Re: Bos v Min GDT
Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2024 7:42 am
I'm not much for moral victories. But after watching the replay, I'm going to call this one a moral victory. I feel okay about our Wolves for the first time in a couple weeks. We forced Boston to play hard for 48 minutes, and could have sent this one to OT if Ant hadn't channeled Ben Simmons with 2 seconds left and eschewed an open layup in favor of a trey by a guy who is 2 for 15 in his last three games...really? Still, if Naz hits that 3-pointer, we beat a very good Celtics team on their home court. Moral victory.
All of you who have been calling for minutes from Rob were vindicated in this game...I would give him an A on offense. He looked quick, made the right passes, and made his shots. But his defense? Oh, oh. When a team that has Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the court decides to feature Payton Pritchard because they know his man is overmatched, you can't help but notice. But still...the offensive potential. Right now he looks a lot like a small Naz Reid...able to score on most nights, but not able to stop anyone. I don't have a big problem with Finchie working him into the rotation while Mike is out, but I'm not sure who I want losing minutes to him if our Big 8 are all healthy. He's fun to watch though, and maybe he will figure out the defensive end...the effort is there.
Fun to see Rudy make up for his bizarre pouting in Toronto by completely dominating the smaller Celtics. No blocks, but 20 rebounds and many, many never-minds. Not surprising that the two guys Skal mentioned most often on the Celtics broadcast were Rob (on offense) and Rudy (on defense and the boards)...they were both great.
Randle also used his size to bully the Celtics. But his defense is a huge problem. After he let Brown light him up for 15 points in the first 5 minutes, Finchie put him on an easier man. But my biggest problem with him yesterday was his lack of hustle in getting back on defense...he was consistently the last man down the court. I'm not happy with Randle right now.
So we have a defense problem. We have three guys who are liabilities on defense...Rob, Naz and Randle. And one guy (Ant) with the ability but not the inclination to be a great defender for 38 minutes. If Rob if going to get minutes, he can't be out there with more than one of those guys, or maybe any of them. While Mike is out, let him play with Rudy, NAW, Jaden and Donte. That's a small lineup, but the best opportunity for Rob I think.
Finally, how about that lawnmower? I have to admit and didn't notice us getting outscored 8-0 in the 50 seconds he was in the game. Ah, but who can ever forget Summer League...sigh.
All of you who have been calling for minutes from Rob were vindicated in this game...I would give him an A on offense. He looked quick, made the right passes, and made his shots. But his defense? Oh, oh. When a team that has Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the court decides to feature Payton Pritchard because they know his man is overmatched, you can't help but notice. But still...the offensive potential. Right now he looks a lot like a small Naz Reid...able to score on most nights, but not able to stop anyone. I don't have a big problem with Finchie working him into the rotation while Mike is out, but I'm not sure who I want losing minutes to him if our Big 8 are all healthy. He's fun to watch though, and maybe he will figure out the defensive end...the effort is there.
Fun to see Rudy make up for his bizarre pouting in Toronto by completely dominating the smaller Celtics. No blocks, but 20 rebounds and many, many never-minds. Not surprising that the two guys Skal mentioned most often on the Celtics broadcast were Rob (on offense) and Rudy (on defense and the boards)...they were both great.
Randle also used his size to bully the Celtics. But his defense is a huge problem. After he let Brown light him up for 15 points in the first 5 minutes, Finchie put him on an easier man. But my biggest problem with him yesterday was his lack of hustle in getting back on defense...he was consistently the last man down the court. I'm not happy with Randle right now.
So we have a defense problem. We have three guys who are liabilities on defense...Rob, Naz and Randle. And one guy (Ant) with the ability but not the inclination to be a great defender for 38 minutes. If Rob if going to get minutes, he can't be out there with more than one of those guys, or maybe any of them. While Mike is out, let him play with Rudy, NAW, Jaden and Donte. That's a small lineup, but the best opportunity for Rob I think.
Finally, how about that lawnmower? I have to admit and didn't notice us getting outscored 8-0 in the 50 seconds he was in the game. Ah, but who can ever forget Summer League...sigh.