Let's keep it goin'- Raptors/Wolves GDT

[mjs34]

There was a former poster here who many thought had some good takes...I thought his tunnel vision generally led to some of the worse takes on this board. If he loved someone, that player could do no wrong...and just the opposite if he hated someone.

He hated Mike Conley because he never forgave him for replacing the player he loved most. After it was announced NAW would be replacing an injured Conley, he tweeted that we just got better. Really? We're better with NAW (one of my favorite players, by the way) starting at PG over Conley???

Mike has now missed two games this season, and they have arguably been our two worst games of the year:

Portland: 16 assists, 13 turnovers, 39.4% shooting, 8 point loss to a bad team
Toronto: 16 assists, 17 turnovers!, 41.3 % shooting, 5 point loss to a very bad team.

The Wolves average over 26 assists when Mike plays (10 more than when he doesn't), and we shoot almost 48%.

It's kind of sad that we are so dependent on a 37-year-old PG. And no, we are not better when NAW starts for him at PG. Come on...

As noted by someone else... Tyus Jones would be so good for this team.

Heck, Tre Jones would be a huge get for this team.

As for the Gobert stuff... yes... his antics cost the team the game. That shouldn't mask just how bad of a fit Randle looks like out there. Stone hands or not... that's the one time you have to throw the ball to Gobert. He had Barnes under the basket and he was stationary. He'll catch those passes.

I think this points to one person and he isn't on the court. Connelly has systematically taken what was once a top up and coming team, and turn them into a rebuilding squad with no assets to start over. I think Ant requests a trade by summer of 2026 (if not sooner).

Rudy has never been a well liked guy, we saw it between him and Kyle Andersen. How many times have any of us witnessed a fight on our own bench. Connelly's answer was to extend him for another couple of seasons at an additional 70mil. Who would have paid that type of money for Rudy. Once again, bidding against ourselves. He traded a top 25 player who wanted to play here for what amounts to a bench guy, a possible first rounder, and a player ready for another contract.

We need to punt on this season and trade Naz, Randle, and Mcdaniel (before he has no value) so we don't overpay the first two and get something in return. We literally have no leverage in negotiating those contracts. Poettl makes 19 mil/yr. Tyus Jones signed for 3 mil with Phoenix.

[rapsuperstar31]

Abe's stupid DVR Review thing:

- Funny thing about expectations... I've watched the Timberwolves since 1989. Religiously. I've seen more bad basketball during that time than virtually... EVERY OTHER NBA FAN! (and I'm joined by a few here). We're only 15 games in... and the Wolves having a winning record is a very rare thing... but I have not "enjoyed" a full game of hoops yet. Even the Toronto game I went to and sat near Lip's sweet seats... I tried to take a video of Edwards for my kids. He had three straight horrific possessions. It was probably a sign of what to expect.

It's amazing that even a fan of so much bad basketball is entirely bored with a winning team. That's how bad it's been.

- Naz Reid is perfect as the "backup QB" type. He was shielded from games like this because he was Towns' backup. A guy on the cusp of making $30+ million can't have those types of games. Especially because he's terrible defensively every game. Imagine the criticism of Towns if he had that sort of game. 2 points. 5 fouls. 2 turnovers.

- Edwards played an atrocious first half. I imagine he'll take blame and say he'll be better. Rinse. Repeat.

- A lot of missed bunnies early. A "bad team" that wanted it more than a "good team" late. Rinse. Repeat.

- "The incident." The game was 95 - 95. Minnesota had the ball. Randle looked off Gobert... who was already camped for 3+ seconds. Gobert deliberately took that three-second call. Then, he deliberately fouled the Raptors when they were in the bonus. The Raptors then went on a 10-1 run. Game over. (I shut it off).

A lot of players played poorly. But that loss is on Gobert.

- Randle is a tough watch. And I imagine he's a tough teammate on the court, too. Not... great.

- Dillingham was -14 in 10 minutes. -5 in 5 minutes last game. -2 in 3 minutes the previous game. -13 in 9 minutes before that. That's -34 in his last 27 minutes on the court. I know it's a noisy stat... but add it to the eye test... and he's simply not ready for the NBA. By how much teammates are constantly talking to him out there... it appears that every teammate knows it, too.

- This is the 4th atrocious loss. 5th bad loss. Meanwhile, they're lucky to have won some of the other games. This team is fortunate to be 8 - 7. Things could get much worse...

- Gross.




[Note: At the same time, this is what makes sports so fascinating. Get rid of the analytics. Get rid of all the stats. Sometimes, it just comes down to chemistry, fit, personality, et al. A lot of people might scream about the silliness of such a thing... but every person who's stepped on the court in any halfway meaningful way knows it's a real thing. This might be one of those seasons that happens in sports, when it just "doesn't work." That's why it's so important to strike when it does work... see last year. You never know when you'll find it again.]

I don't think were putting Rob in the best spots, putting him out there with Naz and Julius who are both bad defenders isn't going to lead to the best defense. It hasn't helped that Rob has played with Naz in both the Portland game and this Toronto game who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in either game. Rob hasn't been getting burned on defense, which was one of the bigger concerns with him, which is at least nice to see.