Minnesota Sports Forum

Monster wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 10:04 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 5:25 pm

TheFuture wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 10:53 am

I agree. Especially considering that he's going to be asked to cover tougher assignments on D when Rudy needs to sit. He's unfortunately our defacto backup C.

Except on offense he could a lot of the time be guarded by slow big centers who simply cannot guard him (too slow). His numbers are going up, up, up.

I think it's reasonable to think Naz doesn't shoot as high a percentage from 3 but the guy has improved his game every year I don't see why we can't expect him to get better overall this season too. I also wouldn't be surprised if his 3 point shooting volume goes up not down. Obviously it's a reasonable take to wonder if he drops off a bit overall but to some extent he is sort of a proven player doing a lot of what he does well for multiple seasons. Last year wasn't some sort of shocking out of this world performance other than his higher 3 point percentage.

As for his defense... In general I don't worry as much about his man defense as his ability to help in a team concept and protect the paint. One thing he did last year was significantly reducing the rate at which he fouls.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 8:56 am

Monster wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 10:04 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 5:25 pm

Except on offense he could a lot of the time be guarded by slow big centers who simply cannot guard him (too slow). His numbers are going up, up, up.

I think it's reasonable to think Naz doesn't shoot as high a percentage from 3 but the guy has improved his game every year I don't see why we can't expect him to get better overall this season too. I also wouldn't be surprised if his 3 point shooting volume goes up not down. Obviously it's a reasonable take to wonder if he drops off a bit overall but to some extent he is sort of a proven player doing a lot of what he does well for multiple seasons. Last year wasn't some sort of shocking out of this world performance other than his higher 3 point percentage.

As for his defense... In general I don't worry as much about his man defense as his ability to help in a team concept and protect the paint. One thing he did last year was significantly reducing the rate at which he fouls.

Bigger centers will bully Naz down low and rebound. Like others said, I do wonder if they try Randle on bigger centers. Neither is obviously ideal. However like I said, we should then torch them on the offense. Bigger centers like say Jokic can't guard Naz on the perimeter. No chance. Not Randle either if he's hitting the 3.

The biggest leap for Naz to make is if he can become decent protecting the rim and rebounding, a lot to ask to be honest. Just got to rebound at a higher rate for sure. Guys like Love couldn't protect the rim either, but at least he was a great rebounder to make up for it. If Naz can become Kevin Love like that would be a big win, plus with the added dimension of driving and handling at a higher level which I think he is.

Then the biggest factor is if Rudy can stay healthy. Because then we'd have to play Garza who is even worse protecting the rim or ballpark of Naz as a 5. Garza can light it up too on offense though, so maybe the drop off isn't too big. Trading offense for defense.

Our big situation is uncharted territory right now so that is where I am intrigued to see how it plays out.

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:02 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 8:56 am

Monster wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 10:04 pm

I think it's reasonable to think Naz doesn't shoot as high a percentage from 3 but the guy has improved his game every year I don't see why we can't expect him to get better overall this season too. I also wouldn't be surprised if his 3 point shooting volume goes up not down. Obviously it's a reasonable take to wonder if he drops off a bit overall but to some extent he is sort of a proven player doing a lot of what he does well for multiple seasons. Last year wasn't some sort of shocking out of this world performance other than his higher 3 point percentage.

As for his defense... In general I don't worry as much about his man defense as his ability to help in a team concept and protect the paint. One thing he did last year was significantly reducing the rate at which he fouls.

Bigger centers will bully Naz down low and rebound. Like others said, I do wonder if they try Randle on bigger centers. Neither is obviously ideal. However like I said, we should then torch them on the offense. Bigger centers like say Jokic can't guard Naz on the perimeter. No chance. Not Randle either if he's hitting the 3.

The biggest leap for Naz to make is if he can become decent protecting the rim and rebounding, a lot to ask to be honest. Just got to rebound at a higher rate for sure. Guys like Love couldn't protect the rim either, but at least he was a great rebounder to make up for it. If Naz can become Kevin Love like that would be a big win, plus with the added dimension of driving and handling at a higher level which I think he is.

Then the biggest factor is if Rudy can stay healthy. Because then we'd have to play Garza who is even worse protecting the rim or ballpark of Naz as a 5. Garza can light it up too on offense though, so maybe the drop off isn't too big. Trading offense for defense.

Our big situation is uncharted territory right now so that is where I am intrigued to see how it plays out.

Bigger centers can't bully Garza though. They may be able to shoot over him or beat him other ways but he is strong. They have to guard him on the other end and Garza is a problem on the offensive boards he may draw fouls which could be significant if he drafts them on one of those big guys.

Meanwhile if teams put a smaller guy on either Garza or Randle those guys may kill them in the paint. At times Naz has eaten there too. I'm not sure which of those guys is best beating a double team by passing but that Chicago game COBY white was switched on Randle and it was pretty clear he had no chance to guard Randle on his own.

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:22 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:02 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 8:56 am

Bigger centers will bully Naz down low and rebound. Like others said, I do wonder if they try Randle on bigger centers. Neither is obviously ideal. However like I said, we should then torch them on the offense. Bigger centers like say Jokic can't guard Naz on the perimeter. No chance. Not Randle either if he's hitting the 3.

The biggest leap for Naz to make is if he can become decent protecting the rim and rebounding, a lot to ask to be honest. Just got to rebound at a higher rate for sure. Guys like Love couldn't protect the rim either, but at least he was a great rebounder to make up for it. If Naz can become Kevin Love like that would be a big win, plus with the added dimension of driving and handling at a higher level which I think he is.

Then the biggest factor is if Rudy can stay healthy. Because then we'd have to play Garza who is even worse protecting the rim or ballpark of Naz as a 5. Garza can light it up too on offense though, so maybe the drop off isn't too big. Trading offense for defense.

Our big situation is uncharted territory right now so that is where I am intrigued to see how it plays out.

Bigger centers can't bully Garza though. They may be able to shoot over him or beat him other ways but he is strong. They have to guard him on the other end and Garza is a problem on the offensive boards he may draw fouls which could be significant if he drafts them on one of those big guys.

Meanwhile if teams put a smaller guy on either Garza or Randle those guys may kill them in the paint. At times Naz has eaten there too. I'm not sure which of those guys is best beating a double team by passing but that Chicago game COBY white was switched on Randle and it was pretty clear he had no chance to guard Randle on his own.

I think they can and will bully Garza. He's certainly worked on his strength but he doesn't have the length or body mass of the larger centers in the league. I also don't think Naz, Garza or Randle are avg defenders at the 5. I would say all 3 are far below avg. But maybe our wings and guards can help out. And just maybe they take steps to becoming avg defenders.

I do like all three on offense though. That's where the mismatch will have to pay off. But I think rim protection and rebounding are more constants, then say 3P shooting. So we are probably giving up some without KAT on defense in the long run. We'll see.

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:41 pm

Wolvesfan21 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:22 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 4:02 pm

Bigger centers can't bully Garza though. They may be able to shoot over him or beat him other ways but he is strong. They have to guard him on the other end and Garza is a problem on the offensive boards he may draw fouls which could be significant if he drafts them on one of those big guys.

Meanwhile if teams put a smaller guy on either Garza or Randle those guys may kill them in the paint. At times Naz has eaten there too. I'm not sure which of those guys is best beating a double team by passing but that Chicago game COBY white was switched on Randle and it was pretty clear he had no chance to guard Randle on his own.

I think they can and will bully Garza. He's certainly worked on his strength but he doesn't have the length or body mass of the larger centers in the league. I also don't think Naz, Garza or Randle are avg defenders at the 5. I would say all 3 are far below avg. But maybe our wings and guards can help out. And just maybe they take steps to becoming avg defenders.

I do like all three on offense though. That's where the mismatch will have to pay off. But I think rim protection and rebounding are more constants, then say 3P shooting. So we are probably giving up some without KAT on defense in the long run. We'll see.

Strength has never been Garza's problem it's his lack of athletic ability combined with lack of length. Plus it's not like he is some sort of defensive savant although I think he is far from clueless on that end. It's kinda impressive that he has been able to keep his play strength while dropping weight and significantly improving his agility. He moves like an NBA player now but the thing I think he still lacks is vertically. He just doesn't get up and that hurts him I think that's one of his issues rebounding the ball and obviously that's gonna hurt him defensively. I agree I think good players will beat him but it's also worth saying those guys are beating starting level players.The way Garza moves now though there are plenty of guys that haven't had all the physical gifts that have been worthwhile defenders. Can Garza develop mentally on that end and be in the right places at the right times very often? If so he has enough size to put up some resistance individually and as a team defender. It definitely feels like if anyone is gonna figure it out to some extent on defense he might be able to. The guy is obviously doing everything possible to get the most out of everything he has. Him improving his defensive IQ is obviously not certain though. Him not being a zero on that end obviously affects his offense because of he basically puts up little resistance that's gonna keep him off the floor. Effort helps too and Garza plays hard.

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:15 pm On Dane's pod yesterday, he and Chris Hine talked about the biggest positive change in the Wolves offense through 14 games...clutch rating in crunch time. The last few years many of us have complained about the lack of structure and success at crunch time, and the Wolves have consistently ranked in the bottom 10. This year they are 5th in crunch time offensive rating at 131. This is a remarkable turnaround that can be attributed to two main factors: swapping in a steadier veteran in Randle for KAT, and a maturing of Ant in these key moments. Very good to hear! I don't have access to this data, but I wonder if the Knicks show a decline in their crunch time offensive rating.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:42 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:15 pm On Dane's pod yesterday, he and Chris Hine talked about the biggest positive change in the Wolves offense through 14 games...clutch rating in crunch time. The last few years many of us have complained about the lack of structure and success at crunch time, and the Wolves have consistently ranked in the bottom 10. This year they are 5th in crunch time offensive rating at 131. This is a remarkable turnaround that can be attributed to two main factors: swapping in a steadier veteran in Randle for KAT, and a maturing of Ant in these key moments. Very good to hear! I don't have access to this data, but I wonder if the Knicks show a decline in their crunch time offensive rating.

It's good news, but given the narrow parameters that constitutes crunch time (the last few minutes of a close game), there is a limited sample size. It's like someone shooting 8-15 from 3 in their first few games and convincing yourself they are a 50%+ 3-point shooter. I need to see more of it before being convinced we turned it around from the prior Finch/Ant years.

thedoper wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2024 3:33 pm I would say the eye test supports that Randle has more poise under pressure on offense than KAT by leaps and bounds.