GDT: Minnesota at Chicago

[Monster]

I remember before the first win against the Nuggets this year Dane did a podcast with his counterparts on the Denver side and they discussed the similarities in the style of defense for both teams. The Denver guys went on about how it takes a toll and as a result there are ebbs and flows. This team might just be hitting a wall as we approach the all star break. I think it will be a much needed break.

I also see it as a bit of a silver lining that teams need to shoot really well to beat this team. That could come into play in a playoff series.

I agree that our guys will probably benefit from the all-star break.

Phenom that's good info.

Something to consider: Vanderbilt has already played more minutes this season than his entire NBA career before this season. In addition last year was the first time he really played any kind of meaningful minutes in the NBA. So yeah fatigue COULD be a factor for a guy like him.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

I'm really encouraged by the way kat is playing... he's not settling for 3's and it's great to see. Chicago shot well but need some perimeter D. Can only hide certain players for so long on that end... that was embarrassing and finch had enough. Love how edwards is driving so much too. That's a tough team. No our season isn't in trouble just because we stopped playing bad teams.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

Just saw that basketball wasn't Dlos original passion... his first love was bull fighting, but the pay just wasn't competitive

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm really encouraged by the way kat is playing... he's not settling for 3's and it's great to see. Chicago shot well but need some perimeter D. Can only hide certain players for so long on that end... that was embarrassing and finch had enough. Love how edwards is driving so much too. That's a tough team. No our season isn't in trouble just because we stopped playing bad teams.

8 assists. 0 TOs.

Only his 5th game this season without a TO and first since December.

It does seem like he's being called for fewer offensive fouls lately, right?

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Chicago shot 63%. That does NOT happen without bad defense. And we keep talking about playoffs. The Wolves will be swept with this type of defense vs. any legit playoff team.

It has to improve. Hopefully, they can use the upcoming break to make some tweaks and/or re-eneregize and focus.

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DeRozan led the Bulls with a +19. He's finally become a player who should be on the court after 12+ years!

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Coby White has scored 20+ points in 3 of the past 4 meetings with Minnesota.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

I'm really encouraged by the way kat is playing... he's not settling for 3's and it's great to see. Chicago shot well but need some perimeter D. Can only hide certain players for so long on that end... that was embarrassing and finch had enough. Love how edwards is driving so much too. That's a tough team. No our season isn't in trouble just because we stopped playing bad teams.

8 assists. 0 TOs.

Only his 5th game this season without a TO and first since December.

It does seem like he's being called for fewer offensive fouls lately, right?

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Chicago shot 63%. That does NOT happen without bad defense. And we keep talking about playoffs. The Wolves will be swept with this type of defense vs. any legit playoff team.

It has to improve. Hopefully, they can use the upcoming break to make some tweaks and/or re-eneregize and focus.

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DeRozan led the Bulls with a +19. He's finally become a player who should be on the court after 12+ years!

Haha right, finally. Dude really is a 2nd tier mvp candidate. I didn't realize kat had 8 assists and zero turnovers, wow! I think the respect of being an all star again really goes along ways for his confidence. Also, someone must have called him out on settling for threes and it really hit home. The crying to officials has always annoyed me with him, but if he can just tone it down a bit I'm fine. Finch really is a very good coach. Dlo has been good this year, but when he starts slipping back to old dlo, finch holds him accountable. Beverly has been the key to so much though. Also, it's unfortunate that there just isn't a spot in the rotation for nowell. He's been great and he shouldn't be riding the bench.

[FNG]

Man, the Bulls are a deep team...they looked awfully good even with 4 players out hurt, including two starters. I agree our defense has struggled lately, but you also need to give a lot of credit to this good Bulls team. Did anyone think they would have 4 20-point scorers tonight and Zach wouldn't be one of them?

-DeRozen is extraordinary...he's so good at creating space and hitting the mid-range.

-I like KAT's new aggressive approach driving to the basket. But his whining is pissing me off more and more. Nobody likes to have someone tell them they're bad at their job, and KAT spends the entire game telling the refs they are terrible. No wonder he can't get calls...they don't like him.

-I've never seen Ant so good at getting to the basket...his Eurostep is already elite. I see a potential high 20s scorer in him, especially if he continues to drive and get to the line (more than 5 FT's per game past 5 games).

-I wonder if Vando is hurt. He was relatively invisible all game, and 3 rebounds in 25 minutes is odd.

-I don't like how the bench has regressed since the trade deadline has passed.

-I guess we have to sweat out DLo's potential shoulder injury...hope it's nothing.

While we don't like the defense currently, but there's no shame in losing on the road to a very good Bulls team. Fortunately we have an easy win coming tomorrow against a bad Pacers team that might be missing 7 players, including Turner and Brogdon. We'll be back to 3 games over .500 by the end of the weekend.

[Q-is-here]

It's interesting that the way most of us pegged this team coming into the season has turned out to be true. We are now a top 10 offense and a bottom half defense. Granted, it took 40+ games to get to this point, but the true identity of the team as it appeared on paper back in October has emerged.

[Monster]

It's interesting that the way most of us pegged this team coming into the season has turned out to be true. We are now a top 10 offense and a bottom half defense. Granted, it took 40+ games to get to this point, but the true identity of the team as it appeared on paper back in October has emerged.

As discouraging as the defensive drop off is...I'm still encouraged that we saw it for a legit amount of games. It makes me think that being middle of the road (or better) in that area is actually like really possible.

[FNG]

It's interesting that the way most of us pegged this team coming into the season has turned out to be true. We are now a top 10 offense and a bottom half defense. Granted, it took 40+ games to get to this point, but the true identity of the team as it appeared on paper back in October has emerged.

As discouraging as the defensive drop off is...I'm still encouraged that we saw it for a legit amount of games. It makes me think that being middle of the road (or better) in that area is actually like really possible.

It's odd that both the offense and the defense seem completely different from the start of the year. What was once a weak half-court offense now looks crisp and effective. I credit the players finally embracing Finchy's offensive philosophy.

But the turnaround on the defensive end has been discouraging. I wonder if injuries have something to do with our defensive fall-off. PatBev was the key to our improved defense early in the year, and his missing games (or perhaps playing hurt) doesn't help our D. Vando has said his body is hurting, and you could see signs of it last night (only 3 rebounds). And although Ant says his knee is healthy now (and it looked like it last night), his knee might have been a factor in some of his defensive lapses recently. Maybe DLo also.

I think we also have to consider that Okogie's reduced minutes (fewer than 4 MPG over the past 16 games) might have a lot to do with our defensive problems. Over that 16 game stretch, we have given up 118.75 PPG...to put that in perspective, Houston has given up the most points per game this season at 117.3. What's more alarming is that 25% of those 16 games were against Detroit, New Orleans and the Knicks, all of whom are among the five lowest-scoring teams in the association. If Finchy is truly concerned with our defense, he should consider increasing JO's minutes. Of course Josh's reduced minutes might explain our improved half-court offense, but I think we have enough firepower when healthy to score at a good clip even with JO out there.

[TheFuture]

Not moving Beasley, Beverley, Layman, Okogie, Reid, or Prince at the deadline was a huge mistake.