GDT: Wolves vs. Jazz

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Karl-Anthony Towns said his left wrist is "pretty sore." Said he couldn't quite catch anything and wanted to come back in to be a distraction/decoy.

That doesn't sound good, but we'll see.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Late Night DVR Review:

- Just win. 2 - 0. Yep.
- A win... AND the team avoided a major catastrophic injury to its best player in a season with no draft pick? YEP.

- Anthony Edwards looked really good. I dig that he didn't settle for three pointers (3 out of 12 attempts seems like a good ratio). Most of all, remember that play in preseason when he got his shot blocked and then seconds later backed off going 1-on-1 vs. that same Memphis player on a fast break? It's now forgotten. He attacked Rudy Gobert of all people multiple times. THAT is what this team needs. I dug it.

- Culver won't go 3 - 3 all that often on three pointers. But he's playing with confidence. He looks much much better. All you can ask is for the young guys to improve incrementally. Culver got better as his rookie year went on... and it seems to be continuing.

- Thought Towns played pretty well on defense. I thought Russell played terribly on defense. It's not individual defense... it's things like pointing for somebody else to guard the shooter even though he's the closest one to him... or jabbing at Mitchell on a three pointer while running back to his guy... both moves leave the most dangerous player (the guy with the ball!!!!) wide open.

- Russell takes a lot of very very tough shots. Russell makes some very very tough shots.

- On one play... Juancho Hernangomez was standing out of bounds on the baseline "guarding" his guy. As the Utah guy (Clarkson?) drove the lane... instead of stepping up... he floated to the corner to guard... somebody? Clarkson was fouled by the rookie for a three point play. And even Edwards seemed to turn to ask "WHAT THE F@#$?!?!" Still no points for either Layman or Hernangomez this season.

- Beasley, Okogie and Culver play with a different kind of energy. A good energy. And I'm digging the engagement of the bench. I hope that continues even as guys drop in and out of the rotation.

- Very good win on a tough road trip. I expect Towns to be out a game or two... hopefully not any more.

- Surprisingly, the Wolves only took 29 three pointers. It seemed that the biggest difference from last season is that the team didn't shoot them by design... as much as by what was there. Obviously, they want to shoot a lot of three pointers... but there's no reason to force them just to hit a pregame designated number.

_______________

Officiating Rant of the Day:

- It's a shame how today's game is called. We see player after player stop short 30 feet from the hoop and get foul calls. Then, we see Towns attack the rim... get knocked down... or Beasley attack the rim... get knockded down... with no foul calls. We can talk all we want about the new style of NBA basketball and the reliance on the three pointer... but if the paint is off limits for fouls late in a game... why risk the injury?

[Lipoli390]

Both DLO and KAT have really elevated their defense so far this season. DLO missed some shots and free throws he should have made as one of our two max players. But I can overlook that if he continues to play defense at the level he's been playing these first two regular season games. And he's also been a big-time offensive contributor in spite of some disappointing misses and turnovers tonight.

Edwards continues to look like a future star. It's fun to watch and I hope he continues to play with the intensity and intelligence we've seen so far and that he continues to improve. Sky's the limit for Ant.
Another nice game for Culver. He really is talented and if he continues to hit his shots consistently, he'll be more than just another rotation player. Okogie showed again why he's so valuable to this team. He's not just a good defender; he's become one of the best defenders in the League. He also rebounds and has a great nose for the ball. I still see him eventually as our 6th man off the bench. Beasley is mentally tougher and more intense than any player on this teams except perhaps Okogie.

I like this team going forward with KAT, DLO, Beasley, Ant, Culver, Okogie and Naz. But we really need a PF in the rotation who can improve our rebounding and interior defense. We can't keep getting out-rebounded the way we were tonight. We have some of the League's better rebounding wings in Beasley and Okogie. But we don't have a true rebounding PF and KAT is the only really good rebounder on the roster. Layman and Juancho should be end-of-bench guys. Unfortunately, Juancho has a starter's contract. As for Ricky, I love him as a player and person, but he's simply not worth the assets we gave up for him or the $17 million salary the Wolves are paying him.

Let's hope KAT's wrist heals quickly. I don't have much confidence in Ed Davis.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Let's hope KAT's wrist heals quickly. I don't have much confidence in Ed Davis.

Apparently, neither does Saunders?

He's now the 3rd team center. Would it have killed the Wolves to run with a PF/C type with a bit of versatility? Maybe even saved a 2nd round pick in the process?

[thedoper]

Juancho and Ricky account for 24 mil and we're still under the luxury tax. Depressing.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Let's hope KAT's wrist heals quickly. I don't have much confidence in Ed Davis.

Apparently, neither does Saunders?

He's now the 3rd team center. Would it have killed the Wolves to run with a PF/C type with a bit of versatility? Maybe even saved a 2nd round pick in the process?

That trade only made sense to me if Minnesota was signing Jordan McLaughlin to a multi-year deal or if they were adding a free agent that would crack the rotation -- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson fit the bill. But then they got McLaughlin to accept the two-way qualifying offer and eventually waived Hollis-Jefferson, sooo...

That empty roster spot isn't benefiting the team whatsoever. Trading a draft pick for it looks to be a waste of a minor asset. Minnesota could have simply waived both Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans, and signed Hollis-Jefferson for the vet minimum, and still had the 15th spot open.

So, yeah, that's a real head-scratcher.

[thedoper]

Let's hope KAT's wrist heals quickly. I don't have much confidence in Ed Davis.

Apparently, neither does Saunders?

He's now the 3rd team center. Would it have killed the Wolves to run with a PF/C type with a bit of versatility? Maybe even saved a 2nd round pick in the process?

That trade only made sense to me if Minnesota was signing Jordan McLaughlin to a multi-year deal or if they were adding a free agent that would crack the rotation -- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson fit the bill. But then they got McLaughlin to accept the two-way qualifying offer and eventually waived Hollis-Jefferson, sooo...

That empty roster spot isn't benefiting the team whatsoever. Trading a draft pick for it looks to be a waste of a minor asset. Minnesota could have simply waived both Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans, and signed Hollis-Jefferson for the vet minimum, and still had the 15th spot open.

So, yeah, that's a real head-scratcher.

Dane Moore said on one of his podcasts that the 2 way rather than RHJ keeps them 80 grand below the luxury tax. Take it for what you will but it fits if there is a mandate to not pay tax. I dont know the finer points of the CBA.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Let's hope KAT's wrist heals quickly. I don't have much confidence in Ed Davis.

Apparently, neither does Saunders?

He's now the 3rd team center. Would it have killed the Wolves to run with a PF/C type with a bit of versatility? Maybe even saved a 2nd round pick in the process?

That trade only made sense to me if Minnesota was signing Jordan McLaughlin to a multi-year deal or if they were adding a free agent that would crack the rotation -- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson fit the bill. But then they got McLaughlin to accept the two-way qualifying offer and eventually waived Hollis-Jefferson, sooo...

That empty roster spot isn't benefiting the team whatsoever. Trading a draft pick for it looks to be a waste of a minor asset. Minnesota could have simply waived both Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans, and signed Hollis-Jefferson for the vet minimum, and still had the 15th spot open.

So, yeah, that's a real head-scratcher.

Dane Moore said on one of his podcasts that the 2 way rather than RHJ keeps them 80 grand below the luxury tax. Take it for what you will but it fits if there is a mandate to not pay tax. I dont know the finer points of the CBA.

Sure, I hear that point, but they could have instead simply waived Evans and Spellman -- taking their cap hit -- and not acquired Davis' slightly bigger salary than those two combined ($5.0M vs. $4.0M) and achieved all of their goals ie. an empty roster spot while picking up Hollis-Jefferson for the vet minimum and keeping a second-round pick in their pocket. It's just really messy and screams miscalculation on their part.

And that's without even bringing up giving Hernangomez $21M over three years. If they were that worried about the luxury tax, then maybe don't pay him $6.5M this year to be an end of the bench guy.

[kekgeek]

I'm really happy with this win. Such a well balanced game from the team. I'm not the biggest Okogie guy and I think Beasley has his faults but they just set the tone of the game. Hard not to be excited about Ant! I will say though he did only have 1 reb and 1 asts both of those were really nice but would like that to go up. If this is what Culver is going to be we have ourselves a player. At the moment Rosas is grading out pretty well on his picks. I thought Dlo was just OK today and struggled in the last 2 minutes but I think he was so key to the win. Once KAT got hurt he scored 3 times in the next 4 possessions not letting the jazz back into the game. It's nice to have a player that can just be a momentum buster.

Overall really happy with the win. Let's hope Kat injury isn't serious and let's not overreact. Wolves were 2-0 last year to start also. This was fun though

[FNG]

Saunders went with D-Lo, Rubio, Beasley, Culver, and Okogie there for the crucial stop. D-Lo was on Gobert since Utah needed a three. Very interesting, but it worked. Big time win!

It's the right call, Cam...I agree. But more importantly, why is Gobert even on the court in that situation? He's taken 3 career three's and missed them all. There's not enough time for Utah to shoot a three, have Gobert rebound and pass the ball to a shooter, and get another three off. WTF is Snyder thinking? He clearly needs his 5 best 3-point options on the court in that situation. Saunders would have been tarred and feathered on this board if he had made such a bonehead move in the closing seconds.