Minnesota Sports Forum

Great perimeter defense by Edwards to disrupt the three-point shot and preserve the Wolves win.

Wolves had 9 turnovers and only 7 field goals in the 4th quarter. That's disturbing. This team still has a long way to go. Nevertheless, we'll call tonight's win progress even though it was against a depleted Sixers team on the second night of a back-to-back and even though Embiid was playing essentially on one leg for the last 5 minutes of the game. It's still a step forward for this Wolves team given the way they've played so far this season.

WildWolf2813 wrote:Ugly wins >>> moral victories.

a lot to clean up, but take the W and onto the next one.

Yeah, just get the win baby. Three straight wins on the road is a nice boost.

Seems like the injury gods are smiling upon the Wolves once again. We are basically 100% healthy playing teams missing major pieces. Perhaps at some point the Wolves get credit for staying healthy??? Is there not some level of collective effort between the players and training staff that helps with that versus it all being just pure luck???

Wolves next is Monday at home against the Heat. And once again the Wolves will be riding the wave of good fortune as Jimmy Butler won't be playing.

Q-was-here wrote:Seems like the injury gods are smiling upon the Wolves once again. We are basically 100% healthy playing teams missing major pieces. Perhaps at some point the Wolves get credit for staying healthy??? Is there not some level of collective effort between the players and training staff that helps with that versus it all being just pure luck???

I think the ability to stay healthy is a skill, or at least part of being a good team. If you can't stay on the court you're not good to your squad. You are what your record says you are.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Seems like the injury gods are smiling upon the Wolves once again. We are basically 100% healthy playing teams missing major pieces. Perhaps at some point the Wolves get credit for staying healthy??? Is there not some level of collective effort between the players and training staff that helps with that versus it all being just pure luck???

I think the ability to stay healthy is a skill, or at least part of being a good team. If you can't stay on the court you're not good to your squad. You are what your record says you are.

I don't believe in injury prone anymore. After some years, you either take care of your health and body or you don't

ItsJustSoSab wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:Seems like the injury gods are smiling upon the Wolves once again. We are basically 100% healthy playing teams missing major pieces. Perhaps at some point the Wolves get credit for staying healthy??? Is there not some level of collective effort between the players and training staff that helps with that versus it all being just pure luck???

I think the ability to stay healthy is a skill, or at least part of being a good team. If you can't stay on the court you're not good to your squad. You are what your record says you are.

I don't believe in injury prone anymore. After some years, you either take care of your health and body or you don't

I think it's a combination of luck and things within the player and team's control, but yeah, at some point instead of telling ourselves how lucky we are that we keep playing teams with injuries, may be we deserve some credit. Part of being a good team is staying healthy.

The best ability is availability. I agree, they should get credit for taking care of their bodies and staying healthy, but when the injuries come, and they will come, I'm going to remember these posts. When we lose Ant and Gobert for the year, and finish with 33 wins, just remember, "you are what your record says you are"... you can't have it both ways. For anyone making these comments now or saying we were a legit 46 win team last year, I hope I don't hear a peep about injury excuses when they inevitably hit this club :)

lipoli390 wrote:Nowell's having a terrific game tonight. And so is DLO.

I agree with your assessment as to Nowell but (big surprise) not Russell. Nowell made his shots and was active on defense (although not always effective). And I thought Russell had a pretty good offensive game...made over half his shots and distributed 7 assists. But there is a reason why he was a -5 playing against a depleted team...he was an absolute disaster on defense. I was really focused on his defense this morning watching the replay of the game, and it was astonishing how many possessions I could see him guarding...NOBODY!. I praised DLo last season for his center field defense that resulted in several steals, but it's become clear to me that he has become too enamored of playing center field and looking for steals instead of playing effective team defense. And the result is more times than not it looks like we are playing 4 on 5 on defense...he's simply not in the play. Those of you who DVRd the game- take a look at Russell on defense...it's maddening! There's a reason that even when he has a decent offensive game like tonight, he still ends up with a negative plus/minus.

I don't blame DLo...he has been in the league for several years, and he is what we thought he was- a hot and cold offensive player who will never be an adequate NBA defender. I blame Chris Finch...you can see his frustration with Russell, but he doesn't do anything about it! It's fun to see the defense go into a different gear when JMac comes into the game, and it's pretty easy to see why he was a +8 in his (too few) 14 minutes despite missing his only 2 shots. Lip pointed it out in another thread...2 other struggling teams have benched their max salary PG, and the results have been mostly positive. Come on Finchie...the obvious move is right in front of your eyes. Playing DLo 34 minutes and JMac only 14 is nothing short of coaching malpractice.

The good news...we went 3-0 on the road this week. We did what we had to do and we're back to .500. But I really struggle to find much joy in last night's win. Philly was on the back end of a back to back after a tough game against the Bucks, and they were missing three of their four best players...and still, we could have lost if Melton had made that layup with 9 seconds left (thanks to a great hustling defensive play by Ant after a sloppy turnover). Think about how we would be feeling if we almost beat a playoff team with us on the second night of a back to back with Gobert, KAT and Ant out...we'd be talking about moral victories and how gritty our team played! We won last night for one reason and one reason only...we faced Philly on a perfect night. The only way it could have been any more perfect would have been if Embiid were out too. Now we get Miami tomorrow with Butler certainly out and Bam and Herro likely out...their three top scorers! We will win that game and go to 9-8. But my eyes are focused on next Wednesday when we play a pretty good Pacers team that is (at least right now) healthy). We need to win that game for me to start feeling good about this team again, and it's up to Finchie to make that happen.

I thought it was a pretty fun game overall, good to see the team figuring things out in real time. Nowhere near what they should be yet, but it looks like they are digging themselves out. Outrebounded Philly, more assists, fewer turnovers.

Although, there was a Dlo hero ball moment in the 4th when he took three dribbles, passed up a screen from Gobert and yanked up a 3 about 8 secs into the shot clock that clanked... I love Dlo, but that stuff drives me batty.

Meanwhile... Mudiay continues his solid play down in Iowa...