A Croce Pivot Test - Wolves at Spurs GDT

[Lipoli390]

NAW, Reid, and DDV didn't shoot the ball well collectively, but things just work better as a team when they are on the floor. They had 8 assists and 1 turnover and were a +28, +26, and +15 respectively.


Q, I love this point. It's a very pleasurable brand of ball with these guys. Hopefully Dilly can become a regular part of it too.

Ditto!!

[Lipoli390]

It’s so nice to see Jaden’s game come together. His elite defense is back in full measure. Beyond that, he’s showing more offensively and he’s getting rebounds. Jaden is such a huge key to this team, not just this season, but in the years ahead.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's I'm only doing this to counter Q stealing my lame gimmick DVR review:

- I had a bunch of stuff to comment on... starting with 9 minutes in the 3rd. Some of it wasn't pro Anthony Edwards. He went at Wemby 3x. It did not work. At all.

But none of it mattered. The wasted possessions. The missed bunnies. All because of the Timberwolves defense. This is now a legit trend. There's time for the offense to catch up. But the effort and intensity and focus on defense is palpable right now. It's fun to see... but also reveals just how much it was missing earlier in the season.

- Wemby is a force. I get it now defensively. And as a passer...

- How much is Naz Reid worth this offseason. He's averaging career lows per 36 in ppg and rpg.

- How much is Nickeil Alexander Walker worth this offseason... especially if his on-ball defense unlocks this madman formerly known as Jaden McDaniels.

- How much is Donte Divincenzo worth? He's shooting 31.9% on threes. That's the lowest for any Wolves player who's taken more than 10 three pointers.

- Rob Dillingham does things very few other players do. Whether it's how he uses his handle or alleys off the glass. I still have major reservations about it translating into him as a good player... but it's intriguing as hell as we all watch and wait.

- Edwards seems like he can make more passes this season than last season. But his assists are down to 3.8 from a career high 5.1 last season.

[Q-is-here]

Abe's I'm only doing this to counter Q stealing my lame gimmick DVR review:

- I had a bunch of stuff to comment on... starting with 9 minutes in the 3rd. Some of it wasn't pro Anthony Edwards. He went at Wemby 3x. It did not work. At all.

But none of it mattered. The wasted possessions. The missed bunnies. All because of the Timberwolves defense. This is now a legit trend. There's time for the offense to catch up. But the effort and intensity and focus on defense is palpable right now. It's fun to see... but also reveals just how much it was missing earlier in the season.

- Wemby is a force. I get it now defensively. And as a passer...

- How much is Naz Reid worth this offseason. He's averaging career lows per 36 in ppg and rpg.

- How much is Nickeil Alexander Walker worth this offseason... especially if his on-ball defense unlocks this madman formerly known as Jaden McDaniels.

- How much is Donte Divincenzo worth? He's shooting 31.9% on threes. That's the lowest for any Wolves player who's taken more than 10 three pointers.

- Rob Dillingham does things very few other players do. Whether it's how he uses his handle or alleys off the glass. I still have major reservations about it translating into him as a good player... but it's intriguing as hell as we all watch and wait.

- Edwards seems like he can make more passes this season than last season. But his assists are down to 3.8 from a career high 5.1 last season.

Sorry to steal your thunder Abe!

On Dillingham, I agree with you that he's a guy that has to be assessed primarily through the eye test right now and not the stat sheet.

I went back and looked at some current-day dynamic scoring guards with just one year of college experience, including many from Kentucky. The following players had both a negative net rating AND a negative on/off rating as rookies, meaning their team performed better when they were on the bench: De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Trae Young, Darius Garland, Tyrese Maxey, and Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Garland especially had a TERRIBLE rookie year.

Kyrie Irving and Jamaal Murray were the only two I could find whose teams performed worse when they were on the bench as rookies. Murray was the only one that had both a positive net on/off rating and positive net rating overall.

Bottom line....it's really, really, really hard for young rookie guards in the NBA to be a net positive. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't get minutes nor is it correlated to future potential.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Abe's I'm only doing this to counter Q stealing my lame gimmick DVR review:

- I had a bunch of stuff to comment on... starting with 9 minutes in the 3rd. Some of it wasn't pro Anthony Edwards. He went at Wemby 3x. It did not work. At all.

But none of it mattered. The wasted possessions. The missed bunnies. All because of the Timberwolves defense. This is now a legit trend. There's time for the offense to catch up. But the effort and intensity and focus on defense is palpable right now. It's fun to see... but also reveals just how much it was missing earlier in the season.

- Wemby is a force. I get it now defensively. And as a passer...

- How much is Naz Reid worth this offseason. He's averaging career lows per 36 in ppg and rpg.

- How much is Nickeil Alexander Walker worth this offseason... especially if his on-ball defense unlocks this madman formerly known as Jaden McDaniels.

- How much is Donte Divincenzo worth? He's shooting 31.9% on threes. That's the lowest for any Wolves player who's taken more than 10 three pointers.

- Rob Dillingham does things very few other players do. Whether it's how he uses his handle or alleys off the glass. I still have major reservations about it translating into him as a good player... but it's intriguing as hell as we all watch and wait.

- Edwards seems like he can make more passes this season than last season. But his assists are down to 3.8 from a career high 5.1 last season.

Sorry to steal your thunder Abe!

On Dillingham, I agree with you that he's a guy that has to be assessed primarily through the eye test right now and not the stat sheet.

I went back and looked at some current-day dynamic scoring guards with just one year of college experience, including many from Kentucky. The following players had both a negative net rating AND a negative on/off rating as rookies, meaning their team performed better when they were on the bench: De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Trae Young, Darius Garland, Tyrese Maxey, and Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Garland especially had a TERRIBLE rookie year.

Kyrie Irving and Jamaal Murray were the only two I could find whose teams performed worse when they were on the bench as rookies. Murray was the only one that had both a positive net on/off rating and positive net rating overall.

Bottom line....it's really, really, really hard for young rookie guards in the NBA to be a net positive. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't get minutes nor is it correlated to future potential.

I feel like Garland is a realistic comp.

I can't help if I get Will Avery jitters now and again though.