, Portland and the Lakers were mean to us and we have no chance of winning (end whiny voice). Dallas? DEAD! Denver? DEAD! Phoenix? DEAD! Niedermeier? DEAD! LFGGGGGGGG!

FNG wrote:Drew, I just went back and watched the last minute of the game, and I agree with a lot of the takes here. I also would have liked Ant to have taken charge rather than passing the ball in that final possession. And I hope that Finchie did what you suggested during the review...i.e drew up plays depending on the ultimate situation: 1)if we win the challenge, we run this play to win the game; 2) if we lose the challenge, we foul...and a) if they make two free throws we run this play to set up a 3-pointer, and b) if they make one fee throw we run this play to go for the tie.

If Finchie didn't have this conversation, then shame on him...that's basketball strategy 101, and he had plenty of time to do it. I suspect he did have the conversation though, and based on what happened, the players did a very poor job of executing.

To be fair... it ended up with a layup.

I get that we all like Kyle Anderson. And he had good moments yesterday, too.

But that was a comically terrible last shot that isn't getting as much scrutiny or ridicule as it probably should because of the team part of the story.

I didn't really focus on the layup, because I was so disgusted with Ant's pass when I wanted him to attack, and I turned off the replay as soon as I saw the ball sail over the backboard. But yeah, a layup by one of our most reliable players is not a bad outcome. It was comical though. I'm not going to go back and watch, but it was so bad, a Portland player must have gotten a hand on it, right? How else could a guy miss a layup that badly?

FNG wrote:I didn't really focus on the layup, because I was so disgusted with Ant's pass when I wanted him to attack, and I turned off the replay as soon as I saw the ball sail over the backboard. But yeah, a layup by one of our most reliable players is not a bad outcome. It was comical though. I'm not going to go back and watch, but it was so bad, a Portland player must have gotten a hand on it, right? How else could a guy miss a layup that badly?

I can't even bring myself to go back and watch the end, but in my memory, it was basically a busted play in which the guys with the ball were basically left on an island with no pick to help open a drive and no good off-the-ball movement to open a pass, so the guys just swing it around the perimeter until Kyle got it and time basically forced him to drive it out of desperation (and driving's not really his game) and he put up an awkward layup from a tough angle (probably 30-35 degrees off the baseline) and in my mind there was a defender contesting the shot. None of that is an excuse for his comically horrible aim--seriously, nobody on the floor even seemed to realize what was going on when the ball went over the backboard--but it just wasn't the kind of heady play you expect from a coach and team ready for the playoffs. I'm glad SloMo was out there because of his skill and decision-making, but driving the ball after getting passed a hand grenade plays to his weaknesses.

My bigger issue with the game was that the team needs good leadership and chemistry generally, and I think that needs to come from Ant. When he's locked in defensively, it's infectious, and he was lackadaisical at times last night. And I think Finch has really got to get guys to stop the careless play and the risky passes. We're just so much less efficient with our possessions than we should be given our talent because we turn the ball over too much in places where just playing hard and smart would have avoided it. We need to be mentally locked-in, competitive, and working together. And instead, there's this weird disconnect between guys and inconsistent intensity. Need to fix that now. The talent is there if we can put it together, and I've been following this team too long to give up or hope they don't do well here the rest of the year. But it's just really frustrating to see us flail because of decision-making and mentality.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

FNG wrote:Drew, I just went back and watched the last minute of the game, and I agree with a lot of the takes here. I also would have liked Ant to have taken charge rather than passing the ball in that final possession. And I hope that Finchie did what you suggested during the review...i.e drew up plays depending on the ultimate situation: 1)if we win the challenge, we run this play to win the game; 2) if we lose the challenge, we foul...and a) if they make two free throws we run this play to set up a 3-pointer, and b) if they make one fee throw we run this play to go for the tie.

If Finchie didn't have this conversation, then shame on him...that's basketball strategy 101, and he had plenty of time to do it. I suspect he did have the conversation though, and based on what happened, the players did a very poor job of executing.

To be fair... it ended up with a layup.

I get that we all like Kyle Anderson. And he had good moments yesterday, too.

But that was a comically terrible last shot that isn't getting as much scrutiny or ridicule as it probably should because of the team part of the story.

That layup was a perfect illustration of someone who had been playing reasonably well outside of their ideal role who clearly had no idea what to do in that situation. It was comically bad. It finally came to a head for Kyle. He is not a game winning shot guy nor should he be in those situations on a good team. We are not a good team so we have leaned on him, probably more than we should have this year. Kyle is a decent basketball player. We are so thirsty for decent basketball that he has been propped up this year.

Finishing 8th is so much better than 9th in the new play in format, so the Wolves win combined with what looks like a Pels loss (they're down 14 to the Kings with 8 to go) is huge tonight. If we win our last two (SAS on the road and the Pels at home) we finish in at least a tie for 8th with the Pels...and we have the tiebreaker.

Really good night for the Wolves so far. And it can get really good if somehow both the Lakers and Warriors lose.