lipoli390 wrote:im still interested in winning games, but watching Dieng continue to regress gives me pause. I'll put it this way. If we end up with a 2nd pick I'd probably take Towns. Two weeks ago I would have taken Mudiay.
So Lip you've got Mudiay ahead of Russell? Just curious why? considering Russell is the better shooter and could presumably play SG, just trying to see what your thought process is?
lipoli390 wrote:im still interested in winning games, but watching Dieng continue to regress gives me pause. I'll put it this way. If we end up with a 2nd pick I'd probably take Towns. Two weeks ago I would have taken Mudiay.
So Lip you've got Mudiay ahead of Russell? Just curious why? considering Russell is the better shooter and could presumably play SG, just trying to see what your thought process is?
If I may speak for Lip here, I think the point is to take the best player possible. If Mudiay is higher on our board we would be smart not to deviate from it.
Lavine looked like an uber athletic veteran tonight. He made some big plays on offense but when he wants to (and that should be always), he can literally lock down opponents on defense. Pretty impressive stuff by that kid.
Piggy-backing on others, but the Dieng thing has to scare everyone. I don't know if its mental or not (just hasn't looking the same since Pek came back), but he has been downright terrible out there. He should have to donate a % of his salary to a charity every time he pump fakes.
Yeah more LaVine. I think to showcase Martin the best thing we can do is keep him healthy. The otherside of that coin is we need to play LaVine more now with Rubio to make sure we are ready to move Martin. I like what I am seeing of LaVine post break. I think he is starting to assert himself. I said on another thread I feel he has the highest ceiling on the team. Part of that is simply his personality. His personality is more outspoken and more likely to be marketable then Wiggins quiet calculated approach. Those videos with KG you saw Wednesday could someday be replaced with images of LaVine if he reaches his potential.
longstrangetrip wrote:Was it Hicks that said he didn't see any difference in Rubio's jump shot? I hope he's watching tonight. I agree that Ricky has not been consistent with his jumper, but his form tonight is nothing like it used to be. There's no question he has improved his form.
Yeah but I set him straight on that.
Yeah, I misstated a bit. I agree that from time to time his form is different.....it's the result that I was more talking about....which is exactly the same. 5-14....not a good "I told you so" moment.
longstrangetrip wrote:You're right, khans...they're really making us pay.
I noticed Gorgui is averaging more blocks per game than Noah...wouldn't have thought that.
Respect for Wigs that Butler is on him rather than Martin.
Not totally surprising in my book. The reality is that Noah is twice the defender vs Dieng, and he too could have a lot more blocks if he bit on every pump fake and left his feet, thus putting him in horrible defensive position.
Terrific game notes, q...you saw what I saw. I want to think the lower opponent's EFG% is part of the KG effect, even with him on the bench, but I'll hold off on that conclusion for a few games. I also share the worries about Gorgui...what a terrible game last night.
The only thing missing from your report is some mention of Kevin Martin. I hear the calls for more minutes for Zach at SG and I'm sympathetic, but I'm still about winning games. And Kevin has been so terrific this year, it's gotta be tough for Flip to take him out. He didn't hit his threes or get to the line last night, but that's the only reason he didn't get 20+ again. His 2-point game was terrific though. And while I didn't focus on his defense last night, I didn't cringe at all, and that's a good thing. Martin was our best player last night, and deserved his 37 minutes.
LST, I wonder if we will see any Rubio/LaVine/Martin/PF/C lineups. We have seen a little of that with Neal in LaVine's place and I think that would be an option we could look at during games like last night when Wiggin's had foul issues.
One thing that was apparent. In 3 or 4 years when LaVine and Wiggins fill out like Bulter is . They are going to be really tough to play against. Looking forward to it.