Minnesota Sports Forum

Q12543 wrote:One thing I noticed is that Thibs had Crawford out there for a short stretch as the point guard along with all the other starters. Tyus may have to worry about Crawford more than Brooks in terms of backup PG minutes!

Seriously, it's hard for me to see Thibs using 10 guys on a regular basis because you know that KAT, Butler, and Wiggins are all going to be playing 36 or 37 MPG or more. Jones, Crawford, and/or Bazzy may have some DNP-CDs this year.

Speaking of Bazz, based on the snippets of game action I've seen from the pre-season, that guy hasn't changed a bit. The effort and hustle are there, which is good, but so are the blinders. He'll never pass up a somewhat open shot for a team mate's wide open shot.

I think what we have seen from Thibs is that if he has 2 ball handling guards out there he will let either guy play PG and have the other guy play off the ball. At times it makes sense to have Crawford initiate offense because of his ability to create his own shot. The ability he is showing as a facilitator so far...in preseason...is interesting because it makes for some versatile lineups including allowing him to play Brooks if he needs more 3 point shooting because Brooks isn't really a true PG either.

Bazz is still Bazz but in these 2 games he has had plenty of offensive possessions where he has moved the ball quickly and in this game he was part of some good ball movement to get easy shots. I think we will all agree his skills don't lend himself to be a guy that's going to be any sort of facilitator but having the same coach and in the same system for the first time in his career may help him be more comfortable/less clueless offensively and therefore have more value as a team offensive player. It won't hurt for him to being playing with another player or 2 that actually knows what they are doing offensively.

Q12543 wrote:One thing I noticed is that Thibs had Crawford out there for a short stretch as the point guard along with all the other starters. Tyus may have to worry about Crawford more than Brooks in terms of backup PG minutes!

Seriously, it's hard for me to see Thibs using 10 guys on a regular basis because you know that KAT, Butler, and Wiggins are all going to be playing 36 or 37 MPG or more. Jones, Crawford, and/or Bazzy may have some DNP-CDs this year.

Speaking of Bazz, based on the snippets of game action I've seen from the pre-season, that guy hasn't changed a bit. The effort and hustle are there, which is good, but so are the blinders. He'll never pass up a somewhat open shot for a team mate's wide open shot.

I was really impressed with Crawford's ball-control and playmaking in the Laker game. Apparently, I'll see some of the same when I watch the Golden State game.

As for Bazz, he is what he is. His blinders when it comes to setting up teammates is why he's ideally suited to come off the bench. He's a scorer who looks to score and that's his value. Importantly, he also rebounds. I think rebounding gets undervalued in a lot of basketball chatter and analysis. Red Auerbach's refrain with his players was "get me the ball." He meant get rebounds and steals to give us more opportunities. Bazz does that. Watching Bazz his first couple seasons I worried about his defense. But with effort and determination (and help from Thibs) Bazz has turned himself into a decent defender. Scoring, rebounding and defense along with toughness and high energy. That's Bazz and its' a great combination for a 6th or 7th guy in the rotation. Interesting, Monster noted that Bazz did actually show some good ball movement in the Warriors game. So maybe the blinders will become a little less blinding as his career progresses. :)

I watched the 2nd half last night and I really liked the play of both Crawford and Tyus. Crawford doesn't play like he's 37. He has lots of energy and can really handle the rock. No reason he can't take some point guard minutes. Tyus was nails, I really like that guy. He just knows how to play despite his physical limitations. He's a very nice piece for a backup PG.

I wish Bazz would have laid McGee out. It looked like he gave him a pretty good shot to the solar plexes that might have taken the wind out of McGee. Bazz had every right to take exception to the shove by him and I'm happy to see the fire. The announcers talked about how this is a new Wolves attitude and grit. Hope it continues.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I watched the 2nd half last night and I really liked the play of both Crawford and Tyus. Crawford doesn't play like he's 37. He has lots of energy and can really handle the rock. No reason he can't take some point guard minutes. Tyus was nails, I really like that guy. He just knows how to play despite his physical limitations. He's a very nice piece for a backup PG.

I wish Bazz would have laid McGee out. It looked like he gave him a pretty good shot to the solar plexes that might have taken the wind out of McGee. Bazz had every right to take exception to the shove by him and I'm happy to see the fire. The announcers talked about how this is a new Wolves attitude and grit. Hope it continues.

I agree completely with your take on Tyus. He has those instincts you just can't teach. If he were 4 inches taller, he'd be a really good starting NBA PG. As it is, I agree that he's a terrific backup PG. He'll win games for us with big plays.

lipoli390 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I watched the 2nd half last night and I really liked the play of both Crawford and Tyus. Crawford doesn't play like he's 37. He has lots of energy and can really handle the rock. No reason he can't take some point guard minutes. Tyus was nails, I really like that guy. He just knows how to play despite his physical limitations. He's a very nice piece for a backup PG.

I wish Bazz would have laid McGee out. It looked like he gave him a pretty good shot to the solar plexes that might have taken the wind out of McGee. Bazz had every right to take exception to the shove by him and I'm happy to see the fire. The announcers talked about how this is a new Wolves attitude and grit. Hope it continues.

I agree completely with your take on Tyus. He has those instincts you just can't teach. If he were 4 inches taller, he'd be a really good starting NBA PG. As it is, I agree that he's a terrific backup PG. He'll win games for us with big plays.

Tyus isn't as small and weak as many of us might think. I think he came in a shade over 6-feet at the NBA combine without shoes and he is built pretty solidly. The problem is that he is average to below average in every component of athleticism and stature.

Height: Average to slightly below
Weight: Average
Wingspan: Below average
Straight-line speed: Below average
Quickness: Below average
Vertical: Below average

He literally has no physical advantages. If he could just have one or two areas on that list where he was above average combined with his existing skills and poise and he'd be an NBA starting-caliber PG.

Q12543 wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I watched the 2nd half last night and I really liked the play of both Crawford and Tyus. Crawford doesn't play like he's 37. He has lots of energy and can really handle the rock. No reason he can't take some point guard minutes. Tyus was nails, I really like that guy. He just knows how to play despite his physical limitations. He's a very nice piece for a backup PG.

I wish Bazz would have laid McGee out. It looked like he gave him a pretty good shot to the solar plexes that might have taken the wind out of McGee. Bazz had every right to take exception to the shove by him and I'm happy to see the fire. The announcers talked about how this is a new Wolves attitude and grit. Hope it continues.

I agree completely with your take on Tyus. He has those instincts you just can't teach. If he were 4 inches taller, he'd be a really good starting NBA PG. As it is, I agree that he's a terrific backup PG. He'll win games for us with big plays.

Tyus isn't as small and weak as many of us might think. I think he came in a shade over 6-feet at the NBA combine without shoes and he is built pretty solidly. The problem is that he is average to below average in every component of athleticism and stature.

Height: Average to slightly below
Weight: Average
Wingspan: Below average
Straight-line speed: Below average
Quickness: Below average
Vertical: Below average

He literally has no physical advantages. If he could just have one or two areas on that list where he was above average combined with his existing skills and poise and he'd be an NBA starting-caliber PG.

He reminds me a lot of me, but with skills!

lipoli390 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:I watched the 2nd half last night and I really liked the play of both Crawford and Tyus. Crawford doesn't play like he's 37. He has lots of energy and can really handle the rock. No reason he can't take some point guard minutes. Tyus was nails, I really like that guy. He just knows how to play despite his physical limitations. He's a very nice piece for a backup PG.

I wish Bazz would have laid McGee out. It looked like he gave him a pretty good shot to the solar plexes that might have taken the wind out of McGee. Bazz had every right to take exception to the shove by him and I'm happy to see the fire. The announcers talked about how this is a new Wolves attitude and grit. Hope it continues.

I agree completely with your take on Tyus. He has those instincts you just can't teach. If he were 4 inches taller, he'd be a really good starting NBA PG. As it is, I agree that he's a terrific backup PG. He'll win games for us with big plays.

"If he was 4 inches taller..." yeah sure well if you said that about a bunch of guys they would be a lot better also. Like Q said he is only slightly undersized. If he was 4" taller he could be a SG! :) sorry it just made me laugh I know what you were saying.

Let's see if Tyus can overcome those non-physical advantages to be a worthwhile player. There are plenty of undersized not particularly wildly athletic players that became good players in one sense or another. I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

I'm finally watching the game. Just finished watching the 1st half.

Our starters against their starters the 1st quarter and we looked almost like the Washington Generals against the Globetrotters, although KAT and Butler looked like they belonged out there. Then when our second unit faced their second unit we still looked like the inferior team. Finally it was starters v starters again the last five minutes of the game minus Curry the first couple minutes of that final stretch. Our starters looked better late 2nd quarter than they looked in the 1st quarter. Wiggins heated up a bit. I loved his rebound and pass to Butler for the bucket near the end of the 2nd quarter. But then Wiggins made a boneheaded move defensively that allowed Durant to get the ball and score just before the buzzer.

Teague looked horrible in every facet of the game. Gorgui, Bazz and Crawford looked OK playing with our second unit the first half.

Overall takeaways from the first half. Overall, it seems clear the Wolves have a long way to go to be a legitimate contender for anything more than a 7th or 8th seed. I continue to believe we have the talent on paper to be a top 4 or 5 team, but we'll have to see if they can gel individually and collectively to achieve that result. More specifically, I like what we're seeing from Crawford, Bazz and Gorgui in our second unit.

I'm looking forward to the 2nd half when we apparently put our 2nd string against their 3rd string to win the game.

The starters looked much better in the 3rd quarter. Nice 4th quarter from Belly. My players of the game for the Wolves were Jamaal Crawford, Belly, Bazz and Gorgui.

Bazz looked especially good on both ends. I didn't see the tunnel vision Q mentioned. Bazz repeatedly moved the ball, especially when he got the ball early in the clock. He missed some shots he usually makes, but he had a terrific all-around game. As Cool observed, Crawford doesn't look 37 years old. More like 27 the way he moves out there. OK, maybe 29. :). But I really like the way he played on both ends.

I think the "blinders on Bazz" that Lip is referring to is when Bazz gets the ball in a position to attack, there is only one action that is going to happen, and that is a scoring attempt by Bazz. You are correct that Bazz does just fine moving the ball during the "foreplay" of a possession...