The Sky is Falling Thread - 2 best and 2 worst so far

[Carlos Danger]

It's obviously not the start they wanted. But I'd rather have a team start slow and improve as the season progresses vs. start off on fire and flame out *cough* Vikings *cough*. You need thick skin and lots of patience to be a MN sports fan. I think I'm going to concentrate more on work for a while.....

[TAFKASP]

It's obviously not the start they wanted. But I'd rather have a team start slow and improve as the season progresses vs. start off on fire and flame out *cough* Vikings *cough*. You need thick skin and lots of patience to be a MN sports fan. I think I'm going to concentrate more on work for a while.....

A couple month coma wouldn't be the worst thing at the moment.

[Monster]

Let's get 20 games in. I realize this is very frustrating, but we simply can't push the panic button yet. We have shown how good we can be in stretches, just need to figure out how to maintain it. One thing that would help: Thibs needs to come with the first subs sooner. He's waiting until late in the first quarter, and then we find ourselves with all 5 reserves on the court for too long of a time period. I know this doesn't explain the 3rd quarters, but it does help to explain why those large 1st quarter leads have vanished.

Yep let's get 20 games in we could be 10-10 and everyone fairly happy. If we are 7-13 or something I'll be more worried.

[Wile E Coyote [enjin:17432808]]

First post here: long time reader. Sometimes post at Canis too along with twitter (@TheWileECoyote).

While I'm frustrated with the Wolves start I'm not worried yet. Thibs is a proven coach who has won with mediocre rosters (due to injury). As long as he is keeping our starters' minutes below 38, I am not worried about him.

I think the top issues with the Wolves right now are:
[list]
[*] Have not absorbed Thib's offense and defense yet. From his comments it sounds like they were only able to work on the really introductory stuff during camp. He is probably adding more stuff as they go.

[*] Their best PG is out, and the backup is a rookie who does not seem to be a natural shooter or distributor. He is more Marcus Smart than Steve Nash. Thus, he is not spoon feeding the young guns with easy buckets like Ricky did. On one pass to Zach for a corner three recently the pass was at Zach's knees.

[*] Wolves are outweighed at most positions, leading to soft play. Towns and Dieng have been getting owned by monsters like Gasol, Zbo, Cousins, and Nurkic. The starters will gain weight over time, but I do think we need to consider trading some bench players. A guy like Wilson Chandler would be so much more effective for the Wolves than Shabazz or Bjelly IMO. Cole should be able to provide toughness at the C position; I dunno why he has struggled so much (along with Rush).

[*] The Wolves big 3 of Towns/Wigs/Zach need to trust each other & their team mates. Thibs has said after every game that those guys start trying to take it upon themselves to stop runs and the game devolves into ineffective 1-on-1 play. Hopefully as the year goes along this will get better. Most teams have one or two guys you really have to worry about. The Wolves are lucky to have 3, but they need to move the ball so that it is not easy to guard all 3.

[*] I have no idea what the 3rd quarter issues are about, but I wonder if the other teams are just upping their energy and physicality and the Wolves are not matching it. I think right now the book on the Wolves is get really physical and they will wilt. This is one area where they probably miss KG, as he would be cursing guys on both sides if that happened with him on the bench.
[/list]

[Coolbreeze44]

First post here: long time reader. Sometimes post at Canis too along with twitter (@TheWileECoyote).

While I'm frustrated with the Wolves start I'm not worried yet. Thibs is a proven coach who has won with mediocre rosters (due to injury). As long as he is keeping our starters' minutes below 38, I am not worried about him.

I think the top issues with the Wolves right now are:
[list]
[*] Have not absorbed Thib's offense and defense yet. From his comments it sounds like they were only able to work on the really introductory stuff during camp. He is probably adding more stuff as they go.

[*] Their best PG is out, and the backup is a rookie who does not seem to be a natural shooter or distributor. He is more Marcus Smart than Steve Nash. Thus, he is not spoon feeding the young guns with easy buckets like Ricky did. On one pass to Zach for a corner three recently the pass was at Zach's knees.

[*] Wolves are outweighed at most positions, leading to soft play. Towns and Dieng have been getting owned by monsters like Gasol, Zbo, Cousins, and Nurkic. The starters will gain weight over time, but I do think we need to consider trading some bench players. A guy like Wilson Chandler would be so much more effective for the Wolves than Shabazz or Bjelly IMO. Cole should be able to provide toughness at the C position; I dunno why he has struggled so much (along with Rush).

[*] The Wolves big 3 of Towns/Wigs/Zach need to trust each other & their team mates. Thibs has said after every game that those guys start trying to take it upon themselves to stop runs and the game devolves into ineffective 1-on-1 play. Hopefully as the year goes along this will get better. Most teams have one or two guys you really have to worry about. The Wolves are lucky to have 3, but they need to move the ball so that it is not easy to guard all 3.

[*] I have no idea what the 3rd quarter issues are about, but I wonder if the other teams are just upping their energy and physicality and the Wolves are not matching it. I think right now the book on the Wolves is get really physical and they will wilt. This is one area where they probably miss KG, as he would be cursing guys on both sides if that happened with him on the bench.
[/list]

Pretty good first post

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

First post here: long time reader. Sometimes post at Canis too along with twitter (@TheWileECoyote).

While I'm frustrated with the Wolves start I'm not worried yet. Thibs is a proven coach who has won with mediocre rosters (due to injury). As long as he is keeping our starters' minutes below 38, I am not worried about him.

I think the top issues with the Wolves right now are:
[list]
[*] Have not absorbed Thib's offense and defense yet. From his comments it sounds like they were only able to work on the really introductory stuff during camp. He is probably adding more stuff as they go.

[*] Their best PG is out, and the backup is a rookie who does not seem to be a natural shooter or distributor. He is more Marcus Smart than Steve Nash. Thus, he is not spoon feeding the young guns with easy buckets like Ricky did. On one pass to Zach for a corner three recently the pass was at Zach's knees.

[*] Wolves are outweighed at most positions, leading to soft play. Towns and Dieng have been getting owned by monsters like Gasol, Zbo, Cousins, and Nurkic. The starters will gain weight over time, but I do think we need to consider trading some bench players. A guy like Wilson Chandler would be so much more effective for the Wolves than Shabazz or Bjelly IMO. Cole should be able to provide toughness at the C position; I dunno why he has struggled so much (along with Rush).

[*] The Wolves big 3 of Towns/Wigs/Zach need to trust each other & their team mates. Thibs has said after every game that those guys start trying to take it upon themselves to stop runs and the game devolves into ineffective 1-on-1 play. Hopefully as the year goes along this will get better. Most teams have one or two guys you really have to worry about. The Wolves are lucky to have 3, but they need to move the ball so that it is not easy to guard all 3.

[*] I have no idea what the 3rd quarter issues are about, but I wonder if the other teams are just upping their energy and physicality and the Wolves are not matching it. I think right now the book on the Wolves is get really physical and they will wilt. This is one area where they probably miss KG, as he would be cursing guys on both sides if that happened with him on the bench.
[/list]

Hey Wile, welcome to the fray, glad you are posting. If you've been lurking here for a while, you will notice this is a bit more of an intimate crowd. Also, unlike Canis, this is pretty much just a sports forum, not a sports/movies/food/progressive politics forum (although I understand that many folks dig the eclectic nature of Canis).

Well thought out post - keep them coming!

[Wile E Coyote [enjin:17432808]]

If you've been lurking here for a while, you will notice this is a bit more of an intimate crowd. Also, unlike Canis, this is pretty much just a sports forum, not a sports/movies/food/progressive politics forum (although I understand that many folks dig the eclectic nature of Canis).

Yeah, that is why I thought I'd jump in. I respect the depth of knowledge there on variety of subjects, but I just kinda want to talk Wolves.

[Monster]

If you've been lurking here for a while, you will notice this is a bit more of an intimate crowd. Also, unlike Canis, this is pretty much just a sports forum, not a sports/movies/food/progressive politics forum (although I understand that many folks dig the eclectic nature of Canis).

Yeah, that is why I thought I'd jump in. I respect the depth of knowledge there on variety of subjects, but I just kinda want to talk Wolves.

Welcome to the board!

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

We beat up the Warriors that were gunning for the all time record !!! Come on.

And we beat a Portland team competing for playoff position on their home court.

Lol, you guys are going off 2 wins? That doesn't seem like much of a sample size to think that's we would be moving forward this quickly. Did you account for maybe neither of them taking us seriously because of our youth and record? 2 games are an outlier, not the norm.

[Lipoli390]

Nice post Wile and welcome to this Board. I think you're takes are excellent. And I hope you're right because all the things you mentioned can be corrected over time without breaking up our core or doing anything dramatic. Your analysis suggests its mainly a matter of time -- the players absorbing what Thibs is attempting to instill (both concepts and toughness), the players getting stronger, which is inevitable for athletes in their early 20s, the return of Ricky, and perhaps a swap or two to shore up the bench.