Wolves vs Celtics GDT: Weakside Defense please

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Another decent game from Hummel. His shot is good, not great yet, but he appears to be gaining confidence with it. Plus the guy just seems to know how to play basketball. He keeps the ball moving and makes very few mistakes. One turnover in 7 games played so far.

It's funny how things start to regress to the mean over time. After starting the year white-hot from beyond the arc, Martin has now gone cold over the last two games. It was bound to happen. Brewer cooled off too after that great game against Cleveland. And anyone notice how the outlet passes are starting to tail off? On the positive side of the ledger, Barea, Cunningham, and Pekovic have all started to play better lately.

Hummel's a decent all-around basketball player. Best way to describe him. Glad he keeps playing well, regardless of what this thread (sjm) says about him.

Brewer didn't explode on offense, but honestly, that's not what we got him for. We got him for defense primarily. He did a hell of a job on Green. Job well done.

Bench play has stepped up a ton the last two. Let's hope that trend continues.

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

It is always funny who notices what things after a game. Brewer is a perfect example. Some people notice that he played a huge role in holding Boston's leading scorer (averaging over 16 ppg) to 2 pts off 6 shots. A lot of people are very happy to have a truly high-end defender on the team. Other people notice other things, like not making as many fast break points.

I guess that the people that hated Brewer at the acquisition have to stick with their shtick.

[m4gor [enjin:6667447]]

Another decent game from Hummel. His shot is good, not great yet, but he appears to be gaining confidence with it. Plus the guy just seems to know how to play basketball. He keeps the ball moving and makes very few mistakes. One turnover in 7 games played so far.

It's funny how things start to regress to the mean over time. After starting the year white-hot from beyond the arc, Martin has now gone cold over the last two games. It was bound to happen. Brewer cooled off too after that great game against Cleveland. And anyone notice how the outlet passes are starting to tail off? On the positive side of the ledger, Barea, Cunningham, and Pekovic have all started to play better lately.

Hummel looks well, he rotates well on defense and on offense also with well looking shot, he understands what Adelman wants from him and has legit size for SF, only problem is when he has to guard some smaller or more athletic player in general as his lateral quickness is kind of bad, what i like in particular is that he looks like he has really very nice feel for the game, he is really nice surprise for me

and for others, we still have to wait where numbers will settle as it is still too small sample, but for those outlet passes, opponents will prepare for them much better as season progresses, that is no brainer :-D

p.s. i really like to see PEK smashing, as it is crucial part of our succes especially in playoffs later on, i still think he should get more shots, like 12-15 a game would be perfect number

[Lipoli390]

Markkbu -- I'm not sure why you're so sensitive about Brewer. He is a great teammate who brings fantastic energy and intensity to the court. He's a heck of a defender most of the time, except when he gambles too much or is physically overmatched. He gets out incredibly well on fast breaks. I wasn't happy with how much we paid him and didn't like the idea of him as our starting SF. But like many others on the this board, I've already acknowledged in a prior post that I was wrong on both counts.

Nevertheless, it is not unfair or some sort of Brewer-bashing to say that Brewer doesn't shoot or handle the ball particularly well. Nor is it unfair or a sign of bias to say he's regressing to the mean. Those things are all true, but they don't mean he doesn't add great value to this team.

I for one am very happy Flip signed Corey. It's a move I wouldn't have made, but thankfully Flip is the VP of basketball operations and not me. :)

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

Lip, I find it odd that you think that I am being sensitive when I am making such blatantly obvious points. I also think that we all can agree that most every player in the NBA has significant flaws. Brewer's I believe are a bit more obvious than most (i agree that his ball handling is very absolutely terrible).

Over the past 11 game as Brewer has shown, by guarding some of the best players in the league, that he has been one of the top 10 defenders at SF in the league. His ability to score in quantity and with efficiency easily shows that he has been a top 10 offensive SF in the league over the same time period.

There has been much said that has been critical of Brewer over the past number of months. I have been pointing out the positive aspects of his game and capabilities over that time period.

I will continue to do so. It is part of the beauty of this board (the points and counter points).

Some people (mainly those initially critical of the acquisition) primarily choose to continue to focus on the negative aspects of Brewers play. None of the people that were openly and obviously critical of Brewer have yet to point out that his play is in the top 10 of the SFs on both sides of the ball.

That the Wolves have an SF that has played that well over the past 11 games, is pertinent to this board IHMO. Additionally, I find the conversations about Brewer's drastically improved shot selection, the madman like conviction that he drives to the hoop with, his absurd ability to drastically limit the effectiveness of very good NBA scorers, or how amazingly unselfish of a player Brewer is as more interesting conversations than, "Brewer is still a bad dribbler" or "he missed 2 layups last night" (that few other players in the NBA are even athletic enough to get).

In the next week or so I will do my best to ensure that I do not appear defensive :D as I point out the very good things that Brewer brings to the table.

[m4gor [enjin:6667447]]

another important fact is that this was back-to-back game which was 5th within 7 days, and our guys were tired, i mean Favarani is not getting 14 rebs next time agaist Love and PEK, and Brewer who is such a high energy hustle guy, there have to be some influence of this also ..

we just need bigger sample lets wait till end of december and then evaluate what we got in here .. ofc with exception of DW and Shved who we should trade asap for some healthy bodies who can contribute

[Lipoli390]

m4gor -- Good point about the fatigue factor. At one point in the 3rd or 4th quarter Kevin Love stayed behind under the Wolves basket while the rest of the team ran out on a fast break. Kevin stood there bent over. He was clearly exhausted. He works so hard fighting for rebounds with 250 pound defenders leaning on him. He looks like he needs a break. Ricky also looks dog tired. He made a number of stabs at the ball tonight that would have been steals in all our previous games. But he just seemed a tad slower tonight. Again, that's not surprising when you consider how hard he plays and the heavy burden he bears as both our best defender and our primarily (largely our only) ball-hander on the offensive end. I think Martin's 33% shooting tonight has something to do with tire legs.

This brings us back to the discussions we've had on this board recently about the Wolves' lack of bench strength. We really need to get more out of our bench if only to protect Love, Rubio and Martin from getting so fatigued they lose their a significant portion of their effectiveness. Let's hope Budinger and Turiaf get back on the court soon. In the meantime, I have no faith in Williams or Shved. Perhaps Flip could deal Shved for MarShon Brooks. I like Brooks coming out of college and he actually looked pretty good tonight.

[m4gor [enjin:6667447]]

lip -- actually i think we should trade for some older estabilished vets where you A.) know what to expect B.) not paying for potential .. the last thing to do is to take gamble with some wild card .. so from this point of view i would not like to trade for MarShoon

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I've always liked MarShon's game. If we could get him for Shved, I'd pull the trigger with quickness.