Minnesota Sports Forum

FNG wrote:WARNING: PESSIMISM ALERT. OPTIMISTS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I write this post fully expecting to be eviscerated...but I'm not a snowflake like KAT, so I can take it. And I won't feel that I have to forgive any of you...or Thibs for that matter!

I'm reading some of the posts in this thread about what might constitute a successful season, and I find myself more in agreement with WolvesFan21 than most of the other posters who I feel might be satisfied with mediocrity. We need to have higher expectations. I need much more to consider this season a success. While I'm rube enough to get excited about squeezing into the playoffs this season (which I think we certainly will) and I'll pull every string to get tickets to any home playoff game, HOW we are getting to the playoffs has to be considered when concluding on the long-term prospects for this Rosas-created roster. That is, if you tend to take the long view like I tend to do...long-term success over momentary gratification is my mantra. My fear is that there is an intangible about the leadership on this roster (and I admit KAT's behavior and comments are coloring my opinion) that will always lead to our performing at a level below what our individual talent would indicate. And making the playoffs will give Gupta the cover he needs to not make any significant changes to the roster. And I'm convinced we need changes.

Here's my concern. We all agree that injuries impacted our record last year...most of us think we were better than a 23-win team last season. Well, it's disingenuous to conclude differently in a season where we have been extraordinarily fortunate with respect to injuries. Not only have we been the third healthiest team in the league in terms of man games lost (only Charlotte and OkC have had fewer man games lost), we have also been incredibly fortunate with injuries to key players on our opponents in most of our games. I took a look at our 22 wins, and could only identify 5 games where the opponent wasn't either missing their best player or at least one or more key starters. The only wins where we beat a healthy team were 4 wins against dreadful OkC, the Kings and the Spurs (we're better than those three teams) and what I would call the one signature win of the season...the home win against a healthy Miami team that had us all feeling quite optimistic. We've managed to avoid LeBron, Steph, Kawhi, Zion, Murray, Brooks, George, Luka, Jaylen Brown, Draymond Green, and many other impactful players...wow, there are a few Hall of Famers in there that we were lucky to miss. And let's face it...this kind of luck won't last forever.

My solution? I don't frickin' know. Some here thing we need help on the wing, and some say we need more size up front. I don't disagree. But how do you bring in meaningful talent? 1)through cap space, which we don't have. 2) through trades, but almost nobody here wants to give up any of our Big Three, and frankly nobody except Mrs. Jester wants Jake Layman (even though he seems to appear in every trade we propose here). or 3) through the draft...but sneaking into the playoffs leaves us out of the lottery where true game-changing talent is hard to find. So that's why I'm perhaps the only one here still on the Simmons train, or why I would not be opposed to blowing things up and rebuilding...again. Our bizarre injury luck isn't going to continue, and I'm not prepared to accept a ceiling of first round exits.

So I'll continue to watch every game because I find this team entertaining, and maybe a win over the Nets tomorrow (missing their best player...what a surprise!) will improve my mood. But I'm tired of being disappointed by this franchise, and I don't want to accept mediocrity. I'm hoping Lore and ARod feel the same way and push Gupta to do some major reshuffling before the trade deadline.

Okay, fire away...

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I think the new owners are going to come in with much higher expectations for the franchise. Accountability is going to be greater and finishing 8th isn't going to be looked at as a success. A-Rod is not going to be in it to be mediocre. That's not to say we won't have to pass through a mediocre period, but it isn't going to be acceptable and I think that's a good thing.

lipoli390 wrote:

Cool - I don't think anyone on this board is talking about being satisfied with 8th place finishes in perpetuity. It's all about a progression. This team had the 6th worst record in the NBA last season. Making the playoffs this season would be a big step forward for this still very young developing team. I won't be satisfied with an 8th seed next season, but an 8th seek this season would be a big step forward in the right direction for this franchise. You have to walk before you can run.

Right now, the Wolves are positioned to finish as high as 6th in the West. I'd love 6th place finish and no play-in tournament, but I'll still be happy with an 8th seed - THIS SEASON. I think the new owners will be satisfied with that as well.

kekgeek1 wrote:

FNG wrote:WARNING: PESSIMISM ALERT. OPTIMISTS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I write this post fully expecting to be eviscerated...but I'm not a snowflake like KAT, so I can take it. And I won't feel that I have to forgive any of you...or Thibs for that matter!

I'm reading some of the posts in this thread about what might constitute a successful season, and I find myself more in agreement with WolvesFan21 than most of the other posters who I feel might be satisfied with mediocrity. We need to have higher expectations. I need much more to consider this season a success. While I'm rube enough to get excited about squeezing into the playoffs this season (which I think we certainly will) and I'll pull every string to get tickets to any home playoff game, HOW we are getting to the playoffs has to be considered when concluding on the long-term prospects for this Rosas-created roster. That is, if you tend to take the long view like I tend to do...long-term success over momentary gratification is my mantra. My fear is that there is an intangible about the leadership on this roster (and I admit KAT's behavior and comments are coloring my opinion) that will always lead to our performing at a level below what our individual talent would indicate. And making the playoffs will give Gupta the cover he needs to not make any significant changes to the roster. And I'm convinced we need changes.

Here's my concern. We all agree that injuries impacted our record last year...most of us think we were better than a 23-win team last season. Well, it's disingenuous to conclude differently in a season where we have been extraordinarily fortunate with respect to injuries. Not only have we been the third healthiest team in the league in terms of man games lost (only Charlotte and OkC have had fewer man games lost), we have also been incredibly fortunate with injuries to key players on our opponents in most of our games. I took a look at our 22 wins, and could only identify 5 games where the opponent wasn't either missing their best player or at least one or more key starters. The only wins where we beat a healthy team were 4 wins against dreadful OkC, the Kings and the Spurs (we're better than those three teams) and what I would call the one signature win of the season...the home win against a healthy Miami team that had us all feeling quite optimistic. We've managed to avoid LeBron, Steph, Kawhi, Zion, Murray, Brooks, George, Luka, Jaylen Brown, Draymond Green, and many other impactful players...wow, there are a few Hall of Famers in there that we were lucky to miss. And let's face it...this kind of luck won't last forever.

My solution? I don't frickin' know. Some here thing we need help on the wing, and some say we need more size up front. I don't disagree. But how do you bring in meaningful talent? 1)through cap space, which we don't have. 2) through trades, but almost nobody here wants to give up any of our Big Three, and frankly nobody except Mrs. Jester wants Jake Layman (even though he seems to appear in every trade we propose here). or 3) through the draft...but sneaking into the playoffs leaves us out of the lottery where true game-changing talent is hard to find. So that's why I'm perhaps the only one here still on the Simmons train, or why I would not be opposed to blowing things up and rebuilding...again. Our bizarre injury luck isn't going to continue, and I'm not prepared to accept a ceiling of first round exits.

So I'll continue to watch every game because I find this team entertaining, and maybe a win over the Nets tomorrow (missing their best player...what a surprise!) will improve my mood. But I'm tired of being disappointed by this franchise, and I don't want to accept mediocrity. I'm hoping Lore and ARod feel the same way and push Gupta to do some major reshuffling before the trade deadline.

Okay, fire away...

Can we stop with the luck thing. The Timberwolves statistically have the best starting lineup in the NBA. That starting lineup has started only 16 games together. So only 35.5% of the time the Wolves have been able to start the statistically lineup in basketball.

Pat Bev has missed about 30% of the season. Dlo about 25% of the season. Kat about 20% of the season.

I like you FNG but sometimes I don't get you. Before the season the Wolves opened up at 34.5 wins and you went on huge thing about how good the Vegas number is. Now according to 538.com the Wolves are projected for 42 wins 7.5 more wins over there preason Vegas number. What would be the 3rd best overachiever compared to preseason Vegas number in the NBA. (Only behind the Cavs and the Suns).

So before the season you argued so much about the Vegas number and how much it means and now the Wolves are the 3rd biggest "overachiever" in the NBA and you are dissatisfied. I just don't get it.

This championship or bust culture is so toxic also. In the NBA there hasn't been a team that has won the title without a top 8ish player in the NBA since the Pistons in the early 2000s. Right now the wolves are developing a team that could consistently make the playoffs and trying to develop Ant into that top 8 player. Also Wolves will need to continue to raise their young players value so they either become great or can be used as big pieces in a trade.

I love what the Wolves are doing right now. They have a young talented playoff team. With a potential top tier player in the NBA in Ant. They have young pieces that could develop into greatness in McDaniels, Nowell and Naz (less confidence on Naz).

Let it play out. The Wolves have a really young competitive team that has massive options going forward. Also by your preseason love of Vegas Win Totals the Wolves are the 3rd most successful team in the NBA this year.

Camden wrote:

I came across https://twitter.com/andrewdbailey/status/1484904641787686912?s=21these numbers from Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey earlier today and decided to copy it over here.


[table]
[tr]
[th]Player[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITH D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITHOUT D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]Difference[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Malik Beasley[/td]
[td]2.2[/td]
[td]-6.8[/td]
[td]9.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Patrick Beverley[/td]
[td]19.7[/td]
[td]-6.3[/td]
[td]26.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Anthony Edwards[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-3.5[/td]
[td]16.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaden McDaniels[/td]
[td]1.3[/td]
[td]-6.2[/td]
[td]7.5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaylen Nowell[/td]
[td]2.0[/td]
[td]-4.6[/td]
[td]6.6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Josh Okogie[/td]
[td]7.8[/td]
[td]-7.0[/td]
[td]14.8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Taurean Prince[/td]
[td]-0.4[/td]
[td]-10.7[/td]
[td]10.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Naz Reid[/td]
[td]-2.5[/td]
[td]-12.5[/td]
[td]10.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Karl-Anthony Towns[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-7.1[/td]
[td]19.9[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jarred Vanderbilt[/td]
[td]14.2[/td]
[td]-0.3[/td]
[td]14.5[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The takeaway? D-Lo is getting his individual numbers, but he also makes the other 10 players in the possible rotation significantly better. It wouldn't be a reach to argue that he's Minnesota's most valuable player to this point despite not being the best player on the team. The potentially scary part? Those shooting numbers are starting to rise for him considerably... He's shooting 43.0 FG / 38.0 3P / 80.3 FT over his last 20 games with a .566 TS%.

kekgeek1 wrote:

FNG wrote:WARNING: PESSIMISM ALERT. OPTIMISTS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I write this post fully expecting to be eviscerated...but I'm not a snowflake like KAT, so I can take it. And I won't feel that I have to forgive any of you...or Thibs for that matter!

I'm reading some of the posts in this thread about what might constitute a successful season, and I find myself more in agreement with WolvesFan21 than most of the other posters who I feel might be satisfied with mediocrity. We need to have higher expectations. I need much more to consider this season a success. While I'm rube enough to get excited about squeezing into the playoffs this season (which I think we certainly will) and I'll pull every string to get tickets to any home playoff game, HOW we are getting to the playoffs has to be considered when concluding on the long-term prospects for this Rosas-created roster. That is, if you tend to take the long view like I tend to do...long-term success over momentary gratification is my mantra. My fear is that there is an intangible about the leadership on this roster (and I admit KAT's behavior and comments are coloring my opinion) that will always lead to our performing at a level below what our individual talent would indicate. And making the playoffs will give Gupta the cover he needs to not make any significant changes to the roster. And I'm convinced we need changes.

Here's my concern. We all agree that injuries impacted our record last year...most of us think we were better than a 23-win team last season. Well, it's disingenuous to conclude differently in a season where we have been extraordinarily fortunate with respect to injuries. Not only have we been the third healthiest team in the league in terms of man games lost (only Charlotte and OkC have had fewer man games lost), we have also been incredibly fortunate with injuries to key players on our opponents in most of our games. I took a look at our 22 wins, and could only identify 5 games where the opponent wasn't either missing their best player or at least one or more key starters. The only wins where we beat a healthy team were 4 wins against dreadful OkC, the Kings and the Spurs (we're better than those three teams) and what I would call the one signature win of the season...the home win against a healthy Miami team that had us all feeling quite optimistic. We've managed to avoid LeBron, Steph, Kawhi, Zion, Murray, Brooks, George, Luka, Jaylen Brown, Draymond Green, and many other impactful players...wow, there are a few Hall of Famers in there that we were lucky to miss. And let's face it...this kind of luck won't last forever.

My solution? I don't frickin' know. Some here thing we need help on the wing, and some say we need more size up front. I don't disagree. But how do you bring in meaningful talent? 1)through cap space, which we don't have. 2) through trades, but almost nobody here wants to give up any of our Big Three, and frankly nobody except Mrs. Jester wants Jake Layman (even though he seems to appear in every trade we propose here). or 3) through the draft...but sneaking into the playoffs leaves us out of the lottery where true game-changing talent is hard to find. So that's why I'm perhaps the only one here still on the Simmons train, or why I would not be opposed to blowing things up and rebuilding...again. Our bizarre injury luck isn't going to continue, and I'm not prepared to accept a ceiling of first round exits.

So I'll continue to watch every game because I find this team entertaining, and maybe a win over the Nets tomorrow (missing their best player...what a surprise!) will improve my mood. But I'm tired of being disappointed by this franchise, and I don't want to accept mediocrity. I'm hoping Lore and ARod feel the same way and push Gupta to do some major reshuffling before the trade deadline.

Okay, fire away...

Can we stop with the luck thing. The Timberwolves statistically have the best starting lineup in the NBA. That starting lineup has started only 16 games together. So only 35.5% of the time the Wolves have been able to start the statistically lineup in basketball.

Pat Bev has missed about 30% of the season. Dlo about 25% of the season. Kat about 20% of the season.

I like you FNG but sometimes I don't get you. Before the season the Wolves opened up at 34.5 wins and you went on huge thing about how good the Vegas number is. Now according to 538.com the Wolves are projected for 42 wins 7.5 more wins over there preason Vegas number. What would be the 3rd best overachiever compared to preseason Vegas number in the NBA. (Only behind the Cavs and the Suns).

So before the season you argued so much about the Vegas number and how much it means and now the Wolves are the 3rd biggest "overachiever" in the NBA and you are dissatisfied. I just don't get it.

This championship or bust culture is so toxic also. In the NBA there hasn't been a team that has won the title without a top 8ish player in the NBA since the Pistons in the early 2000s. Right now the wolves are developing a team that could consistently make the playoffs and trying to develop Ant into that top 8 player. Also Wolves will need to continue to raise their young players value so they either become great or can be used as big pieces in a trade.

I love what the Wolves are doing right now. They have a young talented playoff team. With a potential top tier player in the NBA in Ant. They have young pieces that could develop into greatness in McDaniels, Nowell and Naz (less confidence on Naz).

Let it play out. The Wolves have a really young competitive team that has massive options going forward. Also by your preseason love of Vegas Win Totals the Wolves are the 3rd most successful team in the NBA this year.

kekgeek1 wrote:

FNG wrote:WARNING: PESSIMISM ALERT. OPTIMISTS READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!


We certainly could stop with the luck thing and decide to banish any data that doesn't cast this team in a favorable light. But is this board smarter and more informative if we mostly provide important context when it is favorable, but ignore it when it casts some doubt on how good this Rosas Roster really is? Case in point: I think we can find over 100 posts that dismiss last year's 23-win season because we were one of the most injured teams in the association and our opponents were healthier than us. And those posts were valid because context matters...most of us agree we were better than our record last season. So isn't it intellectually dishonest to ignore context when the situation is reversed...i.e. we are the 3rd healthiest team in the association, and our opponents more often than not are missing one or more key starters? Isn't it meaningful that 45 games into the season we have only one win over a team with a winning record and not missing a key starter...the Miami win? By the way, we have played only 6 other games against healthy teams with a winning record, and we are 0-6 in those games. Is that a stat that we should also ignore, or does it provide some valuable information as to where this team is right now?

So now we go into a week where we are playing three teams with winning records that will be missing Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Draymond Green...2 almost certain HOFers and one 3-time NBA all-star. We are favored by 3 points tonight, and will also be favored in Portland. Be honest, kek...would we be favored in either game if Durant and Dame were playing? I'm lucky to be in Phoenix on the 28th and going to the game that night. Right now Ayton, Crowder and Payne are on the injured list, but I'm hoping they all return so we can see how our guys play against a healthy good team. A win in Phoenix against a healthy Suns team would go a long way to thinking this team might be as good as you guys are telling me they are. I'm sure Gupta also wants to see some true tests before the trade deadline.

Sundog60 wrote:

Camden wrote:

I came across https://twitter.com/andrewdbailey/status/1484904641787686912?s=21these numbers from Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey earlier today and decided to copy it over here.


[table]
[tr]
[th]Player[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITH D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITHOUT D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]Difference[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Malik Beasley[/td]
[td]2.2[/td]
[td]-6.8[/td]
[td]9.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Patrick Beverley[/td]
[td]19.7[/td]
[td]-6.3[/td]
[td]26.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Anthony Edwards[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-3.5[/td]
[td]16.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaden McDaniels[/td]
[td]1.3[/td]
[td]-6.2[/td]
[td]7.5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaylen Nowell[/td]
[td]2.0[/td]
[td]-4.6[/td]
[td]6.6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Josh Okogie[/td]
[td]7.8[/td]
[td]-7.0[/td]
[td]14.8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Taurean Prince[/td]
[td]-0.4[/td]
[td]-10.7[/td]
[td]10.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Naz Reid[/td]
[td]-2.5[/td]
[td]-12.5[/td]
[td]10.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Karl-Anthony Towns[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-7.1[/td]
[td]19.9[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jarred Vanderbilt[/td]
[td]14.2[/td]
[td]-0.3[/td]
[td]14.5[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The takeaway? D-Lo is getting his individual numbers, but he also makes the other 10 players in the possible rotation significantly better. It wouldn't be a reach to argue that he's Minnesota's most valuable player to this point despite not being the best player on the team. The potentially scary part? Those shooting numbers are starting to rise for him considerably... He's shooting 43.0 FG / 38.0 3P / 80.3 FT over his last 20 games with a .566 TS%.

Really great post, Cam!

Q-was-here wrote:

Sundog60 wrote:

Camden wrote:

I came across https://twitter.com/andrewdbailey/status/1484904641787686912?s=21these numbers from Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey earlier today and decided to copy it over here.


[table]
[tr]
[th]Player[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITH D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITHOUT D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]Difference[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Malik Beasley[/td]
[td]2.2[/td]
[td]-6.8[/td]
[td]9.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Patrick Beverley[/td]
[td]19.7[/td]
[td]-6.3[/td]
[td]26.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Anthony Edwards[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-3.5[/td]
[td]16.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaden McDaniels[/td]
[td]1.3[/td]
[td]-6.2[/td]
[td]7.5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaylen Nowell[/td]
[td]2.0[/td]
[td]-4.6[/td]
[td]6.6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Josh Okogie[/td]
[td]7.8[/td]
[td]-7.0[/td]
[td]14.8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Taurean Prince[/td]
[td]-0.4[/td]
[td]-10.7[/td]
[td]10.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Naz Reid[/td]
[td]-2.5[/td]
[td]-12.5[/td]
[td]10.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Karl-Anthony Towns[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-7.1[/td]
[td]19.9[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jarred Vanderbilt[/td]
[td]14.2[/td]
[td]-0.3[/td]
[td]14.5[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The takeaway? D-Lo is getting his individual numbers, but he also makes the other 10 players in the possible rotation significantly better. It wouldn't be a reach to argue that he's Minnesota's most valuable player to this point despite not being the best player on the team. The potentially scary part? Those shooting numbers are starting to rise for him considerably... He's shooting 43.0 FG / 38.0 3P / 80.3 FT over his last 20 games with a .566 TS%.

Really great post, Cam!

Well, the actual scary part to me is that all those numbers are in the negative when he's off the floor. While it speaks volumes to DLO's ability to lift up team performance while on the floor, it's not good that literally every guy does worse with him off the floor. So the flipside of this coin is very problematic!

Camden wrote:

WolvesFan21 wrote:DLO has been I think far above my expectations other then his shooting percentages. He was jacking up a few too many shots early on in the year and it seems he has progressed from that ISO jack up style. Now he is playing pretty darn good. I've been pretty impressed with him, though my expectations were far lower too. On that front I'm happy.

I'm not picking on you here, WolvesFan, but there are many NBA fans and pundits who frankly didn't know D'Angelo Russell's game very well before this season and they made that evident with the way they talked about him over the summer. I'd also expect that most of those same fans/pundits are quite pleased with the season he's had to this point even with some inconsistent shooting.

I came across https://twitter.com/andrewdbailey/status/1484904641787686912?s=21these numbers from Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey earlier today and decided to copy it over here.


[table]
[tr]
[th]Player[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITH D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]NetRtg WITHOUT D'Angelo Russell[/th]
[th]Difference[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Malik Beasley[/td]
[td]2.2[/td]
[td]-6.8[/td]
[td]9.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Patrick Beverley[/td]
[td]19.7[/td]
[td]-6.3[/td]
[td]26.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Anthony Edwards[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-3.5[/td]
[td]16.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaden McDaniels[/td]
[td]1.3[/td]
[td]-6.2[/td]
[td]7.5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jaylen Nowell[/td]
[td]2.0[/td]
[td]-4.6[/td]
[td]6.6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Josh Okogie[/td]
[td]7.8[/td]
[td]-7.0[/td]
[td]14.8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Taurean Prince[/td]
[td]-0.4[/td]
[td]-10.7[/td]
[td]10.3[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Naz Reid[/td]
[td]-2.5[/td]
[td]-12.5[/td]
[td]10.0[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Karl-Anthony Towns[/td]
[td]12.8[/td]
[td]-7.1[/td]
[td]19.9[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Jarred Vanderbilt[/td]
[td]14.2[/td]
[td]-0.3[/td]
[td]14.5[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

The takeaway? D-Lo is getting his individual numbers, but he also makes the other 10 players in the possible rotation significantly better. It wouldn't be a reach to argue that he's Minnesota's most valuable player to this point despite not being the best player on the team. The potentially scary part? Those shooting numbers are starting to rise for him considerably... He's shooting 43.0 FG / 38.0 3P / 80.3 FT over his last 20 games with a .566 TS%.