Minnesota Sports Forum

Mikkeman - Best post so far. Great points. This gives me more confidence in Sam's ability to coach this team. Looking at this it would seem Sam will have no problem playing Bjelica and I Towns. I think that is a great thing. I also liked how he felt LaVine is a SG and that Martin needs to be more of a distributor. That comment made me thing Martin could get in his doghouse if he is not onboard and I think having KG on the team will help back that up. For better or worse the kids are going to looking for to Sam, KG, and Rubio to set the tone for this club.

Very clever post, mikkeman. It's extraordinary what Mitchell did with that roster. I wonder how many wins we would be predicting here if the Wolves were going into this season with that group of players. 15? 20? Certainly not 47. Mitchell is going to get the most he can out of the guys he is given. Those who think the coaching this season is going to be business as usual don't know much about Sam Mitchell.

sjm34 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:SJM, On Lawson versus Tyus, they aren't even in the same galaxy as athletes. As Monster mentions, Lawson is fast. Like really, really, really fast. He's also built like a fire hydrant weighing about 200 lbs.

The problem with Tyus is he has literally no physical advantages - length, speed, quickness, strength, size....he's average to below average across the board.

Tyus has a significantly longer wingspan, and is also a couple years younger than when Lawson came into the league. Adding ten pounds is very likely over a couple of seasons, although being built like a fire hydrant isn't an advantage in BB.

As far as speed goes, I am not sure where I read it last season but they tested players (PGs) dribbling while sprinting up the court, and Lawson wasn't listed in the top five, but Rubio was second behind only Parker. Running fast really doesn't help a PG that much unless that extends to dribbling, and the speed certainly hasn't helped Lawson defensively.

SJM, I'm not sure what league you are watching, but being built like a fire hydrant absolutely has advantages, even for PGs. It helps players absorb contact and shield off opponents at the rim. Kyle Lowry is another guy with a similar build to Lawson that makes great use of his body. Tyus Jones may put on a few more pounds, but he does not have the same frame as these guys do.

But don't take my word for it - go read the scouting reports for Ty Lawson. He's in a different universe athletically.

Q12543 wrote:

sjm34 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:SJM, On Lawson versus Tyus, they aren't even in the same galaxy as athletes. As Monster mentions, Lawson is fast. Like really, really, really fast. He's also built like a fire hydrant weighing about 200 lbs.

The problem with Tyus is he has literally no physical advantages - length, speed, quickness, strength, size....he's average to below average across the board.

Tyus has a significantly longer wingspan, and is also a couple years younger than when Lawson came into the league. Adding ten pounds is very likely over a couple of seasons, although being built like a fire hydrant isn't an advantage in BB.

As far as speed goes, I am not sure where I read it last season but they tested players (PGs) dribbling while sprinting up the court, and Lawson wasn't listed in the top five, but Rubio was second behind only Parker. Running fast really doesn't help a PG that much unless that extends to dribbling, and the speed certainly hasn't helped Lawson defensively.

SJM, I'm not sure what league you are watching, but being built like a fire hydrant absolutely has advantages, even for PGs. It helps players absorb contact and shield off opponents at the rim. Kyle Lowry is another guy with a similar build to Lawson that makes great use of his body. Tyus Jones may put on a few more pounds, but he does not have the same frame as these guys do.

But don't take my word for it - go read the scouting reports for Ty Lawson. He's in a different universe athletically.

Tyus looks to be more in the realm of athletes of Steph Curry and Luke Ridnour coming out of college at this point. He is stronger than Luke was but the reality is their physical traits that you look for are generally below average. Steph has become stronger no doubt you can see that and his hard work has made himself into an MVP you don't hear people talk about him being a below average athlete much anymore and that's a testament to him and one other factor. What sets Curry apart is his ridiculous skill level. When you are considered one of the best shooters of all time having even just average athletism won't hold you back. Steph is an outlier and a wonderful one at that.

I think most of us would be thrilled if Tyus turned out to be as good as Like and we kept him around long term. To me skill matters the most. Does he have the hall handling, ability to hit jumpshots etc? Will he work hard to get the most out of his body athletically? What about that mental aspect of his game he is praised for? I am not saying physical traits don't matter because they do but skill makes or breaks guys. I think Q isn't convinced on Tyus having enough skill combined with his physical traits being below average. We will see.

Yes, I think agree that Sam got 2006-07 Toronto team to overachieve quite nicely. They had got just 27 wins in previous year. I think that even though they didn't have many big names in their roster that year, it was still much better than their previous year's roster.

They had got rid of Mike James who had had career year scoring 20.3 pts and dishing 5.8 asts per game with terrific .583 TS% but he was shooting too much in team that featured Bosh. So I think that despite Ford wasn't statistically better than Mike James, he was improvement from team perspective. They also replaced Jalen Rose and Charlie Villanueva with Parker and Garbajosa. Both newcomers were real team players and much better defenders than the guys they replaced.

Sam also put team's 3rd leading scorer Morris Peterson to bench even though also he had had career year in previous season. I think main reason was Peterson's bad defense.

I think based on Mitchell's time in Toronto, we know at least following things about him:

- He allows and maybe even encourages his big men to shoot three pointers. Garbajosa shot 3-pointers 68/193, Bargnani 100/268 and in previous year Bonner 102/243 and Villanova 70/214. Based on this I wouldn't be surprised if Towns, Payne will shoot good amount of three pointers.

- He gives playtime also for rookies even if they are not immediately that good. Bargnani played 25 minutes per game and scored 11.6pts per game. Garbajosa did play 28.5 minutes per game and previous year Calderon got 23 min/gm and Villanueva 27 min/gm. I expect that Towns will get 25+ minutes per game.

- He is not reluctant to play European players. Calderon, Garbajosa, Bargnani all got right away well minutes in Toronto. I expect that Bjelica will get them in Minnesota

- He has balls to bench players that won't give consistent effort in defensive end. I wouldn't be surprised if KMart will come off the bench this season.

Q12543 wrote:

sjm34 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:SJM, On Lawson versus Tyus, they aren't even in the same galaxy as athletes. As Monster mentions, Lawson is fast. Like really, really, really fast. He's also built like a fire hydrant weighing about 200 lbs.

The problem with Tyus is he has literally no physical advantages - length, speed, quickness, strength, size....he's average to below average across the board.

Tyus has a significantly longer wingspan, and is also a couple years younger than when Lawson came into the league. Adding ten pounds is very likely over a couple of seasons, although being built like a fire hydrant isn't an advantage in BB.

As far as speed goes, I am not sure where I read it last season but they tested players (PGs) dribbling while sprinting up the court, and Lawson wasn't listed in the top five, but Rubio was second behind only Parker. Running fast really doesn't help a PG that much unless that extends to dribbling, and the speed certainly hasn't helped Lawson defensively.

SJM, I'm not sure what league you are watching, but being built like a fire hydrant absolutely has advantages, even for PGs. It helps players absorb contact and shield off opponents at the rim. Kyle Lowry is another guy with a similar build to Lawson that makes great use of his body. Tyus Jones may put on a few more pounds, but he does not have the same frame as these guys do.

But don't take my word for it - go read the scouting reports for Ty Lawson. He's in a different universe athletically.

I watch the NBA, apparently you don't. For all that body contact, he is limited trying to get his shot off, and being able to contest his opponent's. Lowry id closer to Tyus in body type.

Lawson excelled early on due to being more mature (3 years of college) and because he was drafted onto George Karl's team, which was a perfect fit for him with uptempo running style. Lawson has succeeded due to his BBIQ more than anything.

I have no idea if Tyus will have any success in the NBA, but if he does it will be due to the environment he finds himself in. He clearly doesn't have the talent to take over. I wasn't a fan of drafting him, and preferred the wolves go the route of cheap veteran backup at the PG position. Maybe the front office knows more about Ricky's injury than they are letting on.

I finally read the whole interview. Zgoda should be fired. Honestly, the worst questions I have read in a long time. I wish Mitchell would have just punched him in the face. I equally hate that Jerry was claiming his questions were on behalf of the fans, as if all wolves fans are huge morons like he is. Journalism sucks now. After reading this interview and hearing Sam's answers I am fine with him in the interim position. Go Wolves.

It will all depend on Sam's relationship with the best players on the team. Superstar drama will be upon us shortly (I hope?).

thedoper wrote: I wish Mitchell would have just punched him in the face.

I can't agree more.