Wolves at Nuggs GDT

[Lipoli390]

Rudy Gobert also needed to defend Nikola Jokic. I understand the idea of having him check Aaron Gordon and trying to roam the middle at times, but Naz Reid clearly couldn't handle that matchup and got abused repeatedly. Gobert's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year who has often made things difficult for opposing offensive bigs. He needed to man up on Jokic. Have to blame him and Chris Finch for not recognizing it early enough and changing the game plan.

That's not to say that it would have made a difference on the outcome, or that Gobert would have shut down an all-time great producer like Jokic, but why did we trade him for if not matchups like this one? I remember Gobert defended Joel Embiid earlier in the season. I remember Gobert defended Jonas Valenciunias. I've seen him defend Karl-Anthony Towns in past seasons. What's the difference here? Have to take those big boy matchups if you're Gobert. In part, that's what he was brought in to do. You can't assign the elite matchup down low to guys like Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson. Get in there and battle.

I agree with you on the matchup strategy, Cam. However, I'll also note that the offensive and rebounding stats of KAT and Jokic against Gobert are essentially the same as their career averages. Valanciunas actually has better scoring and rebounding averages against Gobert compared to his career averages. Embiid has scored 2.5 points less against Gobert than his career average (24.3 v. 26.8), but has averaged slightly more rebounds against Gobert compared to his career average. In other words, Gobert's defensive effectiveness against these top offensive centers hasn't been stellar. Having said that, he's still a much better defensive matchup than Naz Reid or Kyle Anderson against top centers. Of course, it's a problem when the opposing center scores 20 and your starting center scores 0, but that's entirely different issue than the one you identified.

[FNG]

Utah was great on offense with Rudy The Wolves simply have crappy offensive players, compared to Utah the last few years at least.

Yes, they were. 7th in points, 6th in FG%

So now we have to decipher why the Wolves offense is not effective this season with Rudy. It's either:

1) Rudy has completely forgotten how to play offense in less than 12 months, or

2) The Wolves have not properly incorporated a remarkably efficient scorer into their offense.

Let's vote!

I don't agree that the Wolves have crappy offensive players, they don't. But it's painfully clear that Utah's guards knew how to make Rudy score efficiently, and ours don't. It shouldn't be this difficult.

[FNG]

I apologize in advance for belaboring the point, but I'm still pissed off at Finchie for not resting some of our day-to-day guys on the front end of a back to back that we had little chance of winning. And now we are 5 point dogs in a game tonight I think we would have easily won if we had rested players last night. I still don't think Utah should be favored by so much and I think this feels like more of a pick 'em, and I'll be delighted if we salvage a 1-1 on this vital road trip, but Vegas is saying we're going to go 0-2 at this critical juncture of the season. To our coach's credit, he did sit SloMo and yanked the starters when he realized (way too late) that the game was out of hand. But playing 20 minutes in the mountains is a lot different than getting the night off. If we go 0-2, it's on Finchie.

Why were we destined to lose last night? Well, Vegas knew with their 9-point spread...why didn't our coach? Finchie himself has said how difficult it is to win 2 straight games on BTB's against an opponent, and it's especially difficult on the Western Conference leader's home court and still missing KAT...and it's especially difficult when the opponent mailed in the previous game and was poised to blow us out in this one. My god, the Nuggets came out with steam coming out of their ears...they were NOT going to lose this game, no matter who we put out there!

Look, dumb coaches try to win EVERY game (I'm looking at you, Thibs). Smart coaches try to win AS MANY GAMES AS THEY CAN and position themselves for the playoffs...there's a big difference! Does anyone think Steve Kerr would have played everyone he could last night? I know that the prevailing opinion here is that load management is bad for the game and you need to play if you can play, and I get that. But I think that mindset ignores how grueling an NBA schedule is...and especially when you're playing back to back in mile high or near mile high altitude. It may annoy us fans, but we need to decide...do we want to be entertained every night, or do we want to be a contender? Championship teams know when to rest players.

Wirth road games coming up next against Memphis and Dallas, and a really tough 4-game west coast road trip after that, we simply have to win tonight. I'm sensing the season could slip away if we can't beat a likely nonplayoff team like Utah, so I'm calling this a "must win" game tonight. I'm still a Finchie fan, but I really hope he didn't torpedo our season with his blunder last night.

Come on, Wolves...let's win tonight!

[AbeVigodaLive]

I disagree wholeheartedly with FNG on this.

The Timberwolves are already a team that's struggled mightily with a lack of effort, intensity and energy... and that's not me talking. That's directly from players, coaches and team insiders.

So, to concede games while they're clinging to a play-in spot...?

_____

In the bigger picture, what are we doing as a collective NBA fanbase? Across the league we're the ones openly endorsing load management at this point? As contracts and entitlement among pro athletes continues to expand to unfathomable levels, we're expecting less and less of them.

Wait. What?

[FNG]

I recognize I'll be alone on an island on my take, Abe, but I feel as strongly on the other side as you do. And it's a good discussion. Those of us of (ahem) a certain age pine for the old days when NBA players never missed a game and played 40 minutes every night. But those days are gone, and we're not going to change the mindset of today's millionaire athlete. We can detest it, and I do, but we're not going to change it. So it's incumbent upon the coaches to get the most out of the coddled athletes of today. You can choose the Thibs path, or you can choose the Kerr path. My heart makes me appreciate the Thibs way, but my head tells me that doesn't lead to championships.

Are the Wolves feeling better about themselves after seeing their starters get blown off the court last night? I don't think so. And did the Nuggets lose their winning culture when Malone sat his starters a couple days ago? Again, I don't think so...last night proved it. It's a new era, and the coaches who understand it will end up on top, and the dinosaurs will struggle.

My best hope is that the stench of last night will inspire the Wolves to come out tonight needing to prove something. I actually think that's a strong possibility. I hope they do.

We're not going to convince each other on this one, Abe. Maybe a big win tonight will soften my stance.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I recognize I'll be alone on an island on my take, Abe, but I feel as strongly on the other side as you do. And it's a good discussion. Those of us of (ahem) a certain age pine for the old days when NBA players never missed a game and played 40 minutes every night. But those days are gone, and we're not going to change the mindset of today's millionaire athlete. We can detest it, and I do, but we're not going to change it. So it's incumbent upon the coaches to get the most out of the coddled athletes of today. You can choose the Thibs path, or you can choose the Kerr path. My heart makes me appreciate the Thibs way, but my head tells me that doesn't lead to championships.

Are the Wolves feeling better about themselves after seeing their starters get blown off the court last night? I don't think so. And did the Nuggets lose their winning culture when Malone sat his starters a couple days ago? Again, I don't think so...last night proved it. It's a new era, and the coaches who understand it will end up on top, and the dinosaurs will struggle.

My best hope is that the stench of last night will inspire the Wolves to come out tonight needing to prove something. I actually think that's a strong possibility. I hope they do.

We're not going to convince each other on this one, Abe. Maybe a big win tonight will soften my stance.

Once again... the Nuggets sat their starters while holding a FIVE game lead over the #2 seed. The Timberwolves have as many losses as the #12 seed right now.

The situations cannot be compared in any meaningful way.



[Note: But we do agree that tonight's win would be huge... and temper everybody's takes at this point. It's a very big game, both in the standings and simply in a PR "the world is falling" sort of way. ]

[Carlos Danger]

I recognize I'll be alone on an island on my take, Abe, but I feel as strongly on the other side as you do. And it's a good discussion. Those of us of (ahem) a certain age pine for the old days when NBA players never missed a game and played 40 minutes every night. But those days are gone, and we're not going to change the mindset of today's millionaire athlete. We can detest it, and I do, but we're not going to change it. So it's incumbent upon the coaches to get the most out of the coddled athletes of today. You can choose the Thibs path, or you can choose the Kerr path. My heart makes me appreciate the Thibs way, but my head tells me that doesn't lead to championships.

Are the Wolves feeling better about themselves after seeing their starters get blown off the court last night? I don't think so. And did the Nuggets lose their winning culture when Malone sat his starters a couple days ago? Again, I don't think so...last night proved it. It's a new era, and the coaches who understand it will end up on top, and the dinosaurs will struggle.

My best hope is that the stench of last night will inspire the Wolves to come out tonight needing to prove something. I actually think that's a strong possibility. I hope they do.

We're not going to convince each other on this one, Abe. Maybe a big win tonight will soften my stance.

It actually worked out that they met you half way last night FNG. Finch pulled the starters after about 20 minutes. It was basically a very poorly executed shoot around or scrimmage last night. They should be fine tonight.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

There's plenty of worthwhile criticism that Chris Finch is deserving of this season.

Coaching to win every possible game isn't one of them. Playing healthy professional athletes when they're available isn't one of them either.

On another note, I don't think Minnesota's chances to win tonight have been affected much, if at all. The Timberwolves lost their last game against the Jazz by a single point and didn't have Rudy Gobert manning the middle, which allowed Walker Kessler to dominate the paint. That shouldn't be the case this evening. I like their chances.

[Wolvesfan21]

Utah was great on offense with Rudy The Wolves simply have crappy offensive players, compared to Utah the last few years at least.

Yes, they were. 7th in points, 6th in FG%

So now we have to decipher why the Wolves offense is not effective this season with Rudy. It's either:

1) Rudy has completely forgotten how to play offense in less than 12 months, or

2) The Wolves have not properly incorporated a remarkably efficient scorer into their offense.

Let's vote!

I don't agree that the Wolves have crappy offensive players, they don't. But it's painfully clear that Utah's guards knew how to make Rudy score efficiently, and ours don't. It shouldn't be this difficult.

I overrated the Wolves. I looked at the players Utah had and said, hey we can do that! We can't, so far at least. I agree that it shouldn't be that hard.

[Wolvesfan21]

I recognize I'll be alone on an island on my take, Abe, but I feel as strongly on the other side as you do. And it's a good discussion. Those of us of (ahem) a certain age pine for the old days when NBA players never missed a game and played 40 minutes every night. But those days are gone, and we're not going to change the mindset of today's millionaire athlete. We can detest it, and I do, but we're not going to change it. So it's incumbent upon the coaches to get the most out of the coddled athletes of today. You can choose the Thibs path, or you can choose the Kerr path. My heart makes me appreciate the Thibs way, but my head tells me that doesn't lead to championships.

Are the Wolves feeling better about themselves after seeing their starters get blown off the court last night? I don't think so. And did the Nuggets lose their winning culture when Malone sat his starters a couple days ago? Again, I don't think so...last night proved it. It's a new era, and the coaches who understand it will end up on top, and the dinosaurs will struggle.

My best hope is that the stench of last night will inspire the Wolves to come out tonight needing to prove something. I actually think that's a strong possibility. I hope they do.

We're not going to convince each other on this one, Abe. Maybe a big win tonight will soften my stance.

Getting destroyed can be humbling and a learning experience. Get players to buckle down and focus 100 percent. Maybe even stop eating hot chips.