Minnesota Sports Forum

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 3:27 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 1:03 pm

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 12:28 pm I want to talk a little about TSJ. Simply put he is a weapon. When Wemby isn't on the floor and we go 5 out, no one is stopping him from getting to the basket. And once he gets there he's no Rob Dillingham at finishing. And to Finchie's credit, he even found a way to clear a path to the basket when Wemby was on the floor. Wemby's man was bringing him to the nail where he would get back screened by Randle or Ant as TSJ flew by. A lot of guys can drive and finesse their way to the basket, but TSJ does it with such force and speed. Like all the Wolves he really is fearless. I feel really comfortable when he has the ball up top, like I said above, a true weapon.

Good stuff. I didn't watch more than a couple Ayo games after he was acquired before the playoffs. Do you think Ayo's attacking was kind of a blueprint for TSJ and the team helping him do that as a whole?

Monster, I think what TSJ has is something you're born with. The coach and the team are letting him do his thing, but that crashing/slashing mentality was always there.

Yeah it was always there but what you have alluded to was Finch finding some ways to help get him opportunities to do so. Denver was probably just bad defense and basically zero rim protection. Some success there may have also been a nice confidence boost too. I noticed in this game on defense he made the correct rotations a number of times including drawing a charge. I'm not sure that was always happening in the regular season but I didn't see him play much after the first 20 games or so.

Also I still think he looks slimmer than his rookie year which always surprises me a little.

It was fun listening to a Spurs podcast today. I mentioned they were concerned about the size advantage coming in, and size and toughness was definitely a factor. One guy they kept talking about was Julius...they said nobody on the Spurs is as physical or tough as he is...he hurts people, and wears them out.

If you read this board, there's a 90% consensus I would estimate that we have to move Ju in the offseason. I'm not on board except for the right return, and I don't think Finchie is either. You have to wonder who would replace the physicality Ju brings if we move him.

FNG wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 8:15 pm It was fun listening to a Spurs podcast today. I mentioned they were concerned about the size advantage coming in, and size and toughness was definitely a factor. One guy they kept talking about was Julius...they said nobody on the Spurs is as physical or tough as he is...he hurts people, and wears them out.

If you read this board, there's a 90% consensus I would estimate that we have to move Ju in the offseason. I'm not on board except for the right return, and I don't think Finchie is either. You have to wonder who would replace the physicality Ju brings if we move him.

Randle is a flawed player but yes he brings something this team has lacked for quite a while physicality and some edge too. I know this team didn't do what it should have done in some regular season games but I like up and down the roster and there are various guys with some level of edge to them. Remember back when the guy with the most edge on the roster was 5'11" JJ Barea or something? Wiggins wasn't really a guy with much of an edge or played physical. Towns had some edge but often some of it was misguided. Randle plays with more aggressive game than Towns did. It feels weird to have a Wolves team that actually is a veteran team and has multiple guys that play with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Finch isn't exactly a softy either.

FNG wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 8:15 pm It was fun listening to a Spurs podcast today. I mentioned they were concerned about the size advantage coming in, and size and toughness was definitely a factor. One guy they kept talking about was Julius...they said nobody on the Spurs is as physical or tough as he is...he hurts people, and wears them out.

If you read this board, there's a 90% consensus I would estimate that we have to move Ju in the offseason. I'm not on board except for the right return, and I don't think Finchie is either. You have to wonder who would replace the physicality Ju brings if we move him.

I go back and forth for this exact reason. For much of the year getting that bully ball style hasn't proved worth the heavy iso play style. Julius also frustrates me because with how big, strong and athletic he is, he should be a bigger factor on the boards and he isn't. He should also be a better defender.

Well for most of post season we're seeing a different Julius, funny enough it isn't in overt ways like last year but more subtle --- imposing himself not just with the ball in his hands, but on defense, under the basket, big time hustle plays.

I think Randle's best role is not as a number 2 but as a scalable role player who is adaptable as a scorer, play maker and defender. Kind of a super Saiyan Kyle Anderson, and thats what he done this PS in his most impressive moments

Although he appears to be moody at times (I'm not sure it's just not shyness), Ju also brings some much needed maturity to the locker room. We have Mike, but he's not going to be around long. Ju doesn't seem like the typical NBA personality... more of a midwestern family guy vibe. I think it's good for our young guys.

FNG wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 8:59 pm Although he appears to be moody at times (I'm not sure it's just not shyness), Ju also brings some much needed maturity to the locker room. We have Mike, but he's not going to be around long. Ju doesn't seem like the typical NBA personality... more of a midwestern family guy vibe. I think it's good for our young guys.

I was thinking the same thing haha!
I would love to see Randle stay with the team for the foreseeable future and grow into the steady veteran leader. I'm not sure if that's how things will work or if hes ready to accept some reduction in his role, but I do believe there is a mutually beneficial future for him and the team. He definitely bring value in the playoffs just by virtue of being a big body with more skill than you'd expect

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 9:03 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2026 8:59 pm Although he appears to be moody at times (I'm not sure it's just not shyness), Ju also brings some much needed maturity to the locker room. We have Mike, but he's not going to be around long. Ju doesn't seem like the typical NBA personality... more of a midwestern family guy vibe. I think it's good for our young guys.

I was thinking the same thing haha!
I would love to see Randle stay with the team for the foreseeable future and grow into the steady veteran leader. I'm not sure if that's how things will work or if hes ready to accept some reduction in his role, but I do believe there is a mutually beneficial future for him and the team. He definitely bring value in the playoffs just by virtue of being a big body with more skill than you'd expect

Idk if I would say I'm like the best leader or what we but at this point in my life I've seen experienced and lived things. My younger teammates at work ask me a lot of questions and I actually have insight that's likely helpful. Randle I think has his own issues mentally like FNG says he probably isn't a wild extrovert like Edwards seems to be and Randle seems to struggle at times with his confidence and drive to do all the things. Still this is his 12th NBA season and was a top draft pick and also a guy that's to some extent still had to earn his way in the league. He has played in the biggest spotlight playing for both the Lakers (he played with Kobe and Metta World peace) and also with the Knicks. He likely realizes how good he has it here playing for Finch and the group of talent here too. The fact that he doesn't get it all right all the time might make him relate or and he does seems reasonably grounded as a family guy which is probably good.

I'm not against moving Randle in a deal. He is older now than when they traded for him but I would guess there are some Julius Randle fans out there that would like to acquire him. The biggest knock on the guy was his playoff performance. Well so far as a Timberwolf he has done well overall. Let's see what he does the rest of these playoffs.

So far the theme of these playoffs for the Wolves is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, which is the exact opposite of the regular season. Randle is not matching his regular season statistical output, but he is putting in the work defensively and helping us wear down opposing bigs by doing some of the more subtle things Aussie mentioned.

That being said, he is having a mediocre-at-best offensive playoffs so far and he could really help us get more separation if he was playing better on that side of the court.

Also, IF we get by the Spurs, OKC may quickly erase any warm fuzzy feelings we have toward Julius.

Finchy is quite smart with how he uses the media to try to influence referees. He did it with SGA's flopping, and at least at first, it seemed to get their attention. And now he's doing it with Wemby's blocks, saying 1/3 of them were goaltending. Let's hope it gets in Wemby's head, and especially in the ref crew's.

It's Scott Foster tonight. Normally that's not a good thing for the Wolves. But he loves the limelight, and calling goaltending on Wemby is a great way to bask in it!

FNG wrote: ↑Wed May 06, 2026 9:22 am Finchy is quite smart with how he uses the media to try to influence referees. He did it with SGA's flopping, and at least at first, it seemed to get their attention. And now he's doing it with Wemby's blocks, saying 1/3 of them were goaltending. Let's hope it gets in Wemby's head, and especially in the ref crew's.

It's Scott Foster tonight. Normally that's not a good thing for the Wolves. But he loves the limelight, and calling goaltending on Wemby is a great way to bask in it!

It's playing the long game with Wemby. Keep making him think, keep leaning on him, keep forcing the Spurs to play him 35+ MPG which he's never done before. Even if we lose tonight, a key sub-goal has to be to keep forcing Wemby to work his tail off and play big minutes. It should eventually pay dividends later in the series.