Minnesota Sports Forum

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:37 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:24 pm

A bit premature!

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:42 pm

Phenom wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:59 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 8:55 pm

And yet we were blowing them out when he was in, cool, I saw him bullied once, but several smart defensive plays. I would have kept him in,

The problem is when he gets switched onto Fox. That wasn't amazing for Mike.

...and this is where the +/- and on/off stat runs into an issue, especially with small sample sizes:

- Player X is put into the game in a favorable situation. Player X is a net positive.
- Opposing team changes tactics and it's now a less favorable situation for Player X.
- Head coach reacts quickly and removes Player X from the game, thus "protecting" his positive plus-minus.

Now sometimes the head coach might be wrong, but his entire job is to sniff out favorable and unfavorable situations and matchups and then change the lineup accordingly. That's what Finch did once he saw the Spurs were going to hunt Conley.

Conley still deserves kudos for what he did out there, but it doesn't automatically mean he would have stayed positive if he played more minutes.

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:37 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:24 pm

A bit premature!

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:43 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:37 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

He's got no bounce. Did you see that "dunk" he barely got up for in the 1st half? Plus he even said in the postgame he would have hammered it the rook but he doesn't have the bounce now.

I think he's really hampered to be honest. He looks more like a normal NBA player now (maybe below avg), versus an athletic freak.

Phenom wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:45 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:43 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:37 pm

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

He's got no bounce. Did you see that "dunk" he barely got up for in the 1st half? Plus he even said in the postgame he would have hammered it the rook but he doesn't have the bounce now.

I think he's really hampered to be honest. He looks more like a normal NBA player now (maybe below avg), versus an athletic freak.

That dunk was not comfortable for him. You could see it on the landing. I'm still in awe about what he's doing.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:45 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:37 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:28 pm

Ha, indeed it was. I didn't foresee Ant & Co. rallying in the 4th, but they did. Ant started it, but he got the help he needed from his team mates. He was clearly out of gas and was simply a decoy for a couple of sets where he just stood there on the perimeter with a Spur glued to him.

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

No one in the basketball world except you thinks his knees(s) is 100%. You can tell he still isn't moving north/south or east/west with the same burst.

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:56 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:45 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:37 pm

We haven’t seen that kind of 4th quarter Ant in a long time…we needed it. Yes, he was gassed, but I saw zero evidence of any knee issues tonight. He needs to get his wind back, but other than that he looks 100% to me. It’s a 2 out of 3 now!

No one in the basketball world except you thinks his knees(s) is 100%. You can tell he still isn't moving north/south or east/west with the same burst.

He still going back to the bleeping locker room for treatment!
He's obviously not 100%, and I think we're probably taking it for granted how crazy it is that he just had this kinda game

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:58 pm Also, Ant was a +0 and Randle was a team best +12, can we be done with on/off stats now?

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 10:05 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:56 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2026 9:45 pm

No one in the basketball world except you thinks his knees(s) is 100%. You can tell he still isn't moving north/south or east/west with the same burst.

He still going back to the bleeping locker room for treatment!
He's obviously not 100%, and I think we're probably taking it for granted how crazy it is that he just had this kinda game

Well, FNG was right about Ant being gassed, as it was oxygen he was getting, not treatment for his knee (from what I could discern from the broadcast).

I'm not going to excuse every bad shot or turnover by Ant on his knees, but anyone without the FNG-anti-Ant bias glasses on can see he just isn't moving right. He had problems tonight getting past guys he could normally get past on drives. Luckily he's finding other ways to get his shot off and snake his way into the paint. We're basically seeing the 33-year old version of Ant right now!