Minnesota Sports Forum

I'll take Foster over Brothers for sure, but that's not saying much. He's had some shitty calls in every game he's ref'd during these 2 series. Hopefully KAT/Jaden can stay clean early in the game. That said I agree he hasn't been and won't be the deciding factor.

Regarding game 4 fouls, having them be 20-21 doesn't mean it was even. Even to me means they are giving equal physicality both ways and are fairly consistent on calls. We've seen games where Joker was able to be say 10/10 physical in the post while the Wolves defenders were called for anything over a 7/10 (random figures just for ex).

It'll be interesting to see how the early minutes go, what they're calling, etc. I want to see clamps from the jump. Don't let Denver get comfortable, especially early.

I've just been reviewing the Post Season stats up to this point. I'm not sure we can ask anything more from Edwards. We really need another guy to bring it tonight. Towns is a max guy and All Star. I think he's been good so far. But it might be a perfect time for him to go off with 30+. I'm assuming they are going to press Edwards and make someone else beat them. Towns is an All Star. If he plays like one tonight - we win.

Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sun May 19, 2024 1:22 pm I've just been reviewing the Post Season stats up to this point. I'm not sure we can ask anything more from Edwards. We really need another guy to bring it tonight. Towns is a max guy and All Star. I think he's been good so far. But it might be a perfect time for him to go off with 30+. I'm assuming they are going to press Edwards and make someone else beat them. Towns is an All Star. If he plays like one tonight - we win.

Yeah, it'll be great to see him get some open 3s, and post up opportunities if he finds KCP guarding him again. Mainly, I want to see him play that solid D on Jokic again. Just be a solid mountain KAT. Don't get moved, but also don't jump out and get your hips out of position or leave your feet and draw fouls. Then on offense, just play smart and under control. Don't rush anything or get cute. He does that, and he will definitely help us.

Who knows what will happen though. It's surprising sometimes how it seems like a random role player here or there can make a huge difference. Everybody has averages, but most guys do better or worse than those averages on a given night, sometimes significantly. You've got guys like Derrick Jones Jr. or PJ Washington carrying the Mavs in some of those games. Justin freakin' Holiday went off on us for a couple games there unexpectedly as well. So the probability of Ant and/or KAT having big games is fairly high. Conley has been very good for us offensively too. So I'll be interested to see if Naz, Jaden, or NAW can come up and really score way above their average. We saw it that one game in the Phoenix series and in game 6, when Jaden shoots without hesitating (and gets enough arc on his shot) and attacks off the dribble or cutting to the basket at key moments, it makes this team so much more dangerous. I hope Ant is getting into his ear to tell him that before this game. Naz is due for a big game and has really owned Denver in the past. NAW is hit or miss, but when his 3 pointer is falling, he could get us 12-16 pretty efficiently too. Hell, getting Rudy some easy buckets is a good idea too. We get into trouble when we try to force him the ball when he's on the ground with a defender on him or if he's rolling in traffic. But when he's in position for the lob, as long as we throw the lob slowly enough, he's dunking that. We don't need to do it too much, but it's crazy not to try to get that a few times in the game.

If we win tonight, I don't think it will come down to a couple guys though, because to win, we'll have to play excellent team defense again, and unselfish, methodical offense. We'll need almost everybody to step up, even if that doesn't mean scoring. Jaden or NAW could theoretically score few points, as long as they don't miss a lot of shots or turn the ball over, and conversely, stay on the court and keep defending at a high level. And of course, as long as we get points elsewhere. Same could be said for Naz, who is the best bet to get us an unexpected 20, but no matter what happens offensively, he needs to bring it defensively like he has at times in this series.

To me, the big question is, can we make sure to stop Jokic and Murray (and to a lesser extent Gordon and MPJ) without also letting anyone else step up and score a bunch of points for them? We've completely owned MPJ this series, so he'll probably be looking to be aggressive and we need to be ready for that. Can we also keep Gordon out of the paint? There, the key will be if we can keep Rudy on him so he can act like a free safety again. If it all comes down to KAT, I think it may actually be less about his offense and more about his defense. If he can avoid foul trouble and play good defense on Jokic, we can alternate between showing him aggressive doubles like we did in game 6 and staying home and hopefully having KAT force him into tough shots like we did in game 2. As soon as KAT gets into foul trouble, now it's up to NAZ or Kyle to stop Jokic if we want to keep Rudy in that free safety role. If we win, I think a big part of it will need to be our defense. And for that to work, KAT's D on Jokic will be the starting point. Please, god, let it happen.

We definitely need a zen KAT tonight, that's for sure. I'm really hoping this last game gave him confidence in just taking what the game gives to him. He didn't score much or shoot the ball well, but he had 13 boards, 1 turnover, and only 3 fouls while playing outstanding defense against Jokic.

A few quick thoughts while I'm watching this Knicks-Pacers game 7.

Nerves are running really high. We need to be careful not to rush things or get skittish about open shots. Just take a deep breath and play your game. If we fall behind, we also need to stay calm and focused. Denver has been here before, so they'll probably play like it. We need to play like we belong here, because we do. Everybody should emotionally tap into Ant's confidence and Mike's steadiness.

Emotions are also running really high. We need to be ready to have bad calls go against us, take hard fouls, have them taunt us, and not lose our cool. No whining about refs. All frustration needs to be channeled into playing with controlled intensity and execution.

The Pacers are getting a bit of transition going, and got at least one fast break there off a made basket, where the guy who inbounded the ball hit one of two guys breaking down the court perfectly for a 2 on 1 easy bucket. Most of our transition buckets should come from forcing turnovers, but whenever the opportunity presents itself, we should be ready to run.

The refs really are letting them play here, especially on 50-50 balls and rebounds. Our refs might be different, and we do need to be careful not to pick up fouls on normal defensive plays, and illegal screens on offense, and KAT needs to be a careful about not drawing charges. But whenever there is a 50-50 ball or a loose rebound, we need to be the more aggressive team and we will get rewarded for it. The extra possessions we get off plays like that could be the difference.

Usually in game 7s they tend to let you be more aggressive which favors us. Hoping that's the key. Not too high on Foster's crew. Per Basketball Reference, of the 75 referees who worked at least one Wolves game in the regular season, only one had the Wolves in the negative points, FTAs, fouls, shooting fouls, and offensive fouls per 48 relative to their opponents during their games. You guessed it. Scott Foster.

Calm before the storm.....

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 19, 2024 6:19 pm Calm before the storm.....

Yup! Got all your superstitious things out of the way? Eat the right stuff? Sit in the right chair? Etc.?

Pacers won at the Knicks, easily. I don't know if that bodes well, or they used up the road team magic for the day?

Regardless, it should be an entertaining game. Both teams know what the other is trying to do. It comes down to who is going to make the most shots.

I got a good feeling about Karl tonight.

As Kyle Theige said a couple days ago there is no fan base that’s has gotten so little for the amount of time we’ve invested into this team. We deserve this freakin game as fans no matter the outcome enjoy tonight!

https://x.com/danemoorenba/status/17921 ... hHGOWH-s5w