Minnesota Sports Forum

lipoli390 wrote:Another terrific night for Zach LaVine with 37 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in a winning effort.

Yep. What's even crazier is Jeremi Grant had an efficient 43 points in that game. I always thought Grant had more in his bag than what he was able to show in Oklahoma City or Denver, but I didn't foresee him being what he's been this season. Unbelievable.

Camden0916 wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:Another terrific night for Zach LaVine with 37 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in a winning effort.

Yep. What's even crazier is Jeremi Grant had an efficient 43 points in that game. I always thought Grant had more in his bag than what he was able to show in Oklahoma City or Denver, but I didn't foresee him being what he's been this season. Unbelievable.

The Pistons got crowned for their FA signings but in terms of raw numbers they have been fantastic. Grant, Plumlee, Jackson and Ellington have been great

lipoli390 wrote:Another terrific night for Zach LaVine with 37 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in a winning effort.

Averaging 28.5ppg on 52/44/85 splits. Also 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Add trading away Lavine instead of Wiggins to the long list of this franchises failures....

Culture.

Golden State beat Miami last night... that's not huge news. But the way they did it was pretty damn impressive.

- Down 14 with less than 7 minutes left.
- Curry shot 5 - 20 on three pointers.
- No D. Green. No Wiseman. No Looney.
- The Warriors played most of the 4th/OT with 6'7" Wiggins and 6'6" Eric Paschell as the "bigs"... Wiggins was actually the guy for jump balls.
- GSW (and Wiggins) outhustled and out-gritted Miami.
- In OT... the undersized Warriors had 5 offensive rebounds vs. Miami's 2 defensive rebounds in the first 3 minutes. They won going away.

Another comeback win for a team decimated by injuries. But they have Curry. Just as importantly, they have coaches + executives + owners + players used to winning. Guys who know HOW to win. Guys who take pride in winning.

The Warriors are 16 - 13. They have the 5th ranked defense in the league with these piece parts.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Culture.

Golden State beat Miami last night... that's not huge news. But the way they did it was pretty damn impressive.

- Down 14 with less than 7 minutes left.
- Curry shot 5 - 20 on three pointers.
- No D. Green. No Wiseman. No Looney.
- The Warriors played most of the 4th/OT with 6'7" Wiggins and 6'6" Eric Paschell as the "bigs"... Wiggins was actually the guy for jump balls.
- GSW (and Wiggins) outhustled and out-gritted Miami.
- In OT... the undersized Warriors had 5 offensive rebounds vs. Miami's 2 defensive rebounds in the first 3 minutes. They won going away.

Another comeback win for a team decimated by injuries. But they have Curry. Just as importantly, they have coaches + executives + owners + players used to winning. Guys who know HOW to win. Guys who take pride in winning.

The Warriors are 16 - 13. They have the 5th ranked defense in the league with these piece parts.

Yup, defense is one way undermanned teams can stay relevant and competitive. Curry, for all of his physical shortcomings, works hard on defense too. He and Redick I put in the same boat. These guys simply take pride in playing both sides, even if their strength lies in shooting and they aren't the most physically advantaged players defensively.

Of course we have Malik Beasley, who puts in the effort, but might be one of the worst "tries hard, but...." defenders I've ever seen. Ugh...so Wolves-ian....even the guys that care are fairly ineffectual on our squad.

Q12543 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Culture.

Golden State beat Miami last night... that's not huge news. But the way they did it was pretty damn impressive.

- Down 14 with less than 7 minutes left.
- Curry shot 5 - 20 on three pointers.
- No D. Green. No Wiseman. No Looney.
- The Warriors played most of the 4th/OT with 6'7" Wiggins and 6'6" Eric Paschell as the "bigs"... Wiggins was actually the guy for jump balls.
- GSW (and Wiggins) outhustled and out-gritted Miami.
- In OT... the undersized Warriors had 5 offensive rebounds vs. Miami's 2 defensive rebounds in the first 3 minutes. They won going away.

Another comeback win for a team decimated by injuries. But they have Curry. Just as importantly, they have coaches + executives + owners + players used to winning. Guys who know HOW to win. Guys who take pride in winning.

The Warriors are 16 - 13. They have the 5th ranked defense in the league with these piece parts.

Yup, defense is one way undermanned teams can stay relevant and competitive. Curry, for all of his physical shortcomings, works hard on defense too. He and Redick I put in the same boat. These guys simply take pride in playing both sides, even if their strength lies in shooting and they aren't the most physically advantaged players defensively.

Of course we have Malik Beasley, who puts in the effort, but might be one of the worst "tries hard, but...." defenders I've ever seen. Ugh...so Wolves-ian....even the guys that care are fairly ineffectual on our squad.

Last night during the telecast, they were talking about Kerr's quotes about how this year's team HAS to be good defensively to have any chance at winning.

Whether he has more clout. Whether he has Curry's ear... and then everybody else falls in line... whatever it is...
it's working.

GSW was 26th last year on defense... and Steph Curry and Kelly Oubre are the primary difference makers? (Green played 43 of 65 games last season.)

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Culture.

Golden State beat Miami last night... that's not huge news. But the way they did it was pretty damn impressive.

- Down 14 with less than 7 minutes left.
- Curry shot 5 - 20 on three pointers.
- No D. Green. No Wiseman. No Looney.
- The Warriors played most of the 4th/OT with 6'7" Wiggins and 6'6" Eric Paschell as the "bigs"... Wiggins was actually the guy for jump balls.
- GSW (and Wiggins) outhustled and out-gritted Miami.
- In OT... the undersized Warriors had 5 offensive rebounds vs. Miami's 2 defensive rebounds in the first 3 minutes. They won going away.

Another comeback win for a team decimated by injuries. But they have Curry. Just as importantly, they have coaches + executives + owners + players used to winning. Guys who know HOW to win. Guys who take pride in winning.

The Warriors are 16 - 13. They have the 5th ranked defense in the league with these piece parts.

Yup, defense is one way undermanned teams can stay relevant and competitive. Curry, for all of his physical shortcomings, works hard on defense too. He and Redick I put in the same boat. These guys simply take pride in playing both sides, even if their strength lies in shooting and they aren't the most physically advantaged players defensively.

Of course we have Malik Beasley, who puts in the effort, but might be one of the worst "tries hard, but...." defenders I've ever seen. Ugh...so Wolves-ian....even the guys that care are fairly ineffectual on our squad.

Last night during the telecast, they were talking about Kerr's quotes about how this year's team HAS to be good defensively to have any chance at winning.

Whether he has more clout. Whether he has Curry's ear... and then everybody else falls in line... whatever it is...
it's working.

GSW was 26th last year on defense... and Steph Curry and Kelly Oubre are the primary difference makers? (Green played 43 of 65 games last season.)

Oubre and Wiggins have always been gifted athletes with defensive potential. Clearly they are getting the right messaging and instruction from respected voices on how they can contribute. Sad to think that we have gifted athletes on this team that for whatever reason can't get the right messaging from respected individuals that translates to execution on the defensive end. GS is really presenting a case for the significance of vetrans and coaching in building a defensive system that works.

thedoper wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Culture.

Golden State beat Miami last night... that's not huge news. But the way they did it was pretty damn impressive.

- Down 14 with less than 7 minutes left.
- Curry shot 5 - 20 on three pointers.
- No D. Green. No Wiseman. No Looney.
- The Warriors played most of the 4th/OT with 6'7" Wiggins and 6'6" Eric Paschell as the "bigs"... Wiggins was actually the guy for jump balls.
- GSW (and Wiggins) outhustled and out-gritted Miami.
- In OT... the undersized Warriors had 5 offensive rebounds vs. Miami's 2 defensive rebounds in the first 3 minutes. They won going away.

Another comeback win for a team decimated by injuries. But they have Curry. Just as importantly, they have coaches + executives + owners + players used to winning. Guys who know HOW to win. Guys who take pride in winning.

The Warriors are 16 - 13. They have the 5th ranked defense in the league with these piece parts.

Yup, defense is one way undermanned teams can stay relevant and competitive. Curry, for all of his physical shortcomings, works hard on defense too. He and Redick I put in the same boat. These guys simply take pride in playing both sides, even if their strength lies in shooting and they aren't the most physically advantaged players defensively.

Of course we have Malik Beasley, who puts in the effort, but might be one of the worst "tries hard, but...." defenders I've ever seen. Ugh...so Wolves-ian....even the guys that care are fairly ineffectual on our squad.

Last night during the telecast, they were talking about Kerr's quotes about how this year's team HAS to be good defensively to have any chance at winning.

Whether he has more clout. Whether he has Curry's ear... and then everybody else falls in line... whatever it is...
it's working.

GSW was 26th last year on defense... and Steph Curry and Kelly Oubre are the primary difference makers? (Green played 43 of 65 games last season.)

Oubre and Wiggins have always been gifted athletes with defensive potential. Clearly they are getting the right messaging and instruction from respected voices on how they can contribute. Sad to think that we have gifted athletes on this team that for whatever reason can't get the right messaging from respected individuals that translates to execution on the defensive end. GS is really presenting a case for the significance of vetrans and coaching in building a defensive system that works.

Sure. Coaching helps. But again... coaches can only do so much.

Were Flip... Mitchell... Thibs... and Saunders all unable to build a defensive system that works? (Rambis, Wittman, Casey, et al before them...)

Maybe. But look at the Knicks. They were 23rd on defense last season... they're 3rd right now. Same coach who failed to reach guys like Towns or Wiggins here. This isn't to absolve Thibs of blame... only to highlight the importance of finding the right coach/players who can work together.

For whatever reason, the Wolves have really really struggled with that. Maybe it's because it's an organization that...

- Tanks games purposely for most seasons for a decade or more.
- Rips a future HOFer on his way out of town for "tanking" in an ironic twist.
- Begs players to "work harder" before giving them $150M.
- Get jilted by a player in embarrassing public and cowardly fashion... only to chase that player and give up even more for him after he struggles to fit in on the team he jilted you for...

Should I keep going? Aaaargh.

Yeah, I gotta believe organizational culture and leadership, starting with ownership and down into both the business and basketball operations have some impact on team performance. Clearly, how talented and skilled your players are is by far the #1 factor, but I do wonder if overall organizational culture is roughly equivalent to coaching in terms of importance - and may be even more so since presumably the culture that permeates the rest of the organization would affect coaches too.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Culture.

Golden State beat Miami last night... that's not huge news. But the way they did it was pretty damn impressive.

- Down 14 with less than 7 minutes left.
- Curry shot 5 - 20 on three pointers.
- No D. Green. No Wiseman. No Looney.
- The Warriors played most of the 4th/OT with 6'7" Wiggins and 6'6" Eric Paschell as the "bigs"... Wiggins was actually the guy for jump balls.
- GSW (and Wiggins) outhustled and out-gritted Miami.
- In OT... the undersized Warriors had 5 offensive rebounds vs. Miami's 2 defensive rebounds in the first 3 minutes. They won going away.

Another comeback win for a team decimated by injuries. But they have Curry. Just as importantly, they have coaches + executives + owners + players used to winning. Guys who know HOW to win. Guys who take pride in winning.

The Warriors are 16 - 13. They have the 5th ranked defense in the league with these piece parts.

I thought Spoelstra was a good coach? Is he shitty now?